Content Mills and the Devaluation of the Writer

Content Mills are Mostly Hell

Photo by Pedro Sanz on Unsplash

Content mill writing seems like a good idea, as you’ll often find a ton of jobs on sites like Upwork and Fiverr. The problem is that these jobs never pay enough for the most part.

Fiverr has improved somewhat since I started, and you can make more than before, but it’s still a race to the bottom. Some writers can and do make a living with content mill sites. If you do, that’s fine. This is my story.

Devalues Foreign Workers, Minorities, and Everyone Else

One thing that makes Fiverr and Upwork a poor fit for most writers is that they devalue the work of writers, especially foreigners and minorities. Businesses will go to these sites and get cheap labor. This is often done by minorities and foreigners because a business knows they can get writing that costs less from these workers.

I get that sometimes you may need cheap work, but these writers are valuable. I recently had a foreigner format an ebook for me. She did such a good job that I tipped her. I let her know that her work was worth way more than what she was getting on Fiverr.

It would be fine if these workers were paid well for their work, but they aren’t for the most part. Buyers want the cheapest writing they can get. Content mills are the sweatshops of the writing industry, and the practice needs to stop.

Low Pay for Pathetic Rewards

Fiverr and Upwork make it quite easy to find a job, but that job often doesn't pay that much. You need to stay on the site for a long time to increase your prices. With the huge amount of competition on the site, getting higher-paying gigs is difficult, especially if you’re new.

While you can find decent buyers, it's hard for this to be consistent. You’ll also get buyers who want bulk orders and want you to lower your price to some crazy low amount so they can milk you for more orders. You’ll work more and make far less than what you’re worth.

Easy to Burnout

It’s easy to burn out on Fiverr. When I was writing there, I often wrote 5–10 articles every day and often more. It was hard ot stay on top of orders. The work was constant, but it was unsustainable.

After a year or so, burnout set in, and I was routinely canceling orders because I simply couldn’t take it any longer. No one can sustain that volume of writing without having serious issues down the line. The work was in excess of what I could realistically do.

At the end of that year, I had 27k in my bank account. My eyes were bloodshot, my mind a mess from constant writing, and my elbows sore. That 27k felt like it was only worth 5 bucks.

I ended up quitting the site because of it. Upwork was the same thing. I almost gave up writing entirely because of the insane burnout of writing article after article for very little reward.

I did ghostwriting for a short romance novel on Upwork. The word count was 25,000. The pay? $650.00.

I felt worthless and alone. I started drinking.

No Portfolio

With your own website or even a blog here on Substack or Medium, you have an easy-to-access portfolio of your work. Fiverr and Upwork make it hard to showcase your portfolio. Your best work may never get seen by anyone. While these sites do give you the option to upload samples, it’s a small sample of your work.

Difficult to Break Out Of

Once you’re trapped in the content mill cycle, it’s hard to break out of. You don’t have a portfolio to showcase, and you may think that you’re writing is only worth $5–20 per pop. You may find yourself hating writing if you stay on these sites for too long. I dreaded writing each day when I had paying gigs on Fiverr and Upwork because the pay for good work wasn’t there.

Avoid Content Mills

Writing for a content mill is fine for a bit of practice, but get far away from them as soon as possible. You’ll be better rewarded by working for companies that pay well for your hard work.

While the jobs are there, they often don’t pay that much, and buyers will take advantage of you. If you write well, you’ll have no shortage of work. At the end of the day, the effort you put into your writing will not be worth it. Stick with Substack, Medium, your site, or work with companies that will pay you well.

You deserve BETTER