I decided I did not want to invest too much time in writing for the site because they did not pay nearly the amount mentioned in the write-up. I also always start slow until I see if a site actually pays the amount offered. No one likes to get cheated, right?
I did one article, then waited almost three weeks for it to be marked as edited and complete. I wasn't about to write another article for them until I was sure they were really going to pay for that one. They only pay once a month, so it was a bit of a wait.
I am glad to report they did, in fact, pay promptly. I can't really say I wish I had written more, because I don't really like to work for a per word rate that low - who would? I did go ahead and put together another article for them, and will probably wait until I get confirmation of acceptance.
I guess I still have my doubts of how and if my writing fits their site, but want to keep a foot in the door with them, so to speak.
If they ever upgrade me to the next pay rate, 3 cents a word, I'll add a note here for anyone interested in writing for a low-paying, but reliable-paying website - so you have an idea how many articles you have to might have to write to get a promotion there.
Also, if you decide to apply, my advice for the application: remember it is a copywriting site. Make your writing sample the kind of copy you might see in a promotional article or advertisement.
Edited February 8, 2011 to add: I logged in to eCopywriters today to see if my second article, the one marked yesterday as "Editing Complete" had moved to the "Waiting to be Paid" section of the dashboard. It hadn't been updated yet; but I had a new message up. It's copied and pasted below.
"Profile
I can't navigate through any of the pages or do any more work until I fill this out. Anyway, I'm not complaining, because they are still on my "wait and see" list, and I will fill it out - later. I'm just giving a heads-up on what to expect if you apply there. At some point they will want more information about what makes you great.
Hi LL, I just read your write up and wanted to offer a few pointers. I am an editor on the site, and moving from one category to another one is partially dependent upon how often somebody writes, as well as their availability. Quite often, there are more assignments than there are available writers to go around, especially ones that have to meet "last minute deadlines" to get to a client. As for filling out your profile and the pay per word, while it may not seem worthwhile to some writers, once there is a group of articles on a topic you are knowledgeable about, you can fly through those articles and earn a nice payment for the time you spent writing.
ReplyDeleteAs for approval times, on the vast majority of assignments I've worked on, you typically get paid within a month. While an editor like myself will approve it within 24 hours usually, it still has to go back to the client to be approved, and they have plenty of other things on their respective "plates" as well as approving copywriting, so if you submitted an article on the 2nd of the month, it would be approved by an editor rapidly, but it doesn't always get approved by the client by the 15th of the month, so you would end up getting paid by the 1st of the next month.
If you have a consistent batch of articles written and submitted, it's nice to get paid twice a month. Anyway, hope this helps a little and gives you somewhat of an insight into the process.