My First Stepping Stone to Writing Professionally - Textbroker

One of the first places that I explored the possibility of a writing career while working from home was Textbroker.  This was the first company that I applied to and was hired by, and I wrote my first thing that was going to earn me a paycheck rather than a grade.  It was an amazing feeling and continues to be pretty awesome when I get paid for doing what I love.  Let's break down this opportunity to see if it's something that sounds good to you.

Sorry international readers, Textbroker is only hiring US-based writers at this time, and they do check identification to ensure that you live within the US.

This company unites writers with people that need copy.  You'll be asked to write a variety of tasks on different topics.  This will be things like blog posts, press releases, articles, descriptions, and more.  There's a lot of different categories to choose from, and you can pick whichever you want to write.  You select the title that looks interesting, read the instructions, and if it works for you, you assign the article to yourself.  Each has their own deadline, and if you miss it, the work will go back into the pool for other writers to choose.

Clients can rate your work, and you'll also receive a rating from Textbroker, which is really important because this impacts how much money you make.  Each article is assigned a star level that you need to have to qualify to write that article.  Star level three writers can write articles that are levels two and three.  Level 2 starts at $0.007, level 3 is at 1 cent even, level 4 is at $0.014, and level 5 is at $0.05 which has to do with the quality you're rated at by Textbroker.  They also allow you to work on Direct Orders and Team Orders.  The nice thing about Direct Orders is that you can select your own starting amount per word with a minimum of .0178.   

Pros:

• You get paid to put your words on virtual paper
• They pay weekly when you reach the $10 threshold which typically only takes a few articles a week depending on the size of the articles
• Payment is through PayPal
• You have control on when you request your payout in case you want to wait until you hit a higher mark
• You have total control over which topics to write about and what assignments to take
• Work when and where you'd like (literally, as I may not sign in for months at a time)
• Application is relatively short

Cons:

• As you are ghostwriting, you don't get credit for your work with a byline or a blurb for your portfolio
• This is also not the highest paying work you can find as a writer
• There is no guarantee of work being available when you log in to write
• You're an independent contractor, so no taxes or benefits
• Application does include a short writing sample, and that can be intimidating for some 

Recommendation

Overall, I highly suggest trying out a writing service like Textbroker if you're new to writing.  They pay reliably and have been around for a while.  I still write for them from time to time myself if I find a category that I enjoy writing about, like animals, weddings, gardening, and travel.  Working at home often has a lot of uncertainty when it comes to paying clients, and I like having options like Textbroker that I can fall back on in case of a slowdown with other clients.

Do you write for Textbroker?  Have you applied?  Let us know in the comments.