I have generally been a print journalist for most of my life but that has increasingly been something of a problem. When pitching for work, people want links to articles you have written. A scan of an article with an accompanying Word document doesn’t seem to cut it. I do have quite a lot of articles online and I have been adding them to my portfolio whenever I remember / can be bothered.
While doing all this, I started wondering what it would be like to not be pitching to others all the time. It can be pretty disheartening. I had never really tried ‘content mills’ or writing platforms before as they seem to reluctant to pay anything approaching minimum wage. I thought I would give a couple of them try and see what they were like.
The two I chose were Fiverr and Medium. They were both appealing for reasons I will explain. This will also, hopefully, help anyone who is similarly contemplating trying these out.
Fiverr
I’ll start with Fiverr. The way Fiverr works is you create a ‘gig’. This is mine. I think it looks pretty nice. I started cheap to attract a few clients and then as the work rolled in, I raised my prices.
Pros
It is great that you can set your own prices and products. It’s a bit like putting a card in the window of a newsagent or advertising in the Yellow Pages. If you don’t know what either of those things relates to, don’t worry about it.
As you rise through the ranks, you can start more gigs, raise fees and be more selective about clients. Or at least the clients that don’t just buy a package – more on that in a minute. Essentially, you pitch your skills and hope people will come.
Cons
At first, you may struggle to get a client. I pitched myself as a journalist and was lucky enough to get some clients almost immediately but I can see it might be a problem for some.
I set up some packages which means people can just buy one. So they would click on, say my 800-word package and then tell me what they want. This is usually fine but if someone wants you to write something questionable, you then have to negotiate your way out of it and Fiverr will mark it down as you not completing a job. That status only lasts a couple of months, so it is no big deal but it’s something you should be aware of when setting up your gig.
You are, to an extent, at the mercy of their algorithms. I was getting new clients or enquiries pretty much every day and then my gig was moved. Somewhere. I can set up some new gigs or just wait for the next shuffle.
Conclusion
I like writing for Fiverr as you get to meet a broad range of people and I have been writing about topics I wouldn’t normally cover. Such as Food safety, why postal ballots in the US are a big deal, or interviewing directors and writers and publicising new indie films. This variety is generally what makes writing platforms more interesting.
However, you are at the mercy of what the client wants but unless they just buy a package, you can say it isn’t what you do. Also, you are at the mercy of their algorithms. I wouldn’t quit your job and rely purely on them. For a side hustle, it can be a lot of fun.
Pay – Of the two writing platforms, Fiverr has paid better. I have made over $1000 (USD) in a couple of months. This is a good place to start if you want cash a bit quicker.
If you want to have a look at Fiverr and give it a go, here is my affiliate link to it. It won’t affect anything for you but might get a cup of tea, so thanks.
Medium takes longer to get into but I have found it to be a lot more fun. I recommend you sign up for a membership, it is only $5 and there are some great articles in there. It feels a bit like a social media site but instead of pictures of food and kittens, there are articles. You write an article and if some people read it, you get paid. If lots read it, you can make some pretty decent cash.
You can see some of my articles here for free and get an idea.
Pros
Your success is entirely down to you with a dash of luck. You can write about anything that takes your fancy – like a blog. But if other people don’t read what you write then you won’t get any money – like a blog. People can niche down or be more general – like… Ok, as writing platforms go, this one is the most like blogging.
I tend to write about writing, literature and history as those are the things I know about. But if you are in a more profitable niche, you can make a lot of cash. Some articles have made thousands of dollars. That is where the luck comes in. I write evergreen pieces that consistently sell. Pieces I wrote a few months ago are still bringing in money.
I read that by the end of last year there were almost 100 million subscribers, so there are a lot of people ready to read your writing.
Cons
You need to put a lot of effort in. Like blogging or social media, the first things you put on the platform are going to be largely ignored. Once you build a bit of a following then things get a bit easier but it can be disheartening at first.
The money is slow in coming at first but I have to admit I was a bit lazy. I began by writing two or three articles a month and it took me a couple of months to even cover the $5 membership fee. I was also lucky in that by my fourth article I had been curated and featured in the Startup – the largest publication on the site. If that hadn’t happened, things would have been even slower.
Conclusion
I love writing for Medium. It is a lot of fun and feels so free to write about whatever the hell you want. It is slow to get going but the more content you put on there, the more money you’ll get. There is also the added thrill that something you write may go viral and bring in a lot of money.
Patience plus work are the keys here. Some of my articles have made as much as my Fiverr articles ($100+) but they took months to do so.
Final thoughts
Both writing platforms are really different.
Fiverr gets you money quicker (or at least it did for me) but you are at the mercy of potential clients. You might end up writing about things that are dull or fascinating, it’s a gamble. There is the added stress of being rated by clients too.
Medium takes longer but is freer in that you can choose what you write about. You need to be persistent to make any decent cash. There isn’t a rating system thankfully, but you are pretty much judged by how many people read your work. This can feel random at times and is impossible to predict.
Trying both writing platforms for the past few months has been a lot of fun and I would recommend trying them out if you were on the fence. You have nothing to lose except for pride and time.
If either appeal:
Follow me on Medium and once you have written something, I will follow you back.
If you are interested in Fiverr please check it out using this handy link (and thanks for the cup of tea).
Good luck!
