Is iWriter a good way to earn some money online? Let's find out how easy it is to land a job and and whether the pay is worth your time
Introduction to iWriter
The web site looks very professional with mostly clear and functional actions. After three days I scored a $3 job.
This site is not the most welcoming to new writers. People new to freelancing may find iWriter discouraging because the pay is so low and jobs can be difficult to nail down. This has something to do with the competition for work, which for the most part favors U.S.-based writers.
Although work can be had at iWriter, be warned that it can be a tough ride.
Getting started with iWriter
Creating a login was simple. An error page welcomed me the first time out because I did not check the terms and conditions box (I think). But iWriter stored the information and logging in was no problem.
The site is professional and the dashboard robust. There were no requirements beyond a name, email address, and login data to get started. It took less than five minutes to get set up and on my way to the jobs page.
Landing jobs at iWriter
Here is a sample of a “standard” job on iWriter.
People ordering content, not freelancers, are the focus of iWriter. Freelancers need to click the “write content” button on the main tool bar, log in, and then they can explore the real dynamics of this site.
Jobs are broken down to four categories: elite plus, elite, premium, and standard. A standard writer will get $2.43 per 500-word article.
An iWriter pop-up discussing how to advance to an elite writer status.
An elite writer will get $8.10 for the same size article. I chose the articles in the Elite Plus because they pay more, but was told to start at the standard level first. According to the rules, you need to write 30 articles at the standard level and get positive reviews from clients before being permitted to select from premium or elite projects.
The way around this is show yourself a “serious writer” and pay $197 to become an elite writer right away.
Only one project was available in the list of “standard” jobs because the few jobs there are snapped up pretty quickly. Other categories had hundreds of jobs available. I selected the 150-word project that pays a whopping $1.01 and looked forward to the discount candy bar I could buy. This high competition with few jobs available was repeated on many other “get paid to write” websites like Constant Content.
After selecting this project, I was brought to a grammar quiz. It was rather simple and some of the questions even arguable. But I managed to get a 15/15 so no complaints. I was brought back to the jobs page after the quiz where the $1.01 project disappeared and in its place was a request for an article written in GERMAN (emphasis theirs).
Three days later there were two more projects. I chose a 500-word job that paid more than $3, which is higher than the amount I was expecting. The submission page you reach after submitting for a job is a little daunting at first. There is a clock and several areas for SEO, title and such. After finishing the article, I went to save it to the submission page, but sadly it disappeared. After tooling around for a fix, I discovered the submission page is accessible via a countdown clock in the drafts section of the “manage my content” area – a not-so-obvious fix when things go wrong.
The next day, I learned that the articles was rejected. There was no explanation, just a rejection. No $3 for me.
I tried other jobs in the standard category, including a 300-word article for a plumbing outfit, an industry I've written for in the past. This item was rejected as well and there was no explanation, again.
The page where both jobs were posted did say the clients did reject as much work as they accepted. This was a possible clue to the result I could expect, I guess.
Getting Paid at iWriter
There was no area for newbies like me to input payment information, not that I would have earned much anyway.
Image of the costs per word a “Standard” writer can expect to be paid.
I am too cheap to pay the “fast-track” amount of $197 to access the better paying jobs, which rarely did increase to $30 an article. There’s no way one could make a decent living on the amount paid per article on a full-time basis. And then there was the thin amount of content for people just starting.
Pros and Cons of iWriter
Although my experience was mixed, the site does have its pros and cons:
Pros
- Site design is well developed.
- Functionality works pretty well.
- Most jobs require English as the first language.
Cons
- Sometimes the functionality works well, other times not.
- Jobs are often low in pay.
- Jobs for new freelancers are limited and there is a lot competition for what's there.
- Getting assigned a job didn't mean you'd get paid.
Would I recommend iWriter to New Freelancers?
This was a demoralizing experience. I was pretty confident I wrote well for the client, despite the rather embarrassing pay day of about $3. And then there was the rejection of another article, this one promising $2. It was a poor enough experience to have me toss this site aside. I faired much better at TextBroker, although the pay was just as dismal.
Although iWriter did have its perks, such as a decent design and good amount of jobs for more accomplished, or well-healed, writers this site shows little promise.
I think it takes a better writer than I to make it here, as well as a good amount of time. The site had me questioning my abilities and I've been professionally writing for most of my adult life. Was I really that bad? I certainly do not have enough time to write the amount of content needed to afford even a tenth of my groceries.
iWriter may be a good site for an unestablished freelancer looking to cut their teeth. Being successful here would give a writer something to put on their resume when looking for more attractive jobs in the pay-per-word arena. But, if their experience is like mine, be prepared for difficult times.
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Nathaniell
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