Writer Review: 5 Writing Platforms that Pay Beginners (2023)

1. Medium

• Medium = Twitter (social media platform) + Wordpress (blogging platform) + getting paid to write
• everytime a paid member reads one of your posts, you earn a small portion of their membership fee
• membership fee for readers: $5 per month
• this means you get paid 2ct per view / $20 per thousand views
• no membership: two stories free per month
• to get paid as a writer, you need at least 100 followers to be a member for $5 per month (updated since video was released)
• no ads
• you can write about whatever you want
• what other people want to read matters more than what you want to write if you want to earn money
• health, wealth and love are the evergreen topics that tend to perform best
• medium partners with stripe, but stripe only partners with 40 countries
• even if you can't / don't get paid, you can use Medium as a portfolio website
• $10 minimum payout

2. Simily

• specifically for creative writing ("home for getting paid for creative writing")
• 2ct per view / $20 per thousand views
• very similar to Medium
• no idea how stories get promoted: algorithm? chronological?
• $10 minimum payout
• temporary business model
• later: switch to revenue sharing model similar to Medium where you get paid according to how many paying readers view your stories

3. Vocal

• mix between Medium and Simily
• if you're a Vocal+ member for $10 per month
  • 0.6ct per view / $6 per thousand views
  • 2.9% transaction fees on tips
  • $20 minimum payout
  • exclusive challenges
  • early access to new features
• if you're not:
  • 0.38ct per view / $3.80 per thousand views
  • 7% transaction fees on tips
  • $35 minimum payout
• unique feature: writing challenges with a prompt, guidelines and high prices like $20k (!)
• you have to submit stories which Vocal checks before they go live (10-24h delay between submit and going live)
• rubric can be confusing
• paying money to make money is a strange concept

4. Scripted

• you have to apply to join pool of writers
• once you're in, you have access to a selection of jobs that clients upload
• you need to pass a test that has only 5% acceptance rate but it seems simple (mostly grammar questions)
• previous portfolio recommended (like on Medium) to get assigned to jobs
• clients can't pay less than 7ct per word
• access to different topics
• there are good clients (have been on Scripted for 3+ years)
• upfront work required
• three ways to make money:

1. Smart Match

• client uploads brief
• Scripted matches that to writers based on their profiles (probably AI)
• the first who accepts gets the job
• you need to be fast (she once waited was two minutes late and the offer was already gone)
• client sets rate

2. Proposals

• client uploads brief
• Scripted matches that to writers
• first 5 quality proposals will be reviewed by client
• you need to be fast but client has two weeks to review proposals
• you can set your own rate along with proposal

3. Job Board

• clients upload jobs
• you can propose

5. Text Broker

• you have to apply to join job board
• you get a star rating between 1 to 5 stars
• clients can upload job briefs and specify how high your rating must be to apply
• you simply accept jobs (no application)
• a couple 100 words at most ("short, snappy jobs")
• you can also apply to join a team so you get regular assignments from clients
• if you're a really good writer, you can receive direct orders from clients
• low pay like 2ct per word ("insultingly low")
• no upfront work for jobs required
• confusing application, bad website UX
• best out of 5 to get paid right away
• $10 minimum payout

Conclusion