Demand Studios is NOT Evil
October 21, 2009 by John Hewitt
Do you know what I’m sick of reading? I’m sick of reading articles about how freelancers are underpaid. I’m especially sick of reading articles that point a finger at a particular company or website and accuse them of causing the problem. No one caused this. If you want to point a finger at anyone or anything, point it straight at the Internet. The Internet made it possible for anyone who can put a sentence together (and plenty who can’t) to be a writer. Some created their own blogs (like me). Others became freelance writers.
Everyone is a writer
Writing isn’t like engineering or chemistry. Most people know how to write. There are people who write especially well, either because of training or talent, but there are millions of people who can write a basic article or blog post that is good enough for the Internet. Some of those people aren’t out to make a living as a writer. Their day job pays well enough or they have other means of support. They just want to get published. Others realize that they need to become better writers if they want to make a living. They take less money so that they can develop their skills as well as their portfolios. You can complain about these people all you want. It doesn’t matter. They aren’t going anywhere.
Companies are in business to make money — Shocking!
On the flip side there are companies that cater to these writers. Demand Studios is one of those companies. Demand Studios has clients who want articles written for them. Some of those companies are major players, others are small businesses and a few are fly-by-night dreamers. The client tells Demand Studios what kind of article they want written and Demand Studios then finds writers to write the articles. The pay is not high, but it is far from the worst in the industry. One of the key complaints against Demand Studios is that their editors are strict. Writers are frequently told to make rewrites and edits. For some reason, these rewrites are viewed as onerous. The prevailing complaint is that they pay far too little to expect so much. Because of this, many writers refuse to do the rewrites. This is viewed as a fault of the company rather than the writer. The company is too demanding. They should settle for less or they should pay more. Sorry, it doesn’t work that way.
The bottom is where people start
For most writers, especially the inexperienced beginners who are attracted to low-paying assignments, a strict editor is the best thing they can possibly hope for. They need to have someone guiding them. Having a good editor is like having a free writing instructor. The editor isn’t just fixing your article. The editor is teaching to become a better writer. Not all editors are great. Strict doesn’t always mean good. Some Demand Studios editors may suck. The wonderful thing about freelancing is that you don’t have to work for someone you don’t want to work for. If you don’t like writing for someone, stop writing for them.
You choose who you write for
As I said earlier, Demand Studios has many clients, both large and small. They have those clients because they provide quality articles for low prices. If the prices were higher, they might lose clients. If their articles were of lower quality, they might lose clients. This is their business model. I don’t write for Demand Studios. I don’t write for them because I have clients who are willing to pay me substantially more money. I have a high paying specialty (software documentation), fifteen years of experience, a graduate degree and some really terrific contacts in the industry. I don’t need what Demand Studios offers (although I often need a good editor). On the flip side, when I was twenty-two years old and trying to establish myself as a writer, I would have jumped at the chance to write for a company like Demand Studios. I wanted then what they offer now: experience, guidance and money. Unfortunately, that was twenty years ago, and the closest thing I had to the Internet was AOL on a 2400 baud modem.
More skills and experience equals more money
Don’t get me wrong. I would like Demand Studios to pay higher rates. A higher rate would attract (I hope) a higher caliber of writer and help create a better product. I also know that you can go on Elance or Odesk and find plenty of people who pay less than Demand Studios and expect more. That is the nature of the freelance writing world in 2009. The low end is far lower than it used to be, and there is more competition for even those jobs. The good news is that you don’t have to write for anybody you don’t want to write for. You can start your own blog and market yourself from there. I did.
I now have no trouble finding clients who are willing to pay me a substantial rate to write. It isn’t luck that got me there. I struggled for years. I made mistakes. I learned. I now have skills that most of my competitors don’t have. I have a strong resume that gets me interviews and offers. I’ve even gotten smart enough, over the years, to turn down offers when they aren’t right for me.
Move on, move up
If Demand Studios doesn’t feel right for you, don’t write for them. All I ask is that you give up on complaining about them or the people who write for them. Focus your energy on something productive. Go write something.
I also don’t blame Demand Studios, although I could not afford to work for them. They pay the market rate as any business does.
Right now, the market rate is low because the publishing industry has collapsed — in part — due to the Internet and free content.
Let me put it another way. In economic 101 you learn about the diminishing rate of return when too many workers try to till the same field. In today’s market, there are simply too many writers chasing to few opportunities. The result is a lower wage.
I have stopped freelancing altogether and now only write for my own enjoyment. I choose not to work for low wages.
It’s all about choice and the marketplace — not about Demand Studios.
I think articles like the Writer’s Weekly one that you linked to are an important part of the conversation. For new writers, it’s important to hear both sides… the pros and the cons… before making the decision to write for these kinds of companies.
Writing for $5 an article is a big decision for a new writer. It’s not just about the money paid, it’s about spending time writing those articles instead of doing other things (like working on your pitches or even taking a class).
.-= Christine Gilbert´s last blog ..Take a Breath, This is Happening: Day 30 of 30w30d =-.
Chet,
You are correct, this is an issue of supply and demand. There are many, many writers willing to work for low rates. These writers aren’t going to disappear tomorrow. They are part of the new reality of the business.
Christine,
I don’t feel that WW has any interest in the pros, just the cons. I feel that WW is a site that thrives on pointing fingers and stirring controversy. I read their article and I did not feel like I was getting a fair picture of Demand Studios or FreelanceWritingGigs.com. These are my opinions on that article and on the site in general.
Christine wrote:
“I think articles like the Writer’s Weekly one that you linked to are an important part of the conversation. For new writers, it’s important to hear both sides… the pros and the cons… before making the decision to write for these kinds of companies.”
Christine, I absolutely agree with you. New writers need to see unbiased points of view listing pros and cons. Unfortunately, Angela Hoy’s piece was anything but. However, Hoy’s assessment isn’t worth my time and I won’t waste it writing about her hit piece.
What I want to say is it’s important for all writers to make informed decisions. They should do their own research and not take any one blogger’s word for anything. Read everything you can. Talk to lots of other writers. Choose the situation that works best for you and no one else. We all have different situations and experiences and none are wrong or right.
If you do start out low, rock on, but take that experience and move on to bigger and better things. Make your own choices. There are no online gurus, we’re all simply writers sharing our experiences. Think about what we said, and then research your next move.
.-= Deb Ng´s last blog ..The Best of FWJ: 15 Posts About Finding the Best Freelance Writing Opportunities =-.
The odd thing about the Writers Weekly article is how many facts it got wrong. I had previously enjoyed Angela Hoy’s exposés on other content mills and had later received independent confirmation of many of the facts. Her article on Demand Studios, on the other hand, is a bizarre hodgepodge of policies over the past 2 to 3 years and many of the numbers are wrong. I know a lot of people at Demand Studios who are shaking their heads at the tone and the bias, but it is the lack of fact-checking that surprises me.
Demand Studios is not evil. They aren’t asking for anything that would take over an hour to write and their pay reflects that. I know some people knock out 10-15 articles a day. I could not even imagine writing that much. I write 1-2 a day in between queries and more serious writing as a way to balance my income flow. I have a low rewrite rate and a (knock on wood) 0% rejection rate. During my time at DS, I have learned to avoid the passive voice and a whole bag full of grammar tricks. I have also learned to write faster and conquer my writer’s block. It seems like a fair deal to me.
My name is Suhail, Your article is very inspirational for writers. Accidently I come across your web . I ready to hear from all of you,
Thanks
Suhail Punathil
[...] Write well and often, AJ.C. Hewitt, a favorite of mine who blogs at PoeWar has an rant he calls Demand Studios is NOT Evil. He starts with “Do you know what I’m sick of reading? I’m sick of reading articles about [...]
hmmm, seems like my article agreeing with you John, and taking a slightly different tack, has already shown up… nifty plug in.
http://tinyurl.com/ylsl4sh
Where I yarn about the olden days… sigh
Thanks!
.-= Anne Wayman´s last blog ..By: Anne =-.
Deb,
I agree. People need to make informed decisions about their career and what clients they choose. That is what your site has been about for years, which one of the reasons I did not like the WW article. It implied that you were in the wrong for encouraging people to write about their experiences with the company. I know some people have had negative experiences with Demand Studios, bur I also know that there are writers who are doing quite well working for them. all sides should have been given a chance to speak.
Jenn,
Thank you for sharing your experiences. I think I could write 10-15 articles a day, but I doubt anyone would want to live with me if I did.
Anne,
Good news travels fast!
“good enough for the internet’???? Are you kidding me? Writers should be demanding more of ourselves than just being “good enough for the internet”. It doesn’t matter where I write, I always try to put the best info out there. So I put up 200 articles a year instead of 2000. They’re GOOD articles with information readers won’t find just anywhere else. As a writer who started on the web almost before there was a web, “good enough for the internet” deeply embarrasses me for my profession.
Amy,
I understand your feelings about how the world “should” be. I’m glad you write 200 good articles instead of 2000 “good enough” articles. I think you will be rewarded for it in the long run. I would love it if every article on the Internet were well-written, interesting and appropriately compensated. I’m afraid that is not the reality of the situation though. On the Internet, virtually anyone can publish, regardless of talent or intent. That sort of freedom is, in the end, a very positive thing. It gives people a voice. The down side is that it has flooded the marketplace with people who don’t have your standards, and those people aren’t going anywhere. It is a reality that exists despite what you think “should” be.
I am all for seeing both sides of the issue. The WW piece was not that type of article. It had a mission to cause conflict and unnecessary uproar. Demand Studios is upfront about what a writer, CE or film maker is getting into. Everybody has a choice to make. People are making it as though writers are getting “suckered” into creating content. Personally I feel Demand Studios is a great place for new freelance writers as well as seasoned writers. The weekly pay sure beats having to run down a client six months after you’ve billed them.
Demand Studios is also much tighter when it comes to the articles they allow through versus some of the other content producers out there. In the end you are correct, it is a business……and business is good.
.-= Kenneth Crawford´s last blog ..Where’s The Money? =-.
[...] http://www.poewar.com/demand-studios-is-not-evil/ [...]
Thanks for weighing in Kenneth. You’ve hit on the main point. Just because a business pays a low amount, that does not mean they are a scam. They are only a scam if they make promises they don’t deliver on. So far, I haven’t seen that.
Nice article. One thing that is getting overlooked again and again when it comes to bashing Demand, is they have one of the highest (if not the highest) pay rates of any content company as well as some of the strictest editorial guidelines. As more writer’s begin flocking to Demand from other lower paying content mills, those mills will be forced to up their rate to compete. Over time, this will push up the value of a piece of content as everyone struggles to attract the better writers.
Demand Studios may demand more than other mills currently out there, but soon that is what the clients will expect. Then all content providers will have to add value to their product, which will mean attracting better writers, thus paying more. Someone has to start setting the bar before natural marketplace competition can drive up wages.
Thank you for saying this! Just in the past month, I have:
1-been chosen to participate in DS’ first Creator Conference as a top content creator
2-selected as one of 100 top creators, receiving a year’s membership to Society of Professional Journalists
3-been selected as a community moderator
Along with all of this, I am able to work from home and I am making MORE writing than I did as a field representative for an unnamed insurance company or as a tutor for Title 1 children. Make no mistake, I am still struggling, but my pay is still an improvement over my past two jobs. And I LOVE what I am doing! I am not forced to write — I write because I want to.
Jenny,
Thank you for the comment. I don’t know what Demand’s rates are. I have heard varying numbers, but I do know that they’re reputation is that they pay more than most.
Barbara,
I’m Glad that Demand is working out for you. I know it is hard to find good work in this economy, and I am glad to see you found a way to make a living.
The rates vary, but most of the articles pay $15 for around 400 words. Personally, I love working for Demand! It is the perfect job for this time in my life (staying home with a toddler).
Great post, and I appreciate the balanced view. I have been writing for Demand Studios for almost a year and have no complaints about the pay I receive for the work I do. Like everyone else, I certainly wouldn’t turn down a pay raise, but my hourly rate averages out to around $26/hr. I’m okay with that.
I actually like the fact that DS has stringent editorial guidelines (and strict editors); it shows that they do care about the quality of the work that they publish, unlike many content mills. Editorial oversight is a GOOD thing–it lends credibility to our articles. There are 800 copy editors working for DS right now and of course there will be some inconsistency, some misunderstandings and occasionally rudeness; editing is not an exact science, and people are…well, people. Sometimes people are very nice and sometimes they’re not – that’s life. DS has been very quick to apologize, publicly in the forums, when an editor has crossed the line and been disrespectful a writer.
My current statistics show that I’ve abandoned four rewrites since I started, three because the help desk didn’t respond in time and one because even with their response, I didn’t think I could satisfy the editor. Again, we need to remember that DS is a client and not an employer; things like that happen when you freelance. I posted the articles elsewhere and have made money from them, so it’s not like it was even a total loss. The upside is that I’ve NEVER had to chase them for a payment, unlike some of the higher-paying clients I’ve had. My pay has been off only once, and it was promptly corrected on the next deposit.
I should also add that I was fortunate enough to be invited to Santa Monica along with Barbara and several other creators to meet with the executive & editorial teams. They were all genuinely interested in our feedback and I’ve already seen changes implemented based on some of the issues we raised during the meetings. No client is perfect, and DS has their faults as well, but I honestly feel that the company does care about their creator base; today a writer posted on the forum that she received flowers from Demand Studios after they read her post about her son being injured in a car accident. That’s unusual for any client, even more so for a “content mill.”
People complain about Demand Studios as though someone is cracking a whip at their back and forcing them to write there. The fantastic thing about freelancing is that if your personality clashes with a client, you can drop them and move on to another!
Jacqui,
That’s terrific. I’m assuming you are a very fast writer.
April,
Thank you for letting me know. When I used to pay for articles about seven years ago, my rate of $25 an article had me ranked as one of the highest paying sites on the web, and almost all of the articles I got were 600-800 words.
Nice to encounter a reasonable perspective.
Full disclosure: I’m biased. I co-own a fledgling content mill and have written a lot of cheap content over the years as PART of my overall approach to doing business.
The trick, as you point out, is making an informed decision. If you’re doing something that produces an adequate return for YOU and you’re engaging in the work aware of the opportunity costs and alternatives, so be it.
There’s room to make DS and even cheaper options work–if that interests you and matches up with your skill set and preferred approach.
.-= carson´s last undefined ..If you register your site for free at =-.
FYI to Demand writers:
I make $20 per article (usually about 350-400 words) at Demand Studios. 400 words is in the guidelines as the aproximate minimum but if I keep the article concise and pertinent the editors do not ask for more information/words. I used to write the $15 articles for about a month and a half and then out of nowhere the $20 articles for LiveSTRONG.com opened up for me. Many people who write for Demand think the Livestrong articles are only available for people with a medical or fitness certification or background. I have an elementary teaching degree. I just chose a lot of the health topics because I find them interesting and this led to the higher paying articles to open up. They take the same amount of time as the ehow articles and I can complete 1-2 in an hour depending on motivation. The hard part is keeping the motivation up day after day so this doesn’t cut it as a full-time job for me- but it can for some -and I am thankful for it.
[...] of my favorite writing-about-writing websites, PoeWar, has said something that many writers don’t want to admit: Writing isn’t like engineering [...]
Excellent article about the state of the industry. I got my start writing for sites like Helium and Associated Content and eventually moved up to higher paying “gigs” such as Demand Studios. Now I have potential clients reaching out to me to do writing projects and have found even more areas through which to promote and spread my writing.
People who can’t accept the internet writing world and “lower” pay by their pre-internet standards need to move on to a new field of work.
[...] recently wrote an opinion piece defending Demand Studios after another blogger chose to label them as a scam based on the fact that [...]
Can’t speak about Demand studios, but I can WW.
John, you are the second person to state that writersweekly only wants to cause controversy. I agree with you. They really go to great lengths to cause doubt in peoples minds. Why do you think this is? Could it have something to do with Angela being the owner of Booklocker?
.-= Rose´s last blog ..How to make Snowmen Soup- Christmas Crafts =-.
I agree with this article. I’ve been writing for Demand Studios since April 2008- earlier if you count my e-how articles. I was writing for them when you only had 3 categories to choose from. I wrote for them when there were only 50 titles to choose from, versus the 150K you can pick today!
The ones I see complain about being underpaid are the ones who take two hours to compose a $15 article. Even at THAT rate, it beats delivering pizza in dark neighborhoods!
They aren’t a scam. Anytime you work for someone, they make more money than what they pay you. I’ve never been hired by a poor person.
If you align your time right and use the proper techniques, you can make $60 an hour without knowing next to nothing about the selected titles. I did it. I had no choice but to find a way to make it happen when the recession hit. Within 6 months I paid off most of my debt, making $1200 a month working 2 hours a night, 5 nights a week. I had a full time job, family, etc. If I didn’t have the Demand Studios opportunity, I definitely would have been delivering pizza in bad neighborhoods. Instead, I DVRed my favorite TV shows and got focused. The only advantage I had over most writers was that I could type more than 50 words per minute. Other than that, I am a Joe Shmo.
So if you don’t like writing for them, stop crying and leave. If you want to write faster, e-mail me and I’ll give you some info. Other than that, Demand Studios is one of the best opportunities out there to make extra money.
Paul Bright
you may want to read this article on demand studios, and then make a call about the company.
http://hubpages.com/hub/Demand-Studios-4-Reasons-Why-It-Sucks
it’s filled with info from people who actually wrote for the company.
I’ve seen similar complaints William, and they are honest complaints (though I think overblown), but they are not evidence of a scam.
Ok I’ve read a lot of the different opinions and comments. My question is in order to get paid you have to give them your social security number?
Has anyone had a problem giving up their social security number. That’s my main concern.
Rosemary. The Social Security is for tax purposes. If you don’t want to give your social security number, you get a tax id# through the IRS.
I am a CE at Demand Studios and I really wish that every written piece that comes my way only required a two minute touch up that I could fix myself, approve and earn my $3.50 along with making every writer happy. Unfortunately, many writers who struggle to write well slip through the application cracks and their writing inability is apparent immediately. We Copy Editors have to do a lot of rephrasing, I can tell you, but we do not join forums and bash writers in protest like they do us. When a writer lays the blame on others for their own shortcomings, it is the signature of unprofessionalism.
Well said CTM. I’ve recently been spending my time editing technical documentation from India, and I can tell you that it can be a real challenge to decide when to edit, when to rewrite and when to send something back.
I just started writing for DS…this is my second week. And I have to agree–yes, the editors are strict and each one has his or her own quirks of what they like or don’t like. But you will find that anywhere, in any profession or job. Humans are like that…we each have our own peculiarities and preferences and go through life according to what we think about how things are or ought to be. The pay is average for this sort of thing which is kind of hack, bread and butter sort of writing, not I’m going to change the world sort of writing. But that’s OK–they say what it is up front and that’s what you get. If you don’t like it, feel free to write elsewhere. No one is forcing anyone to do this. The payments for what I have done so far have shown up on schedule except for the first one where there was a glitch on our paypal account (our fault not DS!!) and the payment will be added in to the next payday so no problem. Gotta expect to work out little kinks when starting something new. If someone does not like the strictness of the editors or the requests for rewrites, then maybe writing isn’t quite the field for you!! All writers have to deal with editors somewhere along the line and revisions and rewrites are part of the game of writing. I am a homeschool mom, just trying to help out my family a little with financial things and since I have written privately since I was 14 and had good reports on my writing ability from all my professors in college and I love to write, always wanted to write professionally but didn’t know how to get started, not having quite the right degree or experience credentials to show a prospective employer, I am thrilled beyond imagining that I am getting to spend time writing and get paid for it. A wise person once said, “figure out what you would do for free. Then figure out how to get someone to pay you to do it and you’ll never work a day in your life.” There’s only two things I feel that way about (besides being a mom which no one pays for and I wouldn’t expect or want them to!!
) ): teaching and writing. I taught for 9 years in public schools and community colleges and now i homeschool. So I’ve gotten paid for that one, although not while homeschooling of course. Now I get a chance to get paid for my other passion–writing!! You can picture me grinning ear to ear!! If writing doesn’t give you that kind of fulfilled thrill, then neither DS nor any other writing job is going to do the trick for you. Find something you love and do that instead!!