So, now that I’ve had time to experiment writing for Seed.com, I thought I’d give a behind-the-scenes peek into what it’s like writing for AOL’s new content site.
How it works: After signing up for a free account, you can browse through Seed’s list of assignments. Each assignment lists a short description, a suggested length, and a couple of keywords for SEO purposes. If you like the assignment, simply “claim” it and start writing!
It’s important to note that there are currently no tests or requirements or approval process to become a writer for Seed.com. Anyone can sign up and claim an assignment. Obviously, though, if your work is below par, you won’t make any money doing it.
I put the word “claim’ in quotes because it seems that when you claim an assignment, it isn’t yours exclusively. Anyone can claim and write an article so, in reality, you’re competing with other writers for that particular assignment. If the editors choose someone else’s article over yours, the time you’ve spent on it is wasted, although you keep all rights to your work and can try to sell it to another site.
Many articles pay around $30 for a 500 word piece, which is a decent price when compared to the pay at other content sites like Demand Studios or Helium. I’ve noticed that certain categories seem to pay better than others. Many entertainment articles, for example, paid less than $30, while many money articles paid more. One article about taxes was for $110, so financially worthwhile assignments can be found for those who take the time to do a little digging.
Since Seed.com is a new website, and still in beta, it does have it’s drawbacks. The time between submitting an article, having it be accepted, and seeing it published can be long. No reason is given for why an article is rejected. If you’re a newbie writer looking for a little editorial guidance, look elsewhere. If you’re a freelancer who’s confident in their writing skills might not mind the lack of feedback. A glitch has also popped up recently that causes rejected writers to receive an email notification that their article was labeled as “inappropriate” or “spam,” along with threats of account cancellation but, after contacting the staff, I’ve been told it’s being worked on.
Also, some of the features the website promises haven’t been implemented yet, such as the ability to submit your own work and the option to be paid by ad revenue share. But the people behind Seed have made many improvements as well. Users can now sort assignments by photos or text and any article the editors choose not to buy remains on the site, making it easier to copy to your own files. Apparently, this wasn’t available at launch.
So far, I’ve submitted five articles to Seed.com. One was purchased, three were rejected (for unknown reasons), and one is still pending. Not exactly the best return of investment for time spent. Those looking for a surer sale can most likely find more reliable markets for their work. Still, there are certainly benefits to using Seed – the ability to choose what assignments you want, when you want, no fuss, no muss – for those who are just starting out or for part-timers, like myself, who are trying to juggle freelance work around a 40 hour workweek.
Seed.com is still a work in progress and it remains to be seen whether or not it’ll rise above the mantle of “content mill” and become a viable source of work and income for freelance writers. I’m going to keep my eye on it.
