So I'll be the first to admit my grammar and spelling skills are a bit suspect. Despite this I have a pretty successful career as a blogger. That said there are those of you who are probably grammar and spelling nazis that write way better than I do. But maybe you're just not interested in starting your own blog but still want to make money. Fortunately there are a whole bunch of writing platforms looking for ghostwriters and one of them is the subject of my topic today.
What Is BlogMutt.com?
BlogMutt is a content and blog writing service that connects website owners with writers to create original, high quality blog content for their sites. BlogMutt is based in Boulder, CO, and was founded by Scott Yates and Wade Green in 2011.
BlogMutt serves an ever growing, worldwide clientele (over 5,000) who may not have the resources, time or expertise to create content themselves. The clients are local contractors, agencies, retailers, law firms, property management firms, high tech start ups and large corporations. They turn to BlogMutt and its small army of writers capable of producing excellent posts and blogs that meet their expectations.
Applying To Write For BlogMutt
The process is pretty simple.
Step 1: Log on to their website and fill out the BlogMutt Freelance Writer Application. Give yourself a Username, choose a Password, enter your email address and proceed to ……
Step 2: Provide your LinkedIn account and a couple of other details so they can verify your identy.
Step 3: Agree to their Terms of Services
Step 4: Complete a short test. You will be given some words (6-8) and have to write a “past tense” sentence containing the correct spelling. For example; John, lead, Sunday, prayer, Pastor, son. Sentence: Last Sunday, the Pastor's son John led us in prayer.
Once you are approved as freelance writer you will have access to the various writing opportunities available. Needless to say that it is FREE to became a ghostwriter for BlogMutt.
How does BlogMutt work?
Every client of BlogMutt has its own area within the BlogMutt platform to post their weekly requirements, which can be between 1 and 4 blogs per week, depending on the package they purchased. They post a brief description of what they want and provide a couple of keywords for the title of the post and the content.
You have access to all these sites and can browse by category, if you wish, and choose any of the orders you feel comfortable writing about (kind of, but more about this later).
Once you are done with the blog or post, you upload it to the clients website. The client will either buy your post, send an editing request, or outright reject it.
If your post is being bought, you will get paid. In cases where the customer asks for an edit, you make changes and re-submit. If your writing gets rejected, it belongs to you and you can offer it to another client looking for a similar post.
If your post is not bought but not rejected, it will remain in the queue and the customer may buy it the next week, which happens in many instances when there is more than one post submitted.
How Much Do You Get Paid Writing For BlogMutt?
Before we look at payment to the writers we have to understand the BlogMutts' pricing structure, based on word count of the different plans a client can choose from. The following is what BlogMutt charges clients that want content:
Basic: approx. $21/post – approx. 300+ words (usually 350)
- Standard: approx. $43/post – 600+ words
- In-depth: approx. $88/post – 900+ words
- Long Form: approx. $153/post – 1,200+ words
As a beginning writer for BlogMutt you only have access to the Basic Level of writing and you will get $8 for every 250 to 350 words post that is actually purchased by a client. There is a point system in place, and as you write more and gain points, you will get access to the higher paying jobs at higher word counts: $19 for 600+ words, $40 for 900+ words, and $72 for 1200+ words. (Now you understand the “kind of” I threw in there above)
As you work your way up into the higher levels, you will be able to make some extra money if the client asks for additional perks like images, helpful tags, attribution, links, etc.
Something Very Unique – BlogMutt Shares!
Every one of your posts is awarded points based on how customer's value your work. As you rise up through the different levels and get the higher paying jobs, your point level also rises. Once you reach level 8, after about 450-500 posts and about 10,000 points, you will receive vested shares in the company.
How Does BlogMutt Pay?
They pay you every Monday through Paypal for posts you have sold AND invoiced. You can invoice at any time.
What Are The BlogMutt Complaints?
From the clients hiring writers there don't seem to be any complaints about the quality of the work the BlogMutt writers deliver. From a writers standpoint there are some complaints that may concern you.
BBB Rating?
BlogMutt is not BBB accredited which you can take with a grain of salt if you've read my feelings on the BBB here. That said the BBB has received ONE complaint from a freelance writer which is unresolved because the complainer simply disappeared.
The Money isn't worth it!
There are some writers complaining that $8 for a 350 word article is too little and that this is not enough to make a full time livable income. At first glance, $8 seems to be a rather small pay. But hey, we are talking 350 words here, maybe 400 if you give it some extra effort.
Look I can spit out 300 words in less than 10 minutes in most cases. Especially if it doesn't take much research on my end. So $8 bucks for that little amount of work isn't bad to me.
But obviously this varies if you have to account for research if you are not familiar with the topic. However I bet for a decent writer you can easily write 3 or 4 post per hour if you choose a topic you know well and there are enough client requests available. So, $24 or $32 per hour doesn't sound too bad to me.
And here are a couple of rebuttals to the claim of under payment.
The Writer Cannot Communicate Directly With The Client!
That's a bummer. No matter how good you are there is a good chance you have a question every now and then, and you will have to go through Scott to get an answer. The same applies if the client requests to edit the post but his instructions are not clear enough.
But that's the system BlogMutt implemented and you just have to live with it. The upside is that you don't have to deal with an old and grumpy internal editor who might just give you a hard time because he doesn't like you, or the way you write.
I Worked For Nothing When The Client Rejects My Post!
That's not true. If your post gets rejected, you own it and can submit to another client requesting a similar post. Maybe a quick edit here and there will do the trick, and you sell your post the next week.
So, Is BlogMutt A Scam Or Legit?
In my humble BlogMutt.com is legitimate. It provides writers an opportunity to make some dough in their spare time. They also offer a great way to move up the ladder. I believe their point system is a good way to get experience on the job and get rewarded with higher paying assignments!
That said, you know I write for a living on my blog. Quite frankly none of these sites can earn you anywhere near what I've earned running my own blog because of what my Top Free Work At Home Recommendation has taught me. I think these content writing sites are a good way to get started or supplement your income. But I feel that for the same amount of time and energy you spend there you could create more opportunities and income for yourself on your blog. However I recognize it takes a longer period of time to see results with your own blog which some people may not have the delayed gratification for. So I guess it all depends on your needs.
If for some reason writing isn't really up your ally be sure to check out the other ways I make money from home that don't require any writing skills here. Well I hope you enjoyed this BlogMutt Review. As always I want to hear what you think so post your comments down below.
I'll speak to you soon.
Eddy with a y
I would love to get paid to blog, and I do have my own blog, but from what I’ve read up to this point, it seems like a real hassle. What’s the nitty gritty on this?
Stacey,
If you want to know how make money blogging like I do, then you should really check this out and read it. Because chances are the reasons it’s a hassle for you is you’re probably not doing it right.