The internet is a wonderful tool because you can literally learn anything you want to know in a matter of minutes by typing a question into your favorite search engine. The search engine will magically spit out some websites that you can go visit and get your answer. In it's simplest form the world wide web is just a digital library of content.
And it will be like this for many years to come. This reality is a good thing for you because it's a way for you to make money from home. This brings me to my Crowd Content Review where I'll discuss how you can leverage the need for content online for your financial gains.
What Is Crowd Content?
Crowd Content Media Inc. is an online company that provides content creation services to clients in 87 countries. The company was founded by CEO Clayton Lainsbury and is operating out of Victoria, BC, Canada. Since its inception, 2,000+ freelance writers created over 25 million words of high quality content in the Crowd Content Marketplace. Crowd Content prides itself not only to deliver content of highest quality but also on the fastest delivery time in the whole industry.
What Are The Crowd Content Writing Opportunities?
The main types are:
- Website Content
- Product Descriptions
- Tweets
- Facebook Posts
You also may have to write SEO Content, Metadata, eBooks, White Papers, Press Releases, Newsletters.
How Does Crowd Content Work?
They say in their Writer's Guide that Crowd Content ‘is a bit different' than other companies out there. That is, however, quite an understatement. Crowd Content is unique in many ways, and I will give you a brief overview of what you can expect. It all starts with ……….
The Crowd Content Core Values.
They are trying to build a writing community that is obsessed with satisfying clients and it is your job to understand the core values. These are:
- Create High Quality Content
- Deliver Fast Turnaround Times
- Be Extremely Reliable
The Workflow At Crowd Content.
The ‘Available‘ tab on your account page will show you the available orders that you are eligible for, i.e. which Quality Level your are on. Each order provides high-level information about the job. Read the instructions carefully, and when you are sure you have the skill and knowledge to write that particular order, claim the job by clicking the CLAIM button.
The order is now assigned to you and it is your responsibility to complete the order before the deadline expires. There is a countdown clock in the top left area of the content editor that shows you how much time you have left while you work on that order.
Crowd Content does not, and I repeat, does not have in-house editors. You submit your finished content directly to the client. In case the client requests a revision, you will be notified by email with the detailed revision instructions. You now have 24 hours to complete the revision.
Important: If you claimed a job and change your mind, you CAN drop the order within exactly 30 minutes, starting the second you clicked the CLAIM button. So, don't be late; not even ONE second.
In order to achieve and maintain the highest level of service, Crowd Content implemented rules and procedures for writing content. Lets take a close look at these, shall we?
What Is The 3 Strike Rule (System)?
Remember the three Core Values of Crowd Content? It's all about keeping the clients happy and come back time and again. To avoid negative things to occur, Crowd Content set up a simple 3-strike system.
- If you perform a violation, you receive a strike on your account and your claim limit is reduced
- If you complete 5 consecutive orders without a strike, all strikes will be removed
- If you reach 3 strikes, your writer account will be closed and YOU ARE OUT!
What Are Crowd Content Violations?
- Dropping an order after the 30-minute Drop Window
- Letting a deadline expire before submitting the completed order to the client
- Letting a revision deadline expire before submitting the revised content to the client.
What Is The Claim Limit?
The Claim Limit shows you how many orders you can have “In Cue” at one time. The number will increase as you complete orders.
- New Writers: 1 Order
- Complete 5 consecutive orders without a strike: 3 orders
- Complete 10 consecutive orders without a strike: 4 orders
- Complete 15 consecutive orders without a strike: 5 orders
- What Are The Crowd Content Quality Levels?
When you are accepted as writer, you will be assigned an initial ‘Quality Level‘ based on the sample content you created during the application process. There are 4 levels, denoted by STARS, with 1 Star being the lowest level and 4 stars being the highest. Orders at higher Quality Levels have a higher earnings potential. You can claim orders at or below your Quality Level.
How You Move Up (Or Down) The Quality Levels?
This is determined by the ratings clients have given you for recent jobs you have completed. Remember, there are no editors involved; editing and rating is done exclusively by the clients!
The client can rate your work on 5 levels, 1 being the lowest, 5 being the highest.
5-Rating: Exceeded the client's Expectations
4-Rating: Excellent
3-Rating: Writer met most of the client's expectations
2-Rating: Writer barely met the client's expectations
1-Rating: Writer performed far below the client's expectations
For your Quality Level to change, you need to complete at least 2,500 words of rated content for at least 3 clients.
These are the most important of the unique elements of the Crowd Content system.
How Much Does Crowd Content Pay?
There are two different rates for each Quality Level, a STREET Rate and a BONUS Rate (for details about the bonus rate, please check the Crowd Content Writer Guide)
Custom Content Orders (per word)
1 Star: 1.2 cents | 1.4 cents
2 Star: 2.0 cents | 2.3 cents
3 Star: 4.4 cents | 5.2 cents
4 Star: 6.6 cents | 7.6 cents
Tweets (per unit)
Standard: $0.70 | $0.80
Professional: $1.05 | $1.20
Facebook Posts (per unit)
Standard: $1.05 | $1.20
Professional: $1.55 | $1.75
How Much Money Can You Make With Crowd Content?
Well, looking at the pay scale, especially the Quality Levels 3 & 4, the earning potential is pretty good. But let a Crowd Content writer tell you:
Unfortunately, Deborah didn't tell us how many jobs she did or how many hours she actually worked. But $14,000 bucks in one year is not too bad for a work at home opportunity.
How Does Crowd Content Pay?
You get paid every second Friday via PayPal; the pay period ends Thursday at 11:00 PM EST. There is a $10 payout threshold. If you don't reach the threshold, the balance will carry over to next payday.
How Do You Get Started With Crowd Content?
It is pretty simple. As I said earlier, they are accepting writers from the USA, Canada, U.K and Australia. Apply on their website, provide a sample of your writing and hope for the best. Once you are accepted, you know your Quality Level and can start checking out the available jobs. You will be required to upload a high quality image of yourself (you know, smiling, hair shampooed, etc.) and put up a 50 word bio so the clients gets an idea who they will be dealing with.
You need to give yourself a pen name; there are 2 reasons for that. One is to remain ‘anonymous‘, the other so the client will be able to request your service directly. That's basically all there is to it.
What Are The Crowd Content Complaints?
Crowd Content like every company has it's flaws and some complaints. So let's review some below.
Client Rating Is Incorrect!
Some writers voiced their disapproval of the client rating system as you can see in this screenshot:
The consensus among the writers is that clients either don't understand the rating system or don't really care to give a fair assessment.
Too Many Revision Requests!
This complaint is also related to the rating by the clients. It seems that often times instructions are not clear enough and a lot is left to the writer's discretion, particular for ‘re-writes‘ of product description. Take a look at this:
I feel for this guy and can fully understand his frustration. After all is said and done, it really doesn't make any difference if writers complain about their editors or about a client based rating system. But Crowd Content again shows its uniqueness. They actually listen to their writers and are willing to improve their system.
Is Crowd Content Legit or a Scam?
Based on what I can see, Crowd Content is legitimate. If you some decent writing skills there is definitely money to be made from this website. So I would encourage you to look into it as ONE of many sources of income to consider. I don't think it's something you may necessarily be able to live off. But when you include it as one of many multiple streams of income, it can definitely add up.
Now with all that said, when I read about content mills I always find myself questioning why do you need a middle man to make money writing online? From my personal experience I've probably made more money writing on my own blog than most writers can ever make on sites like Crowd Content. It takes time but it can totally happen especially if you are trained by the folks at My Top Free Work At Home Recommendation. So content mills have never been appealing to me. But to each their own.
I know there are those of you who are afraid of writing or feel you're not good at it. Well have no fear there are other options that I teach in My Work At Home Courses that can help you. So be sure to explore them as an alternative or just another source of income to add to what you may do with Crowd Content.
Well thanks for reading. As always I'd love to hear your feedback about this company. So feel free to leave a comment down below before you bounce out of here. I love hearing from you so don't be shy.
Eddy with a y
It is a scam. They are just low end spammers.
Can you provide more details on your experience with them. People call everything a scam nowadays. So it would be great to hear what your experience was with them.
You said the CrowdContent works only for USA, Canada, UK and Australia? I never saw this and I feel the availabilities could be less for my country at Latinamerica. Can I earn good enough or what? Good entry, good article thanks!