Content mills. Love them or hate them, I’m sure you’ve heard of them. You might be wondering, are content mills bad for me? Will they help me grow my freelance writing business? One of the most controversial aspects of writing for content mills is whether or not they can help your career.
Writers of yesteryear who are addicted to the way things used to be and are still living in the past scream vehemently that content mills are bad and the end of real writing. They also believe anyone working for them should be branded a traitor, unfit to call themselves a writer.
Other writers understand that the needs of the market change and adapt and to new media and the evolution of the species think otherwise.
Whether or not content mills are bad for you and your career is a matter of considerable debate. The answer largely depends on what your goals as a writer are for your future.
If you want to make a name for yourself and put your journalism degree to good use, then content mills are not for you. The reason being that your goals are prestige and reporting, not generic content generation.
If you wish to earn artistic credit and treat writing as an art form, stirring hearts and minds with your prose and crafting a literary masterpiece, then writing for the content mill model is not for you either.
If you are interested in getting some fast cash instantly and don’t care about accreditation, you may consider content mills. They give you quick and easy access to some urgent capital.
Writing is my passion, but I also like money. I’m confident that I’m not alone in this; we all work to make money to pay for food, entertainment, bills, and our overall lifestyle. The more the money we make, the happier we are, as a general rule, because we are able to afford the more beautiful things in life.
I don’t like writing for pennies, and I’m always looking for ways to make money. Once you know how to write for content mills, you will find an avenue for quick and easy work that you can squeeze in with your other projects. It allows you to keep a nice, even flow of income coming in from multiple streams. Content mills don’t pay well, but anything to cover for the day’s coffee and other nominal expenses is undoubtedly welcome.
Fun fact – An average millionaire has 7 sources of income.
The harsh reality is that, when it comes to intelligent clients and customers, they will hire you regardless of whether you have worked for content mills. They do so because they understand that a true professional can write under multiple hats and is not constrained to one specific path or routine.
The bottom line is, every ounce of experience you pack into your resume will get you more opportunities down the road. This experience will be used to judge whether or not you are reliable and result-oriented. If you can show that you have painstakingly cranked out several thousand dollars worth of content for content mills over the course of a couple of years, a high-paying client will be able to blindly trust you.
All things considered. Content mills are primarily for people who have a lot of free time on their hands and are looking to monetize that time. I personally never recommend anyone to write for a content mill, but it is a decent avenue to build a portfolio and get some experience. If you are looking to build your portfolio, don’t forget to check out the opportunity we offer.
Once you are ready to start writing check out our post about practical steps to get started with content writing.
TL;DR – Yes, Almost always.