If Textbroker just isn't working out for you, don't worry.
By now, you may be asking yourself: "What's the best Textbroker alternative" or "What's the best content writing service?"
Yes, Textbroker is one of the most popular content mills online. But they still have some of the lowest quality writers. There may be some real gems, however these are exceedingly rare. It’ll take lots of trial and error, multiple revision requests and plenty of money down the drain, before stumbling across the writing genius you really want. Time and energy wasted that would be better spent on running your business or living your life.
Most content mill sites like Textbroker are a fantastic way to find lots of "beginner" or non-native English speakers to write cheap filler content for your next blog post. But do you really want to spend hours proof-reading, editing and correcting the resulting poor-quality content?
So, Textbroker might not be the best company to create high quality content. Thankfully, there are many other great platforms out there where you can find freelance writers, just like Textbroker. Here are 10 freelance writing job sites that can help you with your content marketing needs:
1. WriterAccess
WriterAccess is one of the more professional and most established platforms on this list. This writing job board has many writers available, and they also have a large number of clients seeking content. If you are looking for a platform that will give you the most options for finding an editor or writer, Writer Access is the right service for you.
The site has a large database of freelance writers, and it's easy to connect with these writers when the need arises for them to create great content. Writers will need to complete a small questionnaire to get started, and they'll be matched with the right clients, and they'll be paid for their work. They also have helpful tools for site owners, such as a content editor who can help make sure the content on your site is good.
The site uses a subscription pricing system based on the number of users who require access. Content costs are extra. A pricing slider shows suggested pricing per project.
The writers are friendly and fluent in their niches. The content is high quality. Essentially, it has everything you would ever want from a content mill. They also have a managed service where a dedicated rep, streamlines your content creation workflow.
2. Constant Content
Constant Content has a wide range of writers and editors, and this makes it extremely easy to find someone who will be able to create unique content for any kind of site.
It has two main options, custom content and ready-made content. There are over 100,000 pre-written articles, organized by category. These can be bought and downloaded instantly by clients.
For custom content, customers can set a price range. In general, more experienced writers will charge a higher price. This doesn't mean that all lower priced content is of inferior quality. You can preview content to see if it meets your requirements.
In an earlier version, they used a licensing system, whereby clients could either buy non-exclusive or exclusive (Full rights) content. But this system has now been deprecated, and customers now have full and exclusive rights to all content they purchase.
Their Enterprise Content Account allows users to get account support who will manage custom content from expert writers. This allows you to quickly scale a team of expert writers. Useful, if you have just taken on a new client and need top-notch content fast.
Constant Content doesn't have a fixed price per word. This is because each writing project is unique, and each writer has their own rates based on skills and experience.
3. Contently
Contently is the perfect freelance writing website for anyone who is looking for a competent writer with specific journalistic skills but doesn't want to spend a lot of time on editing and wants a ready-made content creation process.
To access their talent pool of writers, there's a monthly subscription. This also gives you content ideation tools so you can decide the type of content you need.
Pricing for this marketplace for content is on the higher end, but dependent on the writing skills and experience.
4. The Content Authority
The Content Authority is another content mill, like Textbroker. Content can be ordered of several types, including blog posts, copywriting, eBooks, press releases, social media posts, and more.
Pricing ranges from 0.012 USD per word for basic content to 0.065 USD per word for "expert" level content. Obviously, at those prices, you’re not going to be getting "The Great Gatsby", but it’s good enough for filler content to populate a newish blog.
5. iWriter
Ordering content from iWriter is a straightforward process. You can choose specific categories, language, keywords, and give detailed content brief instructions, like target audience and tone of writing. You can choose from the highest rated and most prolific writers, and even create lists of your favorite writers.
Pricing depends on the star level of writers and length of the content you want to purchase. iWriter has four writing tiers, from Standard, Premium, Elite to Elite plus. Pricing for these is on average: 0.00825 to 0.072 USD per word. If you order more content, the pricing is reduced. Pricing is still low and allows you to purchase a number of different types of content.
6. HireWriters
Hire Writers is pretty much a mixed bag. Yes, it's a content mill with lower prices, and the lower quality content you would expect too. But it also has somewhat of a tarnished reputation. HireWriters.com reviews on the web are mostly negative.
Sitejabber is just one of many of these sites. If you google "HireWriters reviews", you can see for yourself.
It's not only freelance writers who are complaining about not being paid. Clients aren't happy either. For example, many say their writers were clearly non-native English, and their content had many grammatical and comprehension errors. Yet the company still promises thousands of native English-speaking writers.
Another thing is the quirky payment system. To order content, a client needs to pay a balance into their account, say $50. But, if they're not happy with the quality of the content, the site offers NO way to refund this.
Hire Writers claims to have "high quality, cheap and fast articles". A tiny minority of the content falls into this category. If you can trawl through (or have the budget and time to) hundreds of writers, you may find the odd diamond in the rough. The big question is "if" you can.
7. Fiverr
Fiverr markets itself as the world's largest online marketplace for creative and professional services. It's also rapidly expanding. As of May 2021, there were 3.8 million active buyers, growing at a rate of 56% year on year.
If they have more customers and they're spending more, they must be doing something right.
Many of its clientele are small business owners, startups, entrepreneurs, and independent professionals.
For content writing Fiverr is probably one of the cheapest places to go to find an experienced freelancer. The baseline fee is only $5 per freelance writing gig, which is around 100 words of content including: blog posts, articles, copywriting and more. But remember you pay for quality. Higher rated providers and verified Pro-level sellers can charge more than five dollars. Higher priced copywriting gigs can cost $100's.
Fiverr is best for people who want a writing gig completed quickly and within a smaller budget.
8. Upwork
Originally founded as Elance in 1998, it became one of the first platforms to connect clients with freelancers. As of May 2021, Upwork is the world's largest freelancer marketplace with over 18 million registered freelancers working across over 850 different industries and skills. And that number is growing rapidly year on year at around 20%.
The hiring process is simple. You post a job with a job description, budget, freelance skill level and project category. There are a wide range of freelance writing categories to choose from, including: Article writing, Content writing, technical writing, Ghostwriting, eBook or editing. Once your job post is live, Upwork finds freelancers to match your requirements to their skillset. You can also "invite" freelancers to your job. Once you've received responses, you can assess the freelancers to see if they will make the cut. You can also interview potential employees by video call. After reviewing proposals and finding a skilled writer, you can create a detailed contract with deliverables and milestones.
Also, as an added benefit to anyone who signs up as a client or freelancer on the site, there is a built-in messaging system to keep all communication (video calls, file sharing) within the platform and therefore no messages will be missed, and you can see earlier activity.
Pricing depends on the freelancer's skills and experience. You need to work out a contract that satisfies you both. This can be either at a fixed or an hourly rate.
9. Freelancer
This Australian freelance marketplace was founded in 2009. With over 52m clients and freelancers from over 247 countries, most come from India, the United States, Philippines, Pakistan and the United Kingdom.
They offer all kinds of writing. From SEO writing, social media writing, email writing to your bog-standard blog post.
Freelancer runs a similar business model to Upwork, where potential employers can post jobs specifying their requirements. Where it differs, is that Freelancers then bid against each other to work on these jobs. You can then review their qualifications, portfolios, work history, etc. Alternatively, a potential client can message any freelance content writer directly for their job. Always a good idea to see a writing sample.
Freelancer has a similar offering to Upwork but differs on pricing or subscription levels and the tools they offer.
10. PeoplePerHour
PeoplePerHour claims to have over 3 million freelancers and 1 million clients (about the population of Delaware), with more than 8,000 skills. This UK-based online job board is like Upwork in that you post on a type of job board, describing the project you want. Then their system matches and contacts the most relevant freelancers. Freelancers can then respond with their own proposal. You can then review all the sent proposals and pick a freelancer to work on your project.
One key difference here is that it allows freelancers to offer their most popular requests at a fixed price. These are called "hourlies", and freelancers can start work on these right away.
Like other platforms, it has a search navigation bar, allowing you to search and review profiles of the most suitable freelancers for your project or job.
Final Thoughts
Textbroker is a popular site with lots of cheap writers. Unfortunately, you get what you pay for. So, you'll have to sift through many candidates and hiring the wrong ones could be a real problem as they'll want you to pay them even if their writing isn't any good!
The good news is there are a lot of platforms out there to help you find a professional freelance writer.
Therefore, for your next writing assignment it's important for you to understand the difference between each freelance service and what makes them unique.
The main thing is that you understand your content requirements, including the type and quality of content you need.
Whether it's a 'cheap' beginner writer or an expert freelance writer. Take your pick from the list of online writing job platforms above.
Now it's your turn!