Making money as a blogger or a writer is no “get rich quick” scheme. You simply have to get down and dirty before getting your big break. You are probably aware of this and it’s why you’re going through TextBroker reviews to determine if the company can bring you closer to your big break or is it just a waste of time.

Well, I don’t mean to scare you, but based on what we’ve seen TextBroker may not be for you. But we’ll let you read this TextBroker review and let you decide for yourself!

What is TextBroker?

TextBroker found online at TextBroker.com is an article and content writing company that pays freelance writers to provide clients with content such as blog posts, eBooks, articles, press releases and more. TextBroker went live in 2007 under current owner Jan Becker-Fochler. They are headquartered at 9484 W Flamingo Rd Ste 270 Las Vegas, NV 89147-5746 in the US. In this review, we shall focus on the company’s US-based website.

How Does TextBroker Work?

TextBroker provides a platform where clients request articles from a pool of authors. So a client will post a job with a set of instructions on how they would want the job to be written, and the skill level they require. Writers (in this case authors) under that skill level or higher will see the details of the job including payment and deadline on the author’s pool.

Writing Content on TextBroker

At the time of this review a client has three options while setting up a gig. They can make it an “Open Order”, “Direct Order” or “Team Order”. Open orders are visible to any writer belonging to the skill level set or higher. Direct Orders are sent to a specific author and Team Orders are managed by the TextBroker editorial team whereby authors can apply for these jobs by submitting a sample. If approved, they are allowed to take on the tasks.

In any case, as an author, when you click on a job it will be made temporarily unavailable to other writers. You’ll have 10 minutes to decide whether you want to write it or not. If you pick it, it’s yours until the due date expires. If you decide otherwise, it returns to the queue for other writers to see.

Content Review Process

So once you’re done writing the article, you’ll send it to the client. The client can either accept it or request a revision. They have to send at least one revision request before they reject it. If they choose to accept, the money will reflect on your balance almost immediately. There’s no penalty for a rejection, but the statistics will show on your profile.

So what happens if the client takes too long to give feedback on an article you’ve written? Well, they have 4 days to either accept or request a revision. If they fail to do so within that window, your article will be auto-approved and you’ll get paid.

What if life happens and you need more time? The workaround in this case would be to cancel the job (no penalty), go back to the job board and pick it up again quickly. You’ll have given yourself another 24 hours to complete the job. You can only do that once per article though.

TextBroker Rating System

Unlike most other content mills where your rating is a reflection of how clients rate your work, TextBroker works a little different. During the SignUp process, they’ll ask you to write a sample and do a series of tests.

How well you do on the tests and the writing sample will determine your initial rating and how much you make per word. They use a star-based rating system measured on a scale of 2-5. Most beginners start at level 3 and get upgraded after a week or so.

The company’s editors review your every fifth submission and decide whether to upgrade, downgrade or maintain your rating.

In any case, you can pick any job at your star level or lower. Remember to either maintain or improve the quality of your writing to stand a better chance of rising up the ranks.

If you don’t like the idea of someone determining how much you should get paid for writing content, you may want to consider giving Wealthy Affiliate a shot. It’s totally FREE to try. They will teach you how to create your own blog where you can write for yourself and earn as much as you decide!

TextBroker Author Payment Rates

In any event, if you’re still considering TextBroker, here’s what each level earns you per word at the time of this review.

2 stars: 0.7 cents per word – Average quality
3 stars: 1.0 cents per word – Good quality
4 stars: 1.4 cents per word – Very good quality
5 stars: 5 cents per word – Excellent quality

How Much Money Can I Make With TextBroker?

There’s no cap as to how much money you can make at TextBroker, as long as the jobs are there. So depending on where the quality of your content places you on the pecking order, the highest skill level pays you 5 cents per word, or $50 (USD) per 1000 words. To get to 5 stars, you’ll have to pass one of the most complex proofreading tests known to mankind.

But why let a content mill determine how much you earn writing content for clients when you can do all that on your own? Wealthy Affiliate can teach you how to build your own website where you can offer writing services directly to clients. You’ll also get training on how to make your website visible to potential clients, enabling you to earn even more money. Or you can learn how to make money writing without dealing with annoying clients. Either way, you get to be your own boss, set your own rates and keep all the profits. Did I mention it’s FREE To Get Started?

How & When Does TextBroker Pay Writers?

If you’ve earned at least $10 USD, you can request for payment at any time before Thursday, 02:59 EST. You’ll then get your money on Friday around noon EST to your PayPal account. This may or may not change by the time you read this review.

If you earn more than $600 a year, they’ll require you to prove that you actually file your self-employment taxes. They’ll send you a 1090 form to fill out, then ask for a copy of it later via email. There’s no working around this because they’ll suspend your payments until you can prove that you’re giving Uncle Sam what’s his.

TextBroker Sign Up Process

Signing up is pretty simple. You’ll first create an account with your email and a password. Next, you’ll fill out your personal details including name, address, phone number and your PayPal email. You’ll then be required to submit your tax details and a photo of your ID or driver’s license. Once they verify your information you can start working. Verification takes up to a week. Once everything’s set you can complete your profile by adding your resume and up to three original written samples. That’s about it!

TextBroker Tips and Hacks

Here are a few things you can do to get a better payout.

Don’t pick just about any job

Before accepting a client’s gig, take a quick peep at their rejection and revision rate. You may want to avoid a client with a high rejection or revision rate. Work with at least 20% or less.

Take time to review a job before accepting it

Avoid playing smarty pants with TextBroker. Before taking on a job, take the 10 minutes allowed to look around the web and see what’s out there that’s similar to the one you’re about to do. Some topics can be tough with barely enough information out there to assist you do a good job.

Learn how to write SEO Articles

SEO articles are in high demand because they are designed to bring your clients tons of free traffic. So needless to say, having the skills to write search engine optimized articles is invaluable. If you don’t understand SEO, then you learn about this and how to write optimized content by joining Wealthy Affiliate. You can start for FREE where you’ll learn all about SEO.

Apply for “Team Order” jobs

As mentioned earlier, sometimes there are special jobs placed on the Team Orders queue and managed by TextBroker editors. These jobs are mostly technical SEO jobs that pay handsomely, sometimes double the normal rate, improving chances of getting an above average payout.

TextBroker Complaints

Since no company is perfect, there are definitely things about TextBroker that may not sit well with you. It’s your choice to either run or take the bull by its horns. In any case, here are some complaints you may want to know about this company before you join.

The editors are too strict

Remember, while working for TextBroker, your work is at the mercy of the editorial team. Whether your work is good enough or not is up to them, not the client who is actually buying the article. Some writers say an editor can downgrade your rating for one tiny grammar, or spelling error affecting your pay per word.

No International Love

TextBroker.com only accepts writers from the US, while the sister website TextBroker.co.uk accepts writers from the UK, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Republic of Ireland. So if you don’t belong to any of these countries, tough luck buddy. But don’t worry, you can join Wealthy Affiliate and learn how to make real money writing from almost anywhere in the world as your own boss. Best of all, you can try it for FREE!

TextBroker Alternatives

If you feel TextBroker is not something you would be keen on investing your valuable time with, that’s totally fine. There are other options.

If the idea that the editors control if you make money or not makes you uncomfortable, you may want to consider joining Wealthy Affiliate can teach you how to build your own website writing articles for clients. It’s free to start, so you have nothing to lose and everything to gain.

But if you prefer more of a content mill type of gig, you can check out iWriter which provides writing opportunities to more countries than TextBroker.

Is TextBroker Legitimate?

TextBroker is legit and an industry leader. If you’re a good writer, who can handle the pressure of delivering error-free work, and live in a native English-speaking country, then you have what it takes to join. But don’t beat yourself up if you don’t make the cut. TextBroker, like any other content mill, has its own set of rules that may not work for everyone.

Fortunately, you don’t have to worry about any of that with Wealthy Affiliate. With your own business, you get to build a portfolio that works for you, besides setting your own rates and being in control of your paycheck. Remember, when you write for a content mill, you’re selling the rights to every content you create. You may work for years writing hundreds of articles, but have nothing to show for it in the end.

I learned how to make six figures as a blogger, building partnerships that pay me what I’m worth, and you can do so too! There are tools that help me do this. You can also use them when writing for yourself or your clients. In any case, here are tools well worth checking out.

Wealthy Affiliate: A community that shares valuable step by step training on how to build a successful website to get you on your way to making real money as a blogger or writer. They also provide FREE useful tools and live help so you’re not alone. Best of all it is FREE to try.

Jaaxy – A keyword research tool that’s designed to help you know what keywords to use while writing content for yourself or your clients to help them get tons of free traffic to their site or your own. You can try it for free.

SERanking – This tool helps you competitive analysis for yourself or clients you write for. It helps you know what keywords your competitors are using and ranking for, and the content that gets them traffic to their websites. It’s a great tool that will assist you get clients to your website, and it’s free to try!

Well, that’s my TextBroker review. I would love to know your thoughts about this or any other content mill you know about. So feel free to chime in on the comments section below. If you still have questions about TextBroker, you can visit their FAQs section.

Until next time

Eddy “with a Y”