codexehow
Power Member
- Mar 23, 2012
- 771
- 506
I'm a level 4 at TextBroker. Here's some tips. These tips are meant for people who are new to TB.
1. Use the search feature.
It's not the best internal search engine ever built, but you can still find articles that you are interested in once you learn to work around its quirks. When you write articles that fascinate you, you write better, and clients will take notice. Additionally, these articles are much, much faster to write.
2. Make note of categories that interest you.
Write them down somewhere, and then only look for work within those categories. This will really help you cut down on time searching for an article. As you'll soon see, most of your time on Textbroker will be spent looking for a writable assignment. The caveat to this is if your preferred categories are dry.
3. Make sure your Direct Order price is above the fixed price for your level.
So, if you're a level 3, make sure your DO (Direct Order) price is above 1 cent per word. This will help you cut down on DO requests from Cheap Charleys who want to make you their personal writing boy/girl for peanuts. (They do exist, and they have this attitude that they are doing you a huge favor by offering you work at the OO rate) DO's take a lot longer on average to write than orders from the OO pool because the client feels he has the right to communicate with you more and request bigger revisions. Make sure you are compensated for this.
4. Keep a consistent DO rate.
I know from personal experience that if a client really wants you to write for them and they feel your DO rate is too high, Textbroker will step in on their behalf and ask if you are willing to lower your rate for the client. Be polite, but turn them down. Your rate is your rate. Don't play favorites, and don't sell yourself short. Everyone on Textbroker is looking for a deal, but if they really like your style, they'll pay your rate.
5. Frame your article
Before writing a single word, frame your article in Google Docs like so:
-Intro paragraph
-Main point of paragraph 1
--followed by 2 backup points
-Main point of paragraph 2
--followed by 2 backup points
etc
-closing paragraph
Doing it this way will ensure that your article is well structured. Even if well written, TB will rate you low if your article is a mess and/or incoherent
A 500 word article should have around 4 "meat" paragraphs, with an intro and outro. I strongly recommend writing the intro last. It's much easier this way.
6. Read your article aloud.
This is maybe the most important step of all. TB does demand a rather high level of quality from its writers, and one sure-fire way to catch awkward phrasing and misused words is to read your article aloud. Trust me, once you've written 8 articles in a single five hour period, you will be in danger of making some silly mistakes on number 9 and 10. Read the article aloud before you do any editing to catch the glaring mistakes.
7. Edit, edit, edit.
Once you've read your article aloud and gotten rid of the big stuff, run it through a scanner like PaperRater (Free) or Grammarly (Not Free) to catch grammar and usage errors. Don't depend on these tools; they don't catch everything. To maintain a high level of quality and high TB ranking, you really do have to have a great handle on grammar. That said, these tools can make your life easier.
You shouldn't be spending too much time on editing, and the best practice is to learn to edit as you write, and then edit again once you're done. It takes practice to self-edit quickly and to do it well.
8. Don't spend more than a minute on a given assignment description
If you read it once and it doesn't make sense, move on. Obviously, TB clients are not writers themselves, and many assignment descriptions are horribly written. This is just the way it is. Now, if you are a level 3, you may not be able to be so picky, but at level 4 you can and must be. Otherwise, you'll find that you spent half the day trying to decipher descriptions.
On a similar note, don't waste time writing to the client and asking them to elaborate. Give them feedback if you want, but other than that, just move on.
9. Don't shit where you sleep.
This should go without saying, but don't go trolling in the TB forums. Don't flame, or hate or incite anything. TB is a small company, and if you make a stink, you will be remembered.
10. Don't count on becoming a 5 star.
There really aren't that many 5 star TB writers. Just write to your best ability, and be content with what you can make at the 4 star level. (You shouldn't be depending on this one gig anyway) If you make it to 5 star, great. If you don't, fine. Don't sweat it.
11. Learn the AP Style Guide.
There's really no way of getting around this. If you don't know AP Style, you won't last long at TB. Even worse, TB disagrees with some AP Style points, and you have to learn where. A great place to look for this info is on the TB Author forum. The people there are generally helpful.
12. Always use a comma after an introductory clause.
Just do it, whether you think the sentence requires a comma or not. It's a TB pet peeve.
13. Don't take the proofreading test until you are 110% ready.
It's a prerequisite to becoming a 5 star, it's incredibly difficult, and you only get one shot. It's only 10 questions, and you are allowed 1 wrong answer, but it's very difficult.
14. Do a quick check on the client's stats.
If you click on the client's number listed in one of their assignments, you can see their reject and revision rate.
Reject rate should be no higher than 2%, and revision rate no higher than 7%.
If those figures are high, just move on. Some clients expect the world for $5-$10, and obviously you don't want to be working for them. The most you owe them for that amount of money is typo/error free copy that is coherent, and has a definite beginning, middle and end. The smart clients know this, and won't make a hassle. Their stats will reflect this.
15. Block the bad apples.
If you notice a particular client consistently stinking up the OO pool with badly written assignment descriptions, or if they send you rude revision requests, you can block them. To do this, click on their client ID number and then click, "set client on blacklist." You will no longer see their orders.
16. Keep notes on clients.
From the same page mentioned above, you can write personal notes about clients you have worked for in the past. I keep a Google Docs database of clients that make consistent orders that have clear, well-written assignment descriptions. To find their orders in the OO pool, I paste a snippet of article descriptions that they use frequently into search, or else I simply send them a message asking them to direct me to their OOs.
17. Join Teams
Once you have some client and TB feedback on your account, apply to join teams that interest you. The pay is often much higher than OO orders, and the work can be fairly consistent. An additional benefit is that the orders are likely to be on subjects that interest you. Getting on that first team is the hardest part. After that, it becomes easy to get accepted.
If I think of anything else, I'll update.
1. Use the search feature.
It's not the best internal search engine ever built, but you can still find articles that you are interested in once you learn to work around its quirks. When you write articles that fascinate you, you write better, and clients will take notice. Additionally, these articles are much, much faster to write.
2. Make note of categories that interest you.
Write them down somewhere, and then only look for work within those categories. This will really help you cut down on time searching for an article. As you'll soon see, most of your time on Textbroker will be spent looking for a writable assignment. The caveat to this is if your preferred categories are dry.
3. Make sure your Direct Order price is above the fixed price for your level.
So, if you're a level 3, make sure your DO (Direct Order) price is above 1 cent per word. This will help you cut down on DO requests from Cheap Charleys who want to make you their personal writing boy/girl for peanuts. (They do exist, and they have this attitude that they are doing you a huge favor by offering you work at the OO rate) DO's take a lot longer on average to write than orders from the OO pool because the client feels he has the right to communicate with you more and request bigger revisions. Make sure you are compensated for this.
4. Keep a consistent DO rate.
I know from personal experience that if a client really wants you to write for them and they feel your DO rate is too high, Textbroker will step in on their behalf and ask if you are willing to lower your rate for the client. Be polite, but turn them down. Your rate is your rate. Don't play favorites, and don't sell yourself short. Everyone on Textbroker is looking for a deal, but if they really like your style, they'll pay your rate.
5. Frame your article
Before writing a single word, frame your article in Google Docs like so:
-Intro paragraph
-Main point of paragraph 1
--followed by 2 backup points
-Main point of paragraph 2
--followed by 2 backup points
etc
-closing paragraph
Doing it this way will ensure that your article is well structured. Even if well written, TB will rate you low if your article is a mess and/or incoherent
A 500 word article should have around 4 "meat" paragraphs, with an intro and outro. I strongly recommend writing the intro last. It's much easier this way.
6. Read your article aloud.
This is maybe the most important step of all. TB does demand a rather high level of quality from its writers, and one sure-fire way to catch awkward phrasing and misused words is to read your article aloud. Trust me, once you've written 8 articles in a single five hour period, you will be in danger of making some silly mistakes on number 9 and 10. Read the article aloud before you do any editing to catch the glaring mistakes.
7. Edit, edit, edit.
Once you've read your article aloud and gotten rid of the big stuff, run it through a scanner like PaperRater (Free) or Grammarly (Not Free) to catch grammar and usage errors. Don't depend on these tools; they don't catch everything. To maintain a high level of quality and high TB ranking, you really do have to have a great handle on grammar. That said, these tools can make your life easier.
You shouldn't be spending too much time on editing, and the best practice is to learn to edit as you write, and then edit again once you're done. It takes practice to self-edit quickly and to do it well.
8. Don't spend more than a minute on a given assignment description
If you read it once and it doesn't make sense, move on. Obviously, TB clients are not writers themselves, and many assignment descriptions are horribly written. This is just the way it is. Now, if you are a level 3, you may not be able to be so picky, but at level 4 you can and must be. Otherwise, you'll find that you spent half the day trying to decipher descriptions.
On a similar note, don't waste time writing to the client and asking them to elaborate. Give them feedback if you want, but other than that, just move on.
9. Don't shit where you sleep.
This should go without saying, but don't go trolling in the TB forums. Don't flame, or hate or incite anything. TB is a small company, and if you make a stink, you will be remembered.
10. Don't count on becoming a 5 star.
There really aren't that many 5 star TB writers. Just write to your best ability, and be content with what you can make at the 4 star level. (You shouldn't be depending on this one gig anyway) If you make it to 5 star, great. If you don't, fine. Don't sweat it.
11. Learn the AP Style Guide.
There's really no way of getting around this. If you don't know AP Style, you won't last long at TB. Even worse, TB disagrees with some AP Style points, and you have to learn where. A great place to look for this info is on the TB Author forum. The people there are generally helpful.
12. Always use a comma after an introductory clause.
Just do it, whether you think the sentence requires a comma or not. It's a TB pet peeve.
13. Don't take the proofreading test until you are 110% ready.
It's a prerequisite to becoming a 5 star, it's incredibly difficult, and you only get one shot. It's only 10 questions, and you are allowed 1 wrong answer, but it's very difficult.
14. Do a quick check on the client's stats.
If you click on the client's number listed in one of their assignments, you can see their reject and revision rate.
Reject rate should be no higher than 2%, and revision rate no higher than 7%.
If those figures are high, just move on. Some clients expect the world for $5-$10, and obviously you don't want to be working for them. The most you owe them for that amount of money is typo/error free copy that is coherent, and has a definite beginning, middle and end. The smart clients know this, and won't make a hassle. Their stats will reflect this.
15. Block the bad apples.
If you notice a particular client consistently stinking up the OO pool with badly written assignment descriptions, or if they send you rude revision requests, you can block them. To do this, click on their client ID number and then click, "set client on blacklist." You will no longer see their orders.
16. Keep notes on clients.
From the same page mentioned above, you can write personal notes about clients you have worked for in the past. I keep a Google Docs database of clients that make consistent orders that have clear, well-written assignment descriptions. To find their orders in the OO pool, I paste a snippet of article descriptions that they use frequently into search, or else I simply send them a message asking them to direct me to their OOs.
17. Join Teams
Once you have some client and TB feedback on your account, apply to join teams that interest you. The pay is often much higher than OO orders, and the work can be fairly consistent. An additional benefit is that the orders are likely to be on subjects that interest you. Getting on that first team is the hardest part. After that, it becomes easy to get accepted.
If I think of anything else, I'll update.
Last edited:
. I can make a lot more at Constant-Content (when Constant-Content is getting traffic, anyway) than I can at TB, so I just rage quit. 
