4 Realistic Sites for Beginners to Get Paid to Write Articles
[Updated for 2023]
Let me be real with you. This article is about where you can get paid to write articles. By the end of this article, you’ll have four 100% real websites that will let you get paid to write articles.
But I'm about to recommend websites that will pay you only a very little amount of money to write a lot of content. AKA, content mills.
You deserve better. You deserve more. But the places that hire you to earn more money aren't ready for you yet. (And you’re not ready for them.)
In order to build your confidence and your portfolio, you're going to need a little stopover in the “Experience Builder” zone first. That's what this is. This list of websites will help you get paid to write articles — only a little, but that’s because their main purpose is to give your profitable skills and experience.
Today, I make somewhere between $0.25 to a dollar per word depending on my client and the contract. I don't do anything special – this is something you can do too, given time and knowledge. But you have to work up to it. I started using these four websites that helped me get paid for writing articles before I even knew $1 a word was an option.
Let’s dive in. These are four websites where you can get paid to write articles no matter your experience level.
Number 1: Textbroker
Ah, Textbroker, my old friend/nemesis. I've done a full review on Textbroker if you want to check that out. I also reviewed them again for my article about 5 writing platforms that pay beginners.
Textbroker is a website where you will get paid around a penny a word to do something I suspect is SEO bolstering for clients.
My experience with Textbroker:
I was hired to Google a particular keyword, click on the 3rd link that came up, and spend a good amount of time on their website. Then I had to write about what I found.
How does Textbroker work?
To get assignments, you first need to take a test that will determine your star rating. Depending on your star rating, you will have different orders at different financial levels available to you. I have completed four assignments and got paid one penny/word.
Cons of Textbroker
I found the assignments to be really boring. Yes, I'm a little salty because when I did their quiz they told me I was only a three-star writer, and I think I'm a really good writer. But honestly, the whole thing was dodgy AF to me. The website was janky, the quiz was suspect, and the work was very strange.
Pros of Textbroker
So why do I recommend this as a place to get paid to write articles? Because it's very easy. Anyone can join. It's likely that you will do better than I did on the quiz and maybe access some more financially rewarding assignments. You can get accepted, start writing, get paid to write articles, and move on to the next best thing when you get the opportunity.
Number 2: Medium.
Medium is the best place to make writing online. You get paid to write articles about anything under the sun that you fancy writing about.
My experience with Medium
I love Medium. I have 80k followers on Medium and have earned close to $100k writing for Medium about anything that interests me. For example, I wrote about a trip I made to a small town in southern Spain. I also write about why learn computer science. I also write about pop culture and technology.
How does Medium work?
Here’s how you get paid to write articles on Medium: when a paying medium member reads your story, you earn a small portion of their monthly membership fee. The more of your story gets read, the more money that story earns. I've had stories earn thousands of dollars; I've had stories earn just a buck.
Cons of Medium
Now here's the awkward truth: unless you start off being an incredible writer and knowing a lot about how the algorithm works, you probably won't make very much at the start. In fact, you won't get paid anything at all until you have 100 followers.
Pros of Medium
I still recommend Medium as a place to get paid to write articles for beginners, and a great place to build experience and a portfolio.
Why? Because you decide what you want to write about, the community is amazing, and the potential is very high. Your article could make a lot of money. It probably won't, which is why Medium only earns a spot on my “Experience Builder” zone list of places to get paid to write articles.
But it could.
So sign up, get to your 100 followers by posting continuously, or simply by asking 100 people to follow you, and start earning something for your writing.
A note: the Medium Partner Program is what allows you to get paid for your work. Medium Membership is what allows you to read for free. You don’t need one for the other. However, I recommend becoming a member so that you can read unlimited stories, which helps you grow your network and learn what works. It’s just $5/month.
Number 3: Copify
Copify is similar to Textbroker. You don't get to choose what to write about. First, you have to be accepted. Once you’re in, clients will put jobs on a board, you accept them, and you get paid about a penny per word. You can get paid to write articles, or product descriptions, or social media posts, or whatever the client wants.
My experience with Copify
I applied ages ago, back when I was still a Master's student in England, before I had any professional writing experience. I was thrilled to earn somewhere between five and ten pounds a week from my writing (about $4-$8), which was enough to buy me a drink in the pub every week.
Cons of Copify
I’ve heard it’s hard to get in nowadays. Also, like Textbroker, the assignments can be a little boring.
Pros of Copify
Copify earns a spot on this list of places to get paid to write articles because it was where I got my grounding and how to write very boring things very quickly and very well. This is a hugely valuable skill that will take you very far in your career. I can't tell you how many ceramic bidet product descriptions I wrote, and I won't embarrass myself by telling you how little I got paid for them, but the ability to do that has earned me thousands of dollars afterward. Go to Copify to learn how to write copy.
I also prefer it to Textbroker because it seems like you're writing actual copy that's going to go on an actual website, not just helping someone out with their Google ranking by clicking on their link.
Number 4: PopSugar
You probably are familiar with PopSugar, even if you don't know it. They often write listicles or human interest that go viral.
My experience with Popsugar
Guess what? I have written some of those listicles. Yes, I have a profile at PopSugar. This is also the best-paid place to get paid to write articles. You’ll earn a guaranteed $50 for a 600-800 word articles, and you get paid promptly.
Article assignment for me. $50 to write 4-8 paragraphs! Good stuff.
Cons of Popsugar
It’s not very “intellectual” writing. It’s all listicles and “I tried Celebrity Y’s Daily Routine, and this is what happened.”
I've recently become aware of a certain snobbery among a lot of writers I encounter. Nobody wants to write listicles. Everyone thinks they're better than listicles. Guess what? Readers want listicles. Listicles are easy to read, they are value-packed, and they pay the bills. Almost all of my most popular stories are listicles.
Pros of Popsugar
If you want to learn how to write a listicle or anything else that stands a good chance of going viral, go to Popsugar and join their Voices program. They pay pretty well too. I got paid about $50 per piece of about 600 to 800 words. If you want to get paid to write articles, it’s always worth learning how to write this kind of stuff because it’s what readers love.
Get paid to write articles. Maybe not much, but these actually work.
I've seen a lot of articles lately about places that promise hundreds or even thousands of dollars for accepted articles. You know the kind. “7 Magazines Looking for Nonfiction That Pay $200-$1000 per Article.” “17 places to earn $1 a word.”
You might get those opportunities, but I don't think you will. I don’t mean to insult you, but competition is fierce. And if you're reading this, you probably don't have clients knocking on your door asking to pay the rates that you deserve. (Plus, those opportunities are usually weirdly specific, like people who like geology and live in Southwestern Arizona.)
That's why I want to give this slightly more realistic list of places where you can get paid to write articles. You will not get paid a lot. Honestly, you're not going to get paid what you deserve. But in order for you to start charging those rates, and – and this is critical, to start feeling like you're earning those rates – you have to build up your experience.
