Writing Articles for Money
SkyWord provides an interesting option for freelance writers offering the best of two worlds: First writers can earn up front payments and second they can earn revenue share. I am going to discuss the “Bounty” program since this is the only one that I am participating in at the moment.
Signing up with SkyWord
Like most other writing sites, SkyWord will ask you to register with a user name, password and provide your PayPal email address.Unlike many of the sites today however, SkyWord will not request that you provide a writing sample (yet)! The registration form is straightforward and does not really provide a lot of information but they do provide clear information about who they are.
While most writing sites provide users with a list of assignments that are available, SkyWord provides writers with a list of programs that are available. For each program, writers will be asked to register for that program. When you register, the program will tell you what the requirements are.
The Bounty Program
The Bounty Program known as Bounty at Home is a simple program that requires writers to submit a minimum of 10 articles per month. In addition to paying $10 upfront, the program also pays writers revenue share based on page views .Page views are paid for “bulk” views and not “incremental” views.
What’s good about Bounty at Home
The best thing about Bounty at Home is that the articles are really easy to write. In fact, the format is very straightforward and simple to follow. SkyWord provides an excellent template and as long as you follow it you should be all set. In addition, the articles can be as short as 250 words. The tools provided include how optimized your article is, it points out any typographical errors and points out “passive” sentences. It’s easy to produce two or three of these an hour.
What’s not so good
The approval process is tedious. It can take up to four weeks to get your articles approved in this program. In fairness, since so many writers were up in arms about this, the editors at SkyWord have temporarily halted any new submissions and plan to streamline this process.
The payment structure
Payment is painless! SkyWord sends payments directly to PayPal twice a month. Here is the information for “non-news” payments (which Bounty at Home falls under):
- Earnings accrued during the first half of the month will be deposited into your PayPal account on the last business day of the same month.
- Earnings accrued during the second half of the month will be deposited into your PayPal account on the 15th of the following month (if the 15th falls on a weekend, you will be paid the Friday before).
Of course, the downside of this is that if the articles take a long time to get approved, the payments are erratic.
My overall opinion is that the program is excellent, SkyWord is good about keeping writers informed and overall the platform is easy to use. I recommend the program highly (in spite of the current delays!).
About Doreen Martel
Well-rounded freelance writer who contributes to various blogs, paid to write sites and revenue sharing sites. Doreen is legally blind and has worked at home for more than 10 years. She uses the lessons learned from this experience to enhance her writing and share information with others.
Thanks for the info Doreen.
I actually just registered with Skyword, but I haven’t done anything for them yet. It’s a nice option though.
Hi Doreen,
Thank you for your review of the Bounty Program on Skyword. If I can be of any help to you (or anyone else that may have questions about Skyword) please send me an email. It’s been a pleasure working with you, Doreen.
-Adam Vavrek, Skyword Writer Services Manager
@avavrek
Support@skyword.com