My Experience On Hubpages Compared To My Experience On Textbroker

So far I’ve had an account at Textbroker.com for several months. It’s had its ups and downs. Just among the hubbers I follow, two have written about their experiences on Textbroker, so I am going to add my voice to the fray.

First, Textbroker is very upfront. A writer is assigned a rating from 2 to 5, and paid per word according to ranking. You get a ranking by submitting a short writing sample, which of course you don’t get paid for. The time spent on it is pretty much the only start up cost you will encounter. They get back to you pretty quickly, in a day or two.

Based on my writing sample I was ranked a number 4 writer, which I was happy about. Texbroker makes a point of saying that only an experienced, professional writer would get a 5 rating. At level 4 I am paid 1.5 cents a word. Your rating can go up or down based on reviews of submitted articles by both the Textbroker site and the client who purchases your work, so you can get a promotion or a pay cut based on performance. To put this quickly into dollars per hour: if you write & edit 1,000 words an hour at the 1.5 cents rate you will earn $15/hour, 1,250 words an hour earns you $18.75, and 1,500 words earns $22.50. Textbroker pays into a paypal account, and has a payday every week.

Establishing an account on Textbroker took very little effort. I didn’t fill in anything on the profile but my name. While I took quite a bit of time setting up my Hubpages account, writing a profile I hoped would present me as intelligent, interesting and an all around great person, I had nothing to gain by an attractive Textbroker profile. The Textbroker writer chooses assignments, and any article asking for level 4 or below is open to me. Theoretically, a client could like my profile so much that they send me a Direct Order, which I could then accept or reject. (I’m not really expecting this to happen, which may explain the blank profile page.)

While I’ve spent plenty of time going over my Hubpages account, adjusting my profile, and feeling proud as my diverse collection of well illustrated hubs grew, I haven’t felt moved to even fill in the hobby line on Textbroker. This might sound a little strange, given I’ve made money on Textbroker with a small time investment, and no money after a substantial time investment on Hubpages. But Hubpages is fun. Sometimes I look at my profile page just for the heck of it. I’m sharing ideas that mean something to me, and people leave thoughtful feedback on my hubs. I can start a conversation on the forums, or jump into an already ongoing debate. The rewards are personal.

The rewards of Hubpages have spilled over into the rest of my life. For instance, I wrote a hub about my relationship with my daughter, and another about my relationship with my son, and the writing helped refine in my own mind how I relate to each of them, how each has changed me as a person, and how the experience of parenting influences how I see my own childhood. Really, that is a lot. While I didn’t get paid, I would have had to shell out a lot in therapy bills to gain the self awareness writing those hubs gave me.

With Textbroker, I get paid. That sums it up. I don’t know where the articles go, and my name won’t be on them wherever they are. I think it’s the opposite in fact. I did one assignment which the client said they would be using as a guest blog for one of their own clients. I take that to mean my article will be sold to a website, I’m sure for a very hefty markup. Maybe the site will say something very complimentary about that little article, but I will never know.

For bringing in cash, nothing beats Textbroker. The site pays quickly, and the work is straightforward. You can work on your own schedule. Once you are paid of course, the benefits are mostly done. The things you get to keep from your work on Textbroker are the discipline and writing skills you gain, and a record of consistent writing that you may be able to cite in an interview for a more conventional type job.

While Hubpages doesn’t pay up front, and most people have to write regularly for a year or more to see a return, the future possibilities are endless. Your hubs may create an income stream in the future that will continue to pay even when you take time off. Also, Hubpages can be a springboard to other things. I hope to write ebooks for homeschoolers in the future, and one way to market them is through Hubpages.

This summer, since I have no summer classes to teach, I will probably do some writing on Textbroker. It will get me cash, which always comes in handy in the summer, and will take care of school clothes, new backpacks, sports fees, and all those little charges that come to parents with the start of the new school year. Meanwhile, I’ll be building my future on Hubpages.