The Fall of Content Writing Platform: An End of an Era?

Note: This article refers to a particular classification of writing platforms. The definition of content writing sites often includes freelance writing services that cater to clients looking for articles for their sites or publications. The sites mentioned are the types in which writers published their own works on the platform and earn (in most cases) passive income based on views.

The final word of an article has been written. And it’s time to hit the publish button. Often this is a moment to celebrate for a fledgling writer, especially one that labored for days or weeks in order to get published on the Internet.

Not only that, it’s another step toward either starting a professional writing career or fulfilling a dream of being a compensated writer. The pay may be by pennies and passive income, but it’s money nonetheless.

However, the final words written through this means may soon be the final ones ever written for many. Paying content writing platforms are now a rarity. Those that remain -- such as Hubpages and Medium -- are struggling to exist while others have done away with compensating its writers in order to survive. Ominously, there is a long list of defunct sites.

Google algorithms, private equity purchases, poor management, and the proliferation of poor quality articles has done a considerable amount of damage to reduce these services. In addition, the arrival of AI technology has not helped the situation either.

Plenty of blame can go around. However, in the end, the demise of content writing sites such as HubPages and Medium will eventually abolish a means to self publish, and silent voices yearning to be heard.

For those unfamiliar with these particular writing content sites, they are platforms that allow writers to publish their essays, poems, short stories or news articles and earn money in the process. The topics are usually vast and it gives writers the opportunity to explore the various themes and genres of writing.

Most importantly, it is a chance to hone one’s skills and it allows writers to improve their articles, even after publishing them. In all, it is (or was) presenting itself as a launching pad for new writers and a place for veteran writers to expand their portfolio.

Additionally, they created a community of writers. Many on these sites conversed with each other, via forums or comment sections at the end of stories. In many respects, the writers learned from one another and helped many to produce quality content.

Also, with the addition of editors in the later years, much of what these sites had to offer began to improve.

These sites had an added bonus. Once an article was published they could continue generating money. Platforms such as Hubpages and the defunct Helium used a passive income system based on viewership.

It wasn’t unusual for an article to go viral and generate a hefty passive income. Of course, these were based on certain factors such as search engine optimization (SEO) that helps articles to be placed high on search engines. However, that's a topic to be examined in its own right.

For nearly two decades, I wrote for several platforms and often made a substantial supplementary income that would go as high as a few hundred dollars per month. Some writers made more, in some cases pulling in four figures per month.

As the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. And it has been slow and painful.

At one point, sites such as Helium offered contests, incentives, lucrative writing projects for clients with other publications and business outlets. In addition, it was not surprising to have other publishers buy your articles and have them published in other forms of media such as print newspapers, magazines and books.

However, Helium suffered from a lack of editors and a quantity of poorly written articles. In addition, ad revenue and low search engine rankings became a major concern.

Much of that improved, and it appeared things were getting better. Then, it got bought by a major company, which changed its format and essentially ran it into the ground and out of business.

Before it folded much of the incentives that made it lucrative for writers had systematically vanished. Whereas many writers were bringing hundreds of dollars per month, they were barely able to reach the $25 payout threshold as viewership seemingly slowed overnight.

Other sites suffered fates. Here are a few:

• Squidoo merged with Hubpages.

• Wikinut, a British platform, terminated payment for writers

• Bubblews- a controversially and poorly managed site offered way more than they could offer and eventually ceased operation.

• My Two Cents started off operating in similar ways as Bubblews (and created by writers originally on that platform) and then switched to offering niche sites. While the writing and editing were superior to Bubblews, it eventually folded about a year after it started.

These are only a few that I have worked on. Currently, very few exist, and they are struggling to keep good writers as well as search engine rankings.

Trying to pinpoint what exactly happened to these sites is a complex one. It wasn’t just one factor but many. So what are some of the culprits? They are:

• Google algorithms: The dominant search engine had a say about site rankings. The algorithms they created, seemingly targeted these platforms. Many articles from the sites fell in ranking. In order to combat this, many platforms attempted to change to improve. In the end, however, it was often futile. These changes were Band-aids that temporarily stopped the bleeding, but it never healed the wound.

• Private Equity Group: Several sites have either died or were crippled after being bought out by these groups. Some of them ran these sites into the ground (allegedly on purpose). Others broke them in pieces and changed its formula to the point they chased off the writers that made these sites worthwhile.

• Bad reputation: It hurts to admit this, but for every good or great writer on these sites, there were three to four bad ones. Due to its openness to all levels of writers, many bad ones contributed. On top of that, there were conspiracy theorists spreading their drivel to all. And, in some cases, these articles went viral. It wasn’t surprising that noted scientists and historians lambasted these writers and their articles, as well as the platforms that published them.

• Low Readership: This is also something that can’t be ignored; readership was shrinking, and I suspect that this went across the board when it comes to people actively reading. This alone can be investigated and made into an article (but who would read it?). There have been polls lately that suggest that reading for pleasure has fallen by 40%.

• The rise of AI: Artificial Intelligence tools such as Gemini and ChatGPT may make Internet research fairly easy, but it also affects who reads articles from writing content platforms. In addition, some of these tools have been used by certain “writers” to create content, thus bringing up the issue if the articles are genuine or actually coming from the writer in question. Worst yet, the group that bought Hubpages reportedly had used AI to rewrite several articles on niche sites that they separated from the platform.

Unfortunately, this list isn’t complete. Many writers have their opinions as to what created the current climate that these platforms are navigating. These are only a few of the problems that have affected these sites. This gives the impression, however, that these sites may not have adjusted well to the changing landscape of technology and Internet media.

At the time of this writing, Hubpages (which this article will most likely be published to) has seen several downturns such as:

• Diminished readership/visits

• A proliferation of "spammy" or fake writers selling products.

• Talented writers leaving

• Poor management on the page (for the last five weeks the Page Views page, which shows how many people have viewed your articles, hasn’t been updated despite assurance from management that they are working on it).

• Earnings have fallen drastically.

On the forums, many writers are already talking about the eventual shuttering of the sites. They’re telling others to start backing up their articles and have given up hope that the current problems of this site are going to be fixed.

I can’t argue with these folks. I’ve seen it before when Helium was discontinued by its new owner, which never saw the platform as being a viable addition to their business (except for the domain). Luckily, most of my articles begin life on a word document program before being posted on a writing platform.

The forums also reveal that the other writing platform, Medium, is struggling. This would’ve been many Hubpages writers' choice if and when the platform eventually went out of business.

Another platform mentioned is Substack. This site has gained popularity; however, as some writers in the forum have pointed out, unless you’re famous and capable of getting readers to pay subscription for your writing, the site isn’t a money maker.

The choices are few. Aside from Medium and Substack there’s Vocal Media, Ghost and Kindle Digital Platform (KDP). Wikinut is still in existence, but doesn’t pay.

There appears to be freelance writing platform sites such as Upfront. But, these sites can be a hit or miss with writers. In addition, similar platforms are closing down, too.

There may be others, but the current listing is only enough to be counted on one hand. And soon, it will be down to a few fingers.

The end of an era is around the corner. The places to express yourself through writing without the usual gatekeepers are shrinking.

And, it’s possible that some great voices are still out there, waiting to be discovered. But, the current climate for writers is quickly becoming bleak.

It will be wonderful if more sites like these emerge or the current ones turn their fortunes around. As for now, writers of all levels of experience will end up losing.