The Demise of Demand

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Melina

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roundtable

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I can't say I'm surprised. I did write for Demand prior to their restructuring. I had solid scores, rarely got articles returned for editing, and was with three sites - eHow, Whitefence, and I can't remember what the travel one was called anymore. Whitefence vanished, the travel one vanished, and they shut down all eHow activity during the restructure. The next thing I new, they were emailing saying that everyone had to "apply" again, and though I'd been a travel agent for years, they told me that I wasn't qualified to write for them because I didn't have a college degree, though I did have articles written and published in magazines, but without the degree they wouldn't consider me. Yet, friends with degrees were told they were not qualified either.

The deleted my account and that was that. The funny thing is that they've never deleted my account to their Demand Deals (corporate perks). So I can keep claiming perks, but just can't write for them.
 

juniper

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I wrote for Demand for a few months, but I was too slow to make enough money. I picked topics I was interested in, then got lost in the research. So it wasn't profitable for me.

One of the comments on that blog had this link, which shows how various content mills have fared since the Panda update from Google.

http://pandalized.com
 

triceretops

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I was with them for two years (still am), carried over 4.0 scores, low rejections and worked in the automotive. I wrote over 1,700 articles and made a gawd awful lot of money from them. Then they got weird. It got to the point where I could only write detail articles, even with a background of heavy rebuild mechanics (30 years), several certificates and licenses and an a very successful auto repair book. If anything, I'll be only glad when the CEs and section chiefs really get what's coming to them--unemployment. Those are the people that caused so many problems. Yet, the DMS system was flawed from the beginning, imo, where greed got in the way and spam-like articles flooded the market.

I'm barely getting by with TextBroker at the moment. But I am getting by and it's less hassle on all fronts.

tri

ETA: According to the article, all content mills are in, or will be in trouble as a result of this. Kind of like a failing trend. Now, I'm not sure about the definition, but Textbroker works by a different model, I think. Clients actually solicit writers and go through the company. They pay for what they want. A content mill is a company that just throws SEO crap out there and hope it Google sticks. Am I correct about that? There is a difference. We also have teams and direct orders, where clients favor you and specifically hire you for a job or many. DMS did not operate like that. BTW DMS stock has been falling more than usual since this announcement, and 15 were let go in the R & D department for their content only section. They're scrambling to bolster up their other operations and departments.
 
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roundtable

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I was doing okay with Textbroker, strictly through direct orders though, but once they announced they were raising rates and that current clients would be grandfathered until December, those three DO clients disappeared. I do okay at a couple other of mills now, but no where near what I was earning at DS years ago. My income comes from private clients for the most part, and then I have a few mills not many people know of that supplements when I need the supplements.

But Google's changes have worked well for some and not for others. My book review blog (run through Blogger which is owned by Google skyrocketed), the changes also helped a number of my private clients. It did, however, kill sites like Populis, Wikio, Merchant Circle. I also found that after the first Google change, suddenly work dried up at Internet Brands, though they're supposedly hiring again.

Bottom line for DS was that many of their titles were garbage. Titles like "how to add egg to packaged ramen noodles" or "how to prepare boxed macaroni and cheese" were not really quality material. Add in the editors who often went off on their own tangents and I'm not surprised they're struggling. Some of those editors were pitiful. I had one tell me that they didn't like the recipes I chose for an article on "the best rum drinks," and he/she then gave me a list of recipes that they loved and wanted me to use those instead.
 

Summonere

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... A content mill is a company that just throws SEO crap out there and hope it Google sticks. Am I correct about that?

Yeah, you're pretty much right about that. I worked for a company contracting with Google to weed out those kinds of search results when they turned up, which did nothing but water down legitimate, useful results, and tick off users.
 

TheHungryFreelancer

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I think this is just one more reason why it's so important to branch out and have several eggs in your basket when it comes to writing.

I was also a Demand writer back before they restructured everything. I wrote exclusively for them for over a year and made great money. Then one day I logged in and you had to reapply for all the sites you were already writing for. They basically forced all of their writers to reapply for their own jobs. (Remind you of Office Space? A little bit?)

When you could browse 300,000 article titles and easily do 3-4 in an hour, the money was definitely worth it. Once they restructured, in my opinion, they demonstrated that they didn't really care about their writers.
 

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I wrote for DS as well. I had over 1,000 articles with them. My topics were on gardening and home improvement. I did well to begin with, but then the editors were always different. What one editor would accept, the other would reject. I learned not to do the rewrites because they were always rejected.

Then came the "you have to reapply." So I did, twice. Each time I was rejected because I didn't meet their requirements. But that wasn't true. It said that we had to meet at least one of their requirements. Experience: I have over 40 years gardening experience. I learned from my parents and I was employeed at a greenhouse where I did everything from planting to selling. Writing: I wrote for them and Yahoo Voices. The only qualification I did not have was a college degree. Since they said that I didn't meet any of their qualifications, I wondered what they were looking for.
 

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Then came the "you have to reapply." So I did, twice. Each time I was rejected because I didn't meet their requirements. But that wasn't true. It said that we had to meet at least one of their requirements. Experience: I have over 40 years gardening experience. I learned from my parents and I was employeed at a greenhouse where I did everything from planting to selling. Writing: I wrote for them and Yahoo Voices. The only qualification I did not have was a college degree. Since they said that I didn't meet any of their qualifications, I wondered what they were looking for.

There is a woman I know on another forum who has a degree in physical therapy. She'd written health articles for DS for years, and when she reapplied, they told her that she didn't meet their qualifications, so a degree isn't the deciding factor. My guess is that they're looking for writers with print experience. There is another writer who said she lacked a degree and simply had a few food articles published in print magazines and local newspapers. DS accepted her.
 

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Well, this makes me feel better about the fact that they rejected my application. Sorry to anyone who writes there and may be losing some income, though. :(
 

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Has anyone heard anything else about the status of Demand Studios? Are they folding, or are they downsizing again? When I visit the automotive section, it seems like nothing has changed, including the article pools and such, which are stuck at around 2,800 articles and I think they are the same ones I've seen for months.

tri
 

strictlytopsecret

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Their editors are capricious at best, and incompetent at worst.

I wrote 10 or so early in the winter, and haven't been back. The whole editor craziness thing was very off-putting.
 

-May-

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I don't get them. I constantly see Craigslist posts in the "writing jobs" section talking about how article writers are needed $330 - $60 bucks an article (I know, they are inflating that). Then I apply because I figure - hey a little cash can't hurt, and my application has been pending for TWO MONTHS.
 

triceretops

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May, I truly believe that they DO NOT have the article pool from which to pull any work for new members. The fact that they continually advertize for writers is a blatant guise, in that halting incoming applications or announcing a full house would give the impression that they are winding down. They need to put up that front, especially to the stock holders who've literally lost their butts in investments.

I can't begin to tell you what misery this company has caused for its fully qualified, full-time writers. Like an idiot, I went along with DMS, writing every day, content and happy. Until Google Panda hit and turned everything upside down. I lost my house as a result of the work stoppage. I've since recovered. And the irony of it is, is that I'm still a member but reduced to writing only articles dealing with "detailing" in the Automotive Section. My section chief was/is a Nazi who terrorized the writers into submission, penalty or firing. There is no other way to describe his insufferable attitude toward dedicated and loyal authors.

I hope they get what's coming to them--complete lock-down and business failure.

tri
 

joyce

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I don't get them. I constantly see Craigslist posts in the "writing jobs" section talking about how article writers are needed $330 - $60 bucks an article (I know, they are inflating that). Then I apply because I figure - hey a little cash can't hurt, and my application has been pending for TWO MONTHS.
DMS does have an application queue with applications waiting to be approved. The company only hires writers as each section needs them and some sections require new writers quicker than others. That's probably why your application is sitting -- the section presently has a hold on it.

The company is not going under and is in the process of changes for the better. The qualifications have become stricter than they once were, because the quality of the material needs to be better for the company to retain a good reputation and stay in business. If they were still publishing some of crap that went down the pike a few years back the entire outfit would be dead, like other sites, and many people would be out of a job.

I've been writing there since 2008 and have been through quite a bit of changes and still survived. Sure it has its problems like any company, but I still say it's the best paying content site out there, if you're willing to put in the effort to produce quality content. It's quite possible to make hundreds of dollars a week there, IMHO. DMS has been a major player in paying my bills for quite a few years now.
 

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I was part of the eHow Expert program way, way, back as the Herbal Medicine Expert. At its height, I was making $3000 or so a month residual earnings. I had around 100 articles in the system on that niche. Once they got rid of the expert program and "invited" me to sign up through Demand that was it for me. I knew they were in a downward spiral. This was a very interesting update.
 

Jamesaritchie

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Good riddance. Nothing is worse for writers than content sites, yet thousands of writers keep giving away articles, destroying their own business, their own career, the work we all do, and their own reputations, in the process.
 

Abderian

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Sorry, but Demand is alive and thriving. Opening new sections and rewriting all those millions of poorly researched and badly written eHow articles of five or six years ago. Many writers make a decent living writing for the site.
 

AnnaNimidi

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Yep, They are alive, and seem much improved

Abederian, do you work there? I just got approved for a couple of new sections and am about to dive in. Is it truly possible to make a living there now? It looks like it. My sections have 1500 or so titles each, so theoretically it could work. Just sort of gun shy from watching work disappear in the past.

Anyhoo...would like to hear about the experiences of folks who are actually writing there now.
 

Abderian

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Abederian, do you work there? I just got approved for a couple of new sections and am about to dive in. Is it truly possible to make a living there now? It looks like it. My sections have 1500 or so titles each, so theoretically it could work. Just sort of gun shy from watching work disappear in the past.

Anyhoo...would like to hear about the experiences of folks who are actually writing there now.

Hi Anna Yes I write for DMS, though not full time. Some writers make a good living there but as you know from past experience, there's no guarantee the work will be around forever, though the same is true for most freelance writing gigs.

If you haven't written there for a while, I suggest you go over the guidelines carefully and read the stickies on the relevant forums before plunging in. Standards and expectations have gone up considerably in the last few years.
 

AnnaNimidi

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Hi Anna Yes I write for DMS, though not full time. Some writers make a good living there but as you know from past experience, there's no guarantee the work will be around forever, though the same is true for most freelance writing gigs.

If you haven't written there for a while, I suggest you go over the guidelines carefully and read the stickies on the relevant forums before plunging in. Standards and expectations have gone up considerably in the last few years.

I never wrote there, was always approved as a writer but did titling work instead because it was easy and lucrative.


So I read up on the guidelines and started writing. Had my first three articles approved with no rewrites & virtually no edits. The whole system seems much improved - higher pay, nicer editors, clearer guidelines. I'm gonna ride this new wave and see where it ends up.
 

Abderian

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I never wrote there, was always approved as a writer but did titling work instead because it was easy and lucrative.


So I read up on the guidelines and started writing. Had my first three articles approved with no rewrites & virtually no edits. The whole system seems much improved - higher pay, nicer editors, clearer guidelines. I'm gonna ride this new wave and see where it ends up.

Glad to hear it's working out for you.
 

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Hmm, that's interesting that Demand Studios has a new CEO. I wonder if there's a chance for those writers who got rejected to re-apply. My story is similar to a few of you who posted. I started writing on eHow when you could write about anything you wanted and then when Demand Studios decided to invite some of the eHow writers over to exclusively write for them I was completely flattered to be accepted because I was still new at writing articles, especially using the AP style & not having any journalism experience. I can't remember if that was when they bought out all of our articles for a lump sum. I think I wrote about 60-70 articles until they decided to ask some of the writers to reapply and write 3 good articles to continue writing with Demand. Knowing that there were published writers on that site, not to mention writers who had articles published in the Wall Street Journal, I did feel out of my element but even though I got 2 out of the 3 articles accepted, I felt honored I was in good company. My score was usually average, almost to proficient...lol. All in all, my experience writing for Demand Studios/eHow was good because I learned a lot, especially from the editors and it was fun seeing my stuff online. I just ran into one article I wrote that is currently on Match.com which is kinda of funny...check it out:
http://datingtips.match.com/attract-men-poor-social-skills-13197130.html
I think we earned $15 an article which was fine with me but toward the end I found that it was really hard to find good articles to write out of their queue because they'd be snatched up so fast and also it started to turn into a stressful job with the deadlines and edits which was prob due to my lack of experience. But after seeing some of my old articles, I'm kind of missing it. Has anyone ever tried to get re-hired? Just curious. :)
 
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