Here is what I found so far:
Advantages
1. Free sign up
Anyone can sign up to write for iWriter. It is free and all you need is an email address and a Paypal account.
2. Site is easy to use
No fumbling around the site. You write articles by hitting the write article button. Select from the available topics to you and start writing. Requesters do the same by requesting (get) an article to be written.
3. Pays on time
iWriter pays on the dot. You choose when you get paid, every week (Tuesdays), every 2 weeks or once a month. I chose weekly payments and the first thing I see Tuesday morning is a payment from iWriter. I can't complain on this front. Payment comes from Bryxen Software.
4. Lots of available titles
I see enough titles to claim unlike Clickworker, Textbroker UK or even Populis. I am not particularly fast, so perhaps this is an advantage. Others who can churn 2 articles in an hour will find it a lucrative site. I make enough and I am satisfied with my earnings without putting too much stress on myself and the quality of articles I write.
Disadvantages
Now, these are the things I don't like about the site.
1. Starting pay is ridiculously low
You do have to work your way to earn better rates on the site. When I first started, I just wanted to hit 30 articles to get the required number of ratings. Newbies get the following rates:
300 words - $1.82
500 words - $2.83
700 words - $4.05
iWriter takes 19% as commission and Copyscape fees. The trick is to find as many short articles as you can, do them well, and get your rating to at least 4.6 stars to qualify as an elite writer. I chose 150-word articles that paid a measly $1.05 each and after 2 days, I joined the 'elite writers'. So, it doesn't take that long to write for better rates. I also only wrote for requesters who have high acceptance rates and reasonable reviews. Selecting a topic which you are familiar with also helps.
Once you are an elite writer, you can see both elite and premium articles. The rates are the following and the rates vary with each requester:
Premium articles
300 words - $3.24
500 words - $4.05
700 words - $5.26
1000 words - $7.69
Elite articles
100 words - $3.44
300 words - $5.67
500 words - $8.10
700 words - $10.12
1000 words - $14.98
So you see, it gets interesting when you get bumped as an elite writer. I picked up articles that paid as much as $18 for 1000 words and $9 for 300 words. If you get tips, these also increase your earnings. The tips I received ranged from $1 to $10. Sometimes, the tips are bigger than the price of the article. True, high paying ones are not there all the time, but they exist.
2. Unreasonable requesters
Funnily, requesters paying basic rates for articles were pickier than those paying for premium or elite articles. There are also those who expect stellar and flawless articles for $2. I've had my share of rejections, too and it's not common to see comments such as I expect more from an elite writer, poor grammar, doesn't read well, duplicate content, spun content, I don't like it, and so on. In effect, authors are at the mercy of requesters since they can reject articles without reason. If that happens, I publish the article immediately on my blog or a revenue-earning site. When I say immediately, right after it is rejected to give no chance to the requester to use my content.
However, there are also conscientious ones who are aware that rejecting an article brings the writer's rating down. I believe that there are also very bad writers on the site, so why pay for content which you can't use anyway?
What I find disgusting as well are writers who even apologize to the requesters for not meeting up to their standards. I accept rejections, but not when someone insults me. Keep your precious $8, I often say to myself. I use the 'rate the requester feature' very well, thanking good raters profusely, and asking where I went wrong to those who rejected my articles. There are simply requesters who do not give constructive feedback and instead, write insults. I am never writing for any of those. I keep a blacklist, too of requesters in the same way that they can 'favorite' authors.
3. Copyscape warnings
Once you submit an article, it is supposed to be run through Copyscape to make sure that it is not copied and is unique. I got cited for the most ridiculous words such as 'will be going to', 'are going to', and NY Times. Reference links also get flagged making me wonder if the article is really Copyscaped. In addition, I have to pay additional $0.05 for each Copyscape run. Huh? I thought this was included in their commission. I just release the article and pick it up again. When I do this, it passes through Copyscape without a problem.
My thoughts
iWriter is a decent outlet for writing articles. You get paid quickly and if you are lucky, you get special requests that pay more. I wrote for several requesters and they are quite reasonable, not to mention generous. Compared to writing for Constant-Content which is sooo stressful (3-strike rule hanging on my neck every time I submit an article), iWriter is a relaxed place. I write whenever I like a topic and I am willing to do researches on subjects I am not familiar with. At the end of the day, I learn something new and I get paid. If you think this is a good fit for you, sign up here.
