Writers.Work claims to be an "all-in-one platform for launching your dream job" so that you can "write your way to the life you want"--but is it really all that great?
Some of the advertisements do make this platform sound a little too good to be true, and there are some claims that it is a scam, so doing a little extra research and wanting more information before joining is completely understandable.
In this Writers.Work review I'll be going over all you need to know--the good and the bad. I'll take you on a tour through the platform to show you what all you get as a member, talk about who it's best for, go over common complaints and scam allegations, whether or not it's worth the cost and more.
Is this place worth joining to boost your freelance writing career? Let's find out...
What Is Writers.Work?
- Website: Writers.Work
- What You Get: Freelance writer's platform with access to tools, job search, training and more
- Price: $47 for lifetime access or $15/mo
- Money-back Guarantee?: Yes, 30 days
- Rating: 7.5 out of 10 (the negative reviews I'll go over bring it down)
Overview: Writers.Work is an "all-in-one" platform for writers looking to make money in the world of freelance writing. Joining isn't free, but members are provided with a lot, such as training, tools, and the job search feature.
In a nutshell, this place makes things as easy as possible to manage an entire freelance writing career (or most of it) all from one platform.
Overall it is a good platform and could be well worth the price. HOWEVER, it isn't for everyone and might not be worth it for writers that already have experience, as you will see--it's mostly geared towards people starting out and helps make things as easy as possible.
Related: Beginner freelance writers may also want to consider easy (but low paying) routes like Constant Content and Crowd Content.
A Look Inside the Platform
When you first login you will be taken to the main dashboard, which looks like this...
The first thing you see are some daily stats that let you know how you are performing--which include the words typed and time spent typing, and are supposed to keep you on track.
Below that you have recent documents that you can manage, and then below that you will be able to see recent messages and job search results.
The dashboard has a nice layout and allows you to easily pick up right where you left off--and not forget what you were doing (which happens).
Features
Over in the left-hand menu you have all the different features of the platform--let's start out by taking a look at the job finder, which is simply labeled as "Jobs".
1. Job Finder
Source: Writers.Work
Writers Work's job finder area, which is what they call their "magical job finder" is where you are going to be able to find writing jobs that are available, as you could guess.
But there really isn't anything "magical" about this job finder. Many of the jobs you will find listed are pulled from other job board sites, such as ProBlogger and Indeed. They do have some exclusive listings but many of the jobs you can find elsewhere for free.
So then you may be wondering... what's the point?
Well, the point is that Writers Work does an excellent job of bringing top writing job postings soon after they are posted, to give members the best possible chance of being able to get work. Using the job search can save a lot of time because they bring jobs from all over and list them for you right here, in one location.
Some common writing jobs you will come across include things like...
- Articles
- Landing pages
- Blog posts
- Social media posts
- Sales copies, etc.
And you will be able to find part-time, full-time, contract positions, jobs that are just for one project, etc. You can find it all.
Filtering Results
One of the best features of the job search tool is that you can filter your results, and in a variety of ways, such as by salary, employment type, payment type, and you can even choose to filter "only beginner friendly" jobs--which is great if you are a newbie.
Job Alerts
You will have the ability to set up job alerts so that you get notified when a new job is posted that meets your criteria. This is a great feature because it allows you to jump on opportunities before others get to them.
2. Writers Marketplace
In addition to being able to find jobs yourself, clients looking for writers will also be able to reach out to you.
They will be able to search for certain types of writers and view writer profiles...
Clients can also search for services you post, such as blog post services, social media posts, etc. and hire you this way.
3. Submission Section
Members will also be able to filter through publications that accept pitch submissions from writers.
Basically what you would do in this section is look for publications that are of interest to you and make a pitch, and if accepted you will be able to write an article for them and get paid.
These submissions are a "one and done" type of deal. You make a pitch, if it gets accepted you write the article, and you get paid.
With most of the listings for submissions there will be an email that is included, which you will send your pitch to. There will be some details and instructions on what they want the article to be like, and then you have to get creative.
*If there is no email address listed then you will submit your pitch through the publication's website.
4. Text Editor
Source: writers.work
To help further your career as a writer, and make things easier on you, they also have a nifty little text editor where you can type and edit your documents.
And there is a lot more going on here than just some boring text editor. According to the website, there are over 2,000 grammar, style and readability checks performed on your documents within this editor.
You will be given readability scores so that you know how well written your content is, you will have the word count at all times, spell checking of course, and more.
5. Project Management
To further help you stay focused and organized as you manage writing projects and hopefully make some good money, they have a project management feature.
Here you can create different projects, create tasks within the projects, link to documents and so on...
There is another tab on the menu of "Goals". This isn't part of the project management area, but it is a great way to help manage time and stay on task, which is why I'm talking about it in this section.
You are able to create future goals--for example to write a certain number of words each day, which helps you stay focused and moving forward.
6. Training
The training portion, called "University", is basically a bunch of training material (mostly videos) that is broken down into different modules and lessons.
There is training that covers beginner stuff like getting started, publishing documents--and good quality more advanced training on everything from copywriting to landing pages.
So not only do you have a job board that lists a bunch of available jobs, but you also have the training so that you can hopefully land some of the decent jobs--even if you are just starting out.
7. Online Portfolio
Not much to be said here--the online portfolio feature allows you to showcase yourself and your work. It's pretty basic overall but could still be helpful, particularly for beginners.
8. Premium Courses
If you are in the main dashboard and scroll down to the bottom of the menu on the left-hand side you will see a tab for Premium Courses.
These "add-on" courses include PDF guides, living coaching and more.
Freelance Writers' Toolkit - This comes in the form of a PDF document that can be downloaded after purchase. It includes all sorts of templates and cheatsheets--and even goes as far to include a tax guide, resume template, sample client contracts and more. Cost = $29
Freelance Writer's Toolkit/Coaching Session Bundle - In addition to the toolkit, you will be able to chat with an experienced freelance writer for 30 minutes. These sessions will be customized for your particular situation, goals you have, questions and so on--and can be very valuable. Cost = $99
After each session you will be sent a transcript of what was said, this way you don't have to go crazy keeping notes.
Premium Courses Bundle - This contains two courses that Writers.Work offers called "Jumpstarting Your Freelance Writing Career" and "A Beginner's Guide to Writing for the Web". Cost = $99
9. Other Features
The platform is jammed packed with features. Those mentioned above are the most notable, but they go above and beyond in many ways to provide writers with all they need.
For example, they have a "Habit Builder Tool" that helps push you forward by trying to get you to beat previous records (such as words written in a day)--and even go as far as to give you a white noise feature so that you can listen to soothing sounds while working, which hopefully will boost productivity.
The 3 Ways to Make Money
I already covered them, but let's talk about the 3 ways you can earn money all in one nice little section. These ways include...
- Job Search - You will be able to use the job search feature to find writing jobs that you are interested in and apply to them.
- Submissions - They have the submission section where you can make your pitch--and if accepted you will be able to submit an article for pay.
- Writer's Marketplace - Here clients will be able search for writers and potentially hire you. So make sure your writer's profile is good!
Applying for Jobs Found Through The Job Search
Although this is considered an "all in one" platform, not everything is handled within Writers Work.
For most of the job postings you will be directed to the appropriate websites to apply, such as Indeed or ProBlogger for example.
This all depends on where the listings are coming from.
Note: When you click on a job listing you want to apply for you may get a popup window so that you can continue. If you have an adblocker it may not appear.
How Much Can You Make With Writers Work?
On the website they state that "freelance writers can earn anywhere from $20-$65/hr". In annual income (if working 40 hours a week) this equates to $39k - $130k per year. And even if you were to do this just part-time, lets say 20 hours a week, that would still be a nice crispy $19.5k - $65k per year.
But how realistic is this really? I mean, it's not like companies don't overhype their opportunities to try to lure people to buy in all the time--so can you really trust these numbers?
Well, according to ZipRecruiter the average salary for freelance writers is about $64,000 a year, which is pretty darn good. They state that about 37% of freelance writing jobs pay around $11k - $47k per year, 48% of jobs pay around $47k - $82k per year and then very small percentages pay more--some writers making up to $400k a year.
But don't expect to make much starting out
If you think you are going to be able to start out making $20/hr and working up to 40 hours a week then you are in for a rude awakening.
The numbers can be somewhat misleading. Early on you shouldn't expect much and this should only be looked at as a side-income--not an income that you are reliant on.
It takes time to build relationships with clients and repeat business is where successful freelancers make most of their money usually.
There are no good numbers I can give as to how much you will make when starting out, because it is going to vary greatly, but definitely don't expect a steady $20/hr.
The Cost
The price depends on how you want to pay. Right now (as I'm writing this) the cost for a lifetime membership is $47. This is the "early bird pricing" and it is going to supposedly increase to $94 at some point--who knows when..
You can also choose to pay for a monthly membership for $15/mo.
Both options give you access to the same things, which is everything except the Premium Courses, which you have to pay extra for.
The do have a 30 day money-back guarantee but this is only on the membership, not the add-on Premium Courses.
The bad news is that the Premium Courses are non-refundable--the good news is that you can keep them forever, even if you cancel your membership.
Support
Support is always a must--I don't care what type of product or service is being sold--and unfortunately companies that offer virtual products/services are notorious for absolutely horrible support.
Writers.Work calls their support "rockstar support" but of course you can't always trust what the company says.
After doing some digging around it seems that lack of support (and in some cases no support) is one of the most common complaints about this platform.
Most of the complaints with the BBB have something to do with bad support--such as trying to get a refund but having no way of contacting the support team...
So I'm not really sure what the deal is here. Some people have had success with contacting support (even though it seems to be somewhat of a hassle for everyone) while others claim they have no way to do so available.
What I Like
What I like most is how Writers.Work goes above and beyond in so many ways. Sure, they have a great job search feature and the training is very helpful, but they also provide all sorts of things that you might not even expect.
The organization tools, such as creating projects and tasks inside the project management area, are great--and I talked about how they include some helpful features like the habit building tool and even the white noise feature. These are some areas I think they go above and beyond.
It's so much more than your average freelance writing platform.
Who Writers.Work Is Best Suited For
The platform can without a doubt be useful for anyone but I would say that it is best for beginners.
The reason is because experienced writers won't have much need for all of the features offered. Many writers will already have a way to manage projects and stay organized, they will already be using a text editor they are more than happy with, they will already have relaxing rain music and whale sounds on the ready so that they don't need the white noise feature.. and so on.
But for beginners this can be a big help--with so much available to you right in one platform.
*Note: I'm not saying that experienced writers shouldn't join--I'm just saying that it will likely provide greater value for beginners.
Complaints
First off it's worth mentioning that they have an F rating with the BBB and are not accredited--not that being accredited is absolutely necessary or anything.
The F rating is pretty bad though. In fact, it's as bad as it gets when it comes to BBB ratings--can't get any worse.
Lack of Support - As I already went over, there are a fair number of people complaining about the support being inadequate and hard to reach--or even impossible to reach.
There are complaints about this with the BBB as well as with Trustpilot.
*For all those having trouble contacting support, I would try sending them a message through their Facebook page. It states that they usually reply within a couple hours.
Product Not as Advertised (misleading) - There have been some people requesting refunds after buying a membership and finding that the product is not as expected. That said, I'm not sure what type of marketing material they came across in the first place.
There was mention of misleading Facebook posts in another review but I saw none of this going on when looking back months ago through posts.
One of the only pieces of misleading information that I came across was how they say that you can earn $20 - $65 per hour as a freelance writer, which is true but shouldn't be expected as a beginner--and might give people the wrong impression that they are going to be able to make this kind of money right from the start.
*Update: Apparently some of their adverts were a bit misleading and led customers to believe that Writers.Work themselves was hiring writers and paying good money. It appears that they had some misleading ads on Facebook that have since been deleted.
No Free Trial - Both of the above complaints could probably be remedied if they offered a free trial, so that people could sign up and get a taste of what they are getting involved with before whipping out their credit cards. It would be really nice if they offered one, but unfortunately they do not.
Not Much Info About The Company - You would think that they would provide us with some company information, such as who is running the show, where they are located, etc... but they don't.
According to the BBB the company is located in Austin, Texas, but one user (who filed a complaint) claims they are actually located in Arizona.
There is no 'About Us' page or anything like that to get the details right from the company themselves.
Scam History - While I haven't come across any hard evidence, there are reviews that suggest Writers.Work has been created by the same team behind a past "scam" called MasterWritingJobs--which basically lured people in by selling them hopes and dreams of making quick and easy money, but or course did not even coming close to delivering (since quick and easy money isn't possible in the world of freelance writing).
This coupled with the fact that they don't disclose much of any information about them is troubling.
Is Writers Work a Scam?
While there are some serious complaints and there is a bit of concerning information about this company, there isn't enough for me to call it all a scam.
The truth is that they do provide tools, training, and a heck of a lot of features to help writers start and/or manage their career as freelancers--and there is nothing scammy about this.
It is somewhat difficult to tell what direction they are sailing this ship. The creators have a history of deceptive and misleading advertising--they made some deceptive adverts promoting Writers.Work--but now these seem to have been deleted. So are they going in the right direction? Are they turning over a new leaf?
Final Thoughts
Overall, all things considered, a membership for Writers Work can easily be worth the money--especially with the $49 lifetime offer that is going on right now. Some of the features don't really provide much value and many people won't even bother with them, but there is still a heck of a lot provided here that does have good value.
Not only do you get a list of available jobs, but you also get a list of publications accepting submissions. Not only do you get the project management feature to help stay organized, but you also get the goals feature and "habit builder tool" to help push you ahead.
There is a lot going on. That said--as mentioned this package of tools, training, job listings, etc. is going to be much more valuable to the beginner.
Misleading advertising practices aside, this could be worth the price.
Something else that you may want to consider is writing for yourself and making money this way. This is actually what I do for a living and if interested I highly recommend the Wealthy Affiliate training program to get started.
Note: Just like freelance writing, my recommendation is also NOT a way to make money fast.
Also feel free to check out these 70+ ways to make money from home and these 30+ freelance writing websites that you don't need experience for.
Take care and be sure to leave any comments or questions below. I love hearing from my readers 🙂