Constant Content

I have quite a lot of catching up to do today because I was out of the office for a while yesterday, and when I got back, to my shame, I was too tired even to read posts when I did my EC dropping. So far, I’m two thirds I into dropping and reading in my favourite blogs and have yet to get to my inbox to return yesterday’s drops from others.

I didn’t get started early because this morning there was a public request at Constant Content that seemed to have my name on it, so I set to and wrote for it immediately. Still I had promised one of my readers to explain a bit about that site, so here goes.

Constant Content is a site where authors showcase articles, and where webmasters and editors search and buy the work that they want. It is different from other article sites in that it has exacting standards and every piece submitted is carefully reviewed, so that only work that meets the standards is accepted. Every piece is also checked for plagiarism via Copyscape as well. Customers trust the quality and originality of the writing they are buying.

The site also has sections to showcase and sell photographs, illustrations and videos as well, though these are in their infancy and have not yet taken off properly. A few months ago the site changed ownership and is gradually been made over. All the changes so far have been welcomed by authors and customers alike.

When you register with the site, you are first of all encouraged to read the guidelines and the rest of the authors’ help section carefully and then browse through the forums, where newbies can ask questions and receive replies. The community of authors is always helpful and someone will try to respond quickly.

Before submitting your work, you need to get a handle on how to price and what licenses you can offer. They are one-off usage rights, unique rights and full rights. In the article submission form you’ll find a link to some guidelines for pricing each of the options. Of course, if your piece has been previously published, or you want to place it elsewhere as well, you can only offer it for usage. You provide a sample of the piece for display, which must be at least one third of the complete article. Most authors provide a lot more, however much they think will tempt someone to buy. You attach your document which is what is supplied to the customer after payment has been received. It must be in one of the site’s accepted formats, not for example docx.

Each author has a profile on the site listing all the articles they have showcased and giving statistics on their sales. Once you have sold a few pieces, your author name will be included in the long list of authors. A click on your name will take anyone to your profile.

The site has a section called Requested Content, which displays public requests from buyers seeking particular articles, as well as what they are prepared to pay for them. You have to be quick off the mark with a response as there is plenty of competition, and the customer may choose to buy quickly. But if it’s not chosen, your article will remain showcased so, unless you decide to withdraw it, someone else may find it and buy it. You can also submit pieces on subjects of your choice, that haven’t been requested, because other customers just search the site to find what they want.

Once you are established and buyers get to know your work, you may even get private requests and can expect higher rewards. Customers can request articles from specific authors, but they will still only buy if the work fits what they need.

Your quota of the sale is 65%, the other 35% going to Constant Content. There is also a system of payment of 5% for work by referred writers, which is take from the site’s part of the commission. Authors set their prices bearing in mind that they will only receive 65% of them, and many find that the system, which allows them to spend far more time writing, rather than marketing their work, easily makes up for the 35% of fees that they sacrifice.

If you are reasonably confident about your writing and your use of the English language, I recommend it. There’s nothing that beats waking up to news of yet another sale at Constant Content. The unexpected ones, of items that have been showcased some months earlier, are just as good as the ones that have been targeted to a public request and sell overnight.

Do contact me if you’d like to register through my referral link.


Painting of woman writing by artist, Gerard ter Borch d. J.

Painting of Saint Paul Writing His Epistles, thought to be by eiher Valentin de Boulogne or Nicolas Tournier

Both pics sourced at Wikimedia Commons