What is a Content Farm & Should You Work for One?

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Today, we have a philosophical question about content farms, also known as content mills: What is a content farm, and should you ever consider working for one? The short answer is, like most things in life, it depends.

I have strong feelings about content farms, but I’m only one person.

And we have to remember that I’m in the U.S., based outside of Boston, and I’ve been doing this copywriting and content writing thing for a long time, since 2002. So this is my perspective.

Have I ever worked for a content farm or a content mill?

Nope. So, mine is also an outsider’s perspective. But it’s also a solid and educated perspective (I think, anyway!) because I understand how copywriting and content writing work. I want writers to be aware and to think about everything that goes into the work they’re doing and the value they’re creating for clients. I don’t want writers, especially younger or newer copywriters, to undersell themselves. That’s my biggest concern—someone taking advantage of newbie writers.

So if you decide to do some work for a content mill for whatever reason, and you’ve thought it through, and you still decide to do it, OK. But if you’re thinking, “Oh, I can make a lot of money at a content farm,” or “This is the only consistent way I can make money as a copywriter,” or “This is as good as it gets,” well, I want to be the little voice in your head that reminds you that’s not true.

So, let’s get into the nitty-gritty, shall we?

What is a content farm?

Content makes the business world go round. Businesses need awesome content to attract and convert prospects. This is the crux of content marketing.

But someone needs to create the content (and no, AI can’t do it well enough yet). If a business doesn’t have a staff to write the words, or if it wants to pump out a lot of content and its staff can’t handle the volume, it will turn to other people to do the writing, like a freelance copywriter, marketing agency, or sometimes a content farm or content mill.

Content farms position themselves as a cheap alternative to getting content done.

Of course, they don’t use the word “cheap.” They might go with “affordable” or “budget-friendly.” But their approach is something like, “Hey, we’ll give you ten blog posts for $699, and they’re 1000-word blog posts.”

That’s $69 a pop. That’s an excellent deal for the business but not the writer.

Writing a 1000-word blog post takes time. It requires research and interviews (ideally) with subject matter experts. It requires a basic understanding of the client’s business and why they want to write the blog post in the first place.

I’ve seen content farms that pay writers $100 for a 1000-word article, which is a penny per word.

Let that sink in for a minute.

While the business might say, “Whatever, I get a great deal,” just remember the adage: You get what you pay for.

I can almost guarantee that the quality won’t be the same as you’d get from a writer you’re paying fairly.

Content farms think of themselves as filling a gap.

They work with the client, manage the content production, and manage the writer writing the content. Some content farms even have editors editing the content. (Many editors are freelancers who aren’t getting paid much, either.) The content farm delivers the work to the client and facilitates payment.

My problem is that the person who gets paid the least in these situations is the writer, and I have a problem with that because the writer delivers the thing that matters most: the content. Remember, “content” is the key component in “content marketing.” Content has enormous value.

The writers do all the heavy lifting, so they should be paid accordingly.

For example, that blog post works for as long as it’s published. It can bring in prospects who eventually become leads and customers. If it’s optimized and written well, it can easily pay for itself. So that’s how I think about it, and that’s how I recommend other writers should think about it.

This is why I don’t charge hourly or even per-word rates.

The cost should be related to the value being delivered. (Check out my blog post about how to charge for your copywriting services.)

For example, when I quote a blog post, I consider the overall value I’m delivering and the value the post will have long after I leave.

So, to recap, a content farm is a business that produces a lot of content in bulk for little money.

Years back, I got a bird’s eye view of the output from a content farm. (One of the marketing agencies I worked with wanted to see what sort of content it produced.) Unsurprisingly, the quality wasn’t great. I had to revise and rewrite everything, which took a lot of time. It would’ve cost a lot less if I had just written the stuff to begin with.

If you’re thinking of using a content mill, please reconsider. 

Instead, ese a content marketing agency that pays its writers well or a freelancer like me. You’ll get better quality. Yes, you’ll pay more and you might not get as much content, but you’ll get better-performing content. Remember, more content isn’t necessarily better if it’s just adding to the mountain of crap that’s already out there.

And if you’re new to copywriting, fret not. There are ways to learn copywriting and (potentially) make good money at it.

Here are my go-to resources for learning the ins and outs. For some of the items below, I use Amazon Affiliate links. If you use one of the links to buy something, it won’t cost you more, but I’ll earn a small commission. I only recommend stuff that I believe in. I own both of these books.

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