Writing for content aggregators and rates that those companies pay are currently much-discussed, much disagreed upon subjects in the freelance writing world – and that’s putting it mildly.

Some novice freelancers see writing for Demand Studios, Examiner.com, Helium and other content aggregators as a legitimate way into the business. They’re willing to put up with working conditions that make more experienced writers cringe: fees of $10 to $20 or less per article that necessitate cranking out dozens, even hundreds, of pieces a month to make a decent living.

The site’s defenders counter that most contributors write only part-time, and don’t depend on it for their livelihood. They also argue it’s a great way to get a foot in the door and get writing work without going through the hassles and rejections of querying higher paying publications.

Detractors have questioned whether anybody can research and write a “story” in the amount of time it would take to produce enough copy to make much money. They also worry that writers for these sites are merely rewriting other people’s work. This snippet from an honest-to-goodness ad that appeared recently in Craigslist’s Portland listings appears to prove their point (emphasis is mine):

Here’s the job:

1 – I send you a link to an article.
2 – You read the article.
3 – Then you rewrite/summarize the article, adding a few sentences that are specific to our business. In general, I will expect to get your writing back within 24 hours of my sending the article. If it doesn’t happen every time, that’s fine. You get to go on vacation once in a while! But the general expectation is speed.
4 – I edit the article and send you the finished version.
5 – You look at it, think about what I’ve changed, and what you could do differently next time to get it more like I want it.
6 – Repeat
7 – Once a month, I mail you a check. You get $3 for one sort of blog post (3-4 formulaic paragraphs) and $5 for another type (longer, more thoughtful, or a press release). It’s $3 unless I say otherwise.

I’ve called it the race to the bottom, and maintain there are better ways to break into the freelance business, and better business models for building a successful freelance writing career.

But why take my word for it? Here are examples of a few other blogs where this debate is taking place. Visit, read and come back here to comment.

• 10 reasons why old school freelance writers (including me) need to lighten up and stop whining - One of several posts Freelance Writing Jobs’ Deb Ng has written on the topic since announcing a partnership between her popular freelance blog and Demand Studios.
• Writer mills making big $: Demand Studios – Freelance business writer Erik Sherman represents an opposing viewpoint: caution, some language in this post is NSFW.
• Yolander, won’t you please shut up about the content mills? – Freelancewriterville blogger Yolander Prinzel’s account of writing for content aggregators, why she doesn’t anymore and why she doesn’t think anyone else should either.
• Was I wrong about Helium? – Tim Beyers, aka The Social Writer, explains how he made more selling reprints of a story he originally published on Helium than what he earned on the site.
• Writer mills: you can do better – Long-time freeleancer Jesaka Long riffs on posts from Sherman and others. Her conclusion: “…writers should stand for what they are worth every day. No exception.”
• Are content aggregators a freelancer’s friend or foe? A novice freelancer tries to figure it out for herself.
• I did it again – freelance writing and the great rate debate – Carson Brackney’s faced off with Deb Ng over this issue before, and apparently reading my earlier post caused him to weigh in again. BTW, thanks to Carson for the inspiration for the title of this blog post.

Do you write for content aggregators sites? Has it helped your career? How much money do you make at it? Do you include those clips in your portfolio when going for higher-paying work?

L. J. Williamson was frustrated with what she felt was a lack of editorial oversight on Examiner.com, the Denver-based content aggregator.

So she gamed the system.

Williamson, a Los Angeles freelancer with clips from big name publications like the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly and Sunset magazine, wrote a series of Examiner.com pieces that she admits included exaggerations and half-truths, like this one about the dangers of playing tag. She explains the whole thing in an email she sent to Fishbowl LA, the Mediabistro blog on the Los Angeles media business.

Nothing happened. No phone calls from fact checkers. No emails from editors questioning her sources. Nothing, that is, until Williamson went a little too far and wrote an autism-related story about Jenny McCarthy the actress and alternative treatment advocate noticed and had her lawyers follow up.

In no time, Examiner pulled the stories and fired Williamson, although she argues since she hadn’t gotten a dime from the site it wasn’t really getting fired.

Williamson says she wrote the stories as an experiment to call out the shortcomings of content aggregators, Examiner.com in particular. In a comment on the Fishbowl LA story, Examiner.com’s editorial director Travis Henry says the site has a growing editorial staff that works with writers, providing them with coaching and daily training sessions.

Here at WordCount, there’s been a similar exchange of opinions on the value of writing for content aggregators recently. In a post and multiple follow up comments, a Helium representative explained the site’s editorial process and how much money writers can make. Several freelancers countered her with arguments explaining why they won’t write for content aggregators or why they did and wouldn’t again. I even chimed in with my own advice to write for a hyperlocal news site instead.

While newspapers and magazines figure out how to transform themselves into fiscally sound Internet businesses, the pay-per-click business model that content aggregators – my friend and fellow freelancer Heather Boerner calls them content aggravators -  use to compensate writerscitizen journalists isn’t going away. Whether it will become the predominant online publishing business model in the future is hard to say. But it’s safe to assume the arguments over the merits of working for content aggregators will continue.

If you’re getting into freelancing these days, one option is writing for content aggregator sites like Helium, About.com, Associated Content or HubPages. These companies pay writers to create massive amounts of content to help the sites rise up to the top of Web searches and make more money on click throughs.

But for freelancers, there’s a huge debate happening over the merits of writing for a content aggregator to advance your career, a debate that last week spilled onto the pages of this blog. First long-time freelancer Tim Beyers examined the reasons why a writer shouldn’t bother with content aggregators. Then Helium’s new writer outreach manager Barbara Whitlock countered with her own detailed explanation of  why freelancers would want to write for a content aggregator, Helium in particular.

I say if you’re a writer looking for experience, there’s a better way.

Instead of writing for an aggregator, find out what hyperlocal news sites have popped up in your area, introduce yourself and ask if there’s anything you can do to help.

In case you’re not familiar with them, hyperlocal news sites are blogs that focus on what’s happening in a specific area, be it a neighborhood, town or city. You might also know them as community news blogs or citizen journalist sites. Some examples: NewzJunky in Watertown, New York; Hop Town in Hopkinsville, Massachusetts, and NeighborsGo.com in Dallas.

If you work for a hyperlocal news organization you’ll probably start out making about as much as you would at a content aggregator – which is to say not much. But if you really are just starting out, you could use the opportunity to go out and do some man-on-the-street reporting,  and pick up other valuable experience.

If you don’t think there are hyperlocal or citizen journalists operating in your city you’re wrong, you just haven’t looked hard enough. Here in Portland, there are at least four, including Neighborhood Notes and OurPDX, more if you count sites that focus on niches like tech, books or cycling.

If there really aren’t hyperlocal sites where you live, start one. By teaching yourself everything you need to know to run a hyperlocal or community news site, you’re teaching yourself everything you need to know in 2009 and going into the future to get hired as a staff writer or make it as a freelancer, things like using a content management system (a fancy term for blogging or blog-like software), HTML, linking, how to write for a blog, how to write straight news, how to take pictures, video and audio, etc.

When it comes down to it, as long as you’re going to the time and trouble of learning the craft, why give the fruits of your labors to another business when you could maximize the benefit and profit for the enterprise that matters most – you.

Yesterday, long-time freelancers Tim Beyers wrote a guest post here explaining why freelancers shouldn’t write for content aggregators, and he singled out Helium as an example.

His post prompted Barbara Whitlock, Helium’s new member outreach manager, to reply. Instead of burying what Whitlock had to say in the comments under Beyers’ post (where you can still find them), I thought I’d keep the debate going by posting them here.

Freelancers considering user-generated content sites like Helium often begin with a healthy skepticism. Those who have earned well previously, as full-time freelancers or journalists, sometimes come with some added baggage: frustration at watching their livelihood shrink and anxiety about what the future will hold for their craft.

Some approach new opportunities on the Internet like Luddites of old, and want to bash against everything they see. Others are more open to adapt to new technologies, and try to hone their craft to new approaches. Economic necessity and a love of writing drive most to take a peek or try out sites like Helium. Many are thriving in this new world of freelance writing.

What’s to be gained and what is at risk in joining sites like Helium.com?

Gains:

• Unlimited opportunities to write on topics which interest you.
• Added revenue streams for writing income.
• Wider exposure and name recognition on the web. Helium has a Google page rank of 7, which means you can use Helium to get your name out there and link to your blog or other writing venues.
• Recognition for your professional credentials, which lifts you above the anonymity of the web.
• Opportunities to connect to gig opportunities for 100s of magazine, website and – increasingly – newspaper publishers.
• Contests, journalism prizes and other seasonal opportunities.
• A supportive writing community, with structures and a unique online culture that make Helium’s expansive writing community personal too.

Risks:

• Non-exclusive articles remain on Helium. You are free to republish on other non-exclusive sites, but you cannot delete or try to use those as exclusive for another publisher.
• Exclusive articles in Marketplace are often ghost-written, and do not usually provide you with clips, just money.
• Addiction – most Helium members have a lot of fun writing with abandon, editing and supporting other writers.

Tim Beyers made some thoughtful comments, through the lens of the traditional publishing world. He got one major point wrong: Helium has paid out over $1 million to writers thus far. Here’s some added information to address his other points:

1. Tim suggested Helium lacks editor support. In fact, Helium has a fleet of editors who help writers. These editors review every newly posted article (this is relatively new). We also have subject matter experts overseeing content areas who have a high sense of ownership over the content there. Finally, we have an open email system where any writer can provide editorial suggestions to writers. Someone sent me one yesterday letting me know that I had a typo and needed to improve the look of my links. Those looking for one-to-one editorial help can write to mentor@helium.com. Many layers of editorial support are available. Some members who dip in but do not participate more expansively at Helium may not know of all these layers of editorial support.

2. Tim mentions a lack of incentive to improve Helium articles once published. However, incentive to improve is built into the competitive model. Leapfrog revisions are not limited, and what encourages writers to improve varies. Many want to improve their rank placement in title groups, and increase writing stars for higher upfront earnings per article. Many learn more tricks of the trade for web writing, and turn back to improve their leads, add more SEO value to their article, add metacontent subheaders, etc. Others just enjoy improving their work.

3. Tim adds concern about writer clips. All the non-exclusive articles writers publish on Helium become part of their visible portfolio, and can be used as clips. If you are selected by a newspaper partner for print publication, these are regular print clips (full byline credit). Our newspapers often provide pdf version in addition to news clips you can cut out yourself from the Sunday editions. With exclusive Marketplace content, it is not guaranteed that you’ll be able to use clips, but sometimes you can find them through search queries.

From a traditional freelance perspective skepticism about writer’s sites like Helium makes sense. But in a world of shrinking traditional freelance gigs, most writers have found they need to grab all the opportunities they can, and through that aggregate they can keep up with their income needs.

Helium isn’t a substitute for a full-time job, but it can be combined with other freelance gigs to provide additional revenue. Plus, the freedom to also write what you want is appealing for many. Often writers want to demonstrate their expertise in an area, and writing a body of articles helps give weight to that.

Lots of options, but realize Helium has additive value for writers who freelance full-time. It’s one revenue stream that can help — and it’s fun.

I’d welcome further discussion on this if anyone is interested: bwhitlock@helium.com.

Today is Guest Post Day in the 2nd annual WordCount Blogathon, so give a big WordCount welcome to Tim Beyers, a Colorado freelancer and Motley Fool writer who’s filling in for me here. You’ll find me over on Tim’s blog, The Social Writer, talking about my favorite online hangouts for writers.

By Tim Beyers

Content aggregators are booming. Take Helium. Earlier this week, the company said that its writers have taken home more than $1 million in earnings since 2006 and $500,000 over the past six months. A deal with Hearst is in the works.

These aren’t surprising developments. Helium sells content to publishers on the super cheap as participating writers collect crumbs. Of course a deal with Hearst is in the works. I’ll be shocked if other cash-strapped publishers don’t follow suit.

As a writer, I can attest to Helium’s allure. Write whatever you want on any topic and publish instantly? No waiting for a query response? No rejections? Sign me up.

And yet this very low bar is the literary equivalent of a siren call. Here are three reasons why you shouldn’t fall for it.

1. You won’t be working with an editor. Be thankful for editors, the best of them help us to improve our writing. They also help us to understand what’s salable by rejecting what isn’t. Every story they turn down tells us a bit more about their readership and gets us closer to acceptance.

2. You won’t be under pressure to improve your work. When every article is accepted, writers have zero incentive to improve their prose. That’s dangerous. A bevy of publishing industry layoffs have flooded the freelance ranks, making what has historically been a buyer’s market even more competitive. Writers whose work isn’t battle-tested by the fires of revision and rejection face a tough test.

3. You won’t be creating clips that matter for querying elsewhere. Editors want to see that you’re capable of delivering a quality product for other editors. Certainly it’s true that editors also value talent — and Helium gives talented writers a forum — but there’s risk in working with an untested freelancer. Experience with the query-write-revise-publish process is like insurance for an editor who doesn’t know you.

Helium has its place. I’ve used it; you can still find some of my work there. One of its better uses is as a testing ground. Want to break in as a travel writer? Post two or three articles at Helium or elsewhere and collect comments. Use the best of these reader endorsements in your query to show the assigning editor that you know how to engage an audience.

But such situations are the exception. Have a story idea? Research paying markets via services such as Writer’s Market, Mediabistro.com, WordHustler or The Freelance Writer’s Helper, gather sources and query. It’s still the best way to earn your stripes as a freelancer.

UPDATED ON FEB. 28 – News from the online news business this week. Read all about it:

The Rocky Mountain News shuts down forever, leaving another major American city a one-paper town. Rival Denver Post pays tribute in Rocky’s Last Run.

Hearst Corp., which owns the San Francisco Chronicle and other dailies, attempts to avert closing any of its papers by announcing a precedent-setting deal with Helium, the Web content mill site. Helium’s “citizen journalists” will produce local and lifestyle stories in a test roll out with two Hearts papers in Connecticut.

In magazineland, Mr. Magazine, aka Samir Husni, a journalism prof and head of the j-school at the University of Mississippi, declares America’s magazine publishing model DOA and announces a new center dealing with magazine and print innovation called Magazine Innovation Center.

The Columbia Journalism Review jumps onto the magazine reinvention bandwagon too, getting a $230,000 MacArthur grant to study how magazines can adopt best practices and improve editorial content on their Websites.

Speaking of CJR, the magazine’s Megan Garber turns in a cheeky Dear Abby-style advice column to explain the do’s and don’ts of  using Twitter while poking fun at the techies, TV news stars and celebs who’re quickly populating the au courant microblogging service.

One more I forgot about – Jonathan Weber, founder and CEO of NewWest.Net a Rocky Mountain West news site, and former EIC at The Industry Standard during the dot-com boom, debuted a weekly column on The Big Money about the realities of running a Web 2.0 business. Weber’s a great thinker and a great writer (disclaimer: I’ve worked with him before so I’m biased) – a definite must read.