Textbroker - Writing for money (not vouchers)

Sommer43

Hi loulou

I work self-employed full time at Textbroker. I am registered with HMRC and earn around £200 on a good week. I have been doing this for around seven months now. I have no small children at home. So, I am pretty much online all day. I have only just finished tonight now, as I started late this morning, but I enjoy the flexibility.

Basically, you have three months to register with HMRC as self employed. I am not sure of how this will affect your benefits, you'd have to ask in the benefit section regarding your income support. I do have long hours to get this money in, and I have had some weeks where it has been as little as £100, but with my client list slowly building up, I am making a do with team orders and direct orders. I can get up to six DOs a day, like I did today and Sunday, one cheeky client put ten through to me. But I did them all. My eyes were popping out at the end of the night.

Initially, it can seem like peanuts, but if you're going to give it a go, then try not to get disheartened at the beginning. Email every client who enjoys your work, or who you enjoy writing for and you can make some decent money and they do pay weekly. Build up your client list and it does take time and some fo promise more work and then you never hear from them again, but for the most part, I get on well with mine and we have a good relationship. I treat it like it's my business and I work hard at it, it is hard work, but well worth sticking at.

Best is, no commute, no office politics and you get ooodles of information from HMRC on how to operate on a self-employed basis. If you need any help, just drop me a PM...

gildius

Just been having a read of this thread - it's really interesting, thanks everyone! I might sign up

CWSmith

After a very nervous start, I am thoroughly enjoying this now. I would advise anyone to have a go.

The money isn't much, but it does build up and for me (who is still taking the cowardly route of only doing 2 or 3 articles a week on subjects I am already familiar with ), it is becoming very easy money.

Can someone tell me how Team Orders works? Can anyone do it? I have noticed on the Assignments page of TB, in the Search Orders box half way down the page, I have the Openorders 2, 3 and 4 ticked, but not the Team Orders box. I have assumed that means I am not eligible to do them?

googler

CWSmith wrote: »

I would advise anyone to have a go.

... it is becoming very easy money.

It won't be if everyone from MSE keeps joining at the current rate, and there isn't a commensurate increase in the number of assignments that are requested from TB .....


Can someone tell me how Team Orders works? Can anyone do it?

Yes, but you have to be accepted into the Team first

I have noticed on the Assignments page of TB, in the Search Orders box half way down the page, I have the Openorders 2, 3 and 4 ticked, but not the Team Orders box. I have assumed that means I am not eligible to do them?

Those fields are only relevant if you're actually searching for assignments.

CWSmith

I'm sure there will be enough for all of us Googler.

One thing I have noticed - when I first started, the list of assignments went down very quickly - here one minute, all gone the next. Now they seem to be hanging around a whole lot longer; it as if there are less authors working, not more.

cte1111

I think a lot of us are working on some fairly lucrative Team Orders. So maybe are not picking up the other orders at the minute.

I've earned enough on these this week to pay for a new bookcase for my daughter, which is a nice tangible reward.

Sommer43

I love Thursdays, when I can press that little button. I love Fridays even better, when the email comes through. I've had a hell of a week with writing. All mine have been direct orders. I've had 38 this week. So much writing.

I don't do so many team orders, although one of my clients has a team, but I only do direct orders for him. I have seen my work on his sites and it's weird, seeing my work under his name.

I have over 300e this week. Big week. Hard work and my eyes are like saucers.

I'm also putting my direct order price up... It's far too low.

loulou1980_2

Thankyou so much for the reply Sommer43, I am pleased that you are doing so well with it (despite having eyes like saucers lol).

I guess my main concern is that I can manage to do at least 16 hours per week, as I will need to claim Working Tax Credit and as a lone parent I have to show that I am working for at least 16 hours per week to be eligible for this (as I understand it, for the first year, I wouldn't need to demonstrate that I was earning the National Minimum Wage, but after that I would). It would also be great if I could get In Work Credit as well, as the extra £40 a week for a year would be enormously helpful and mean I could possibly take my bairns on a little break away in the summer holidays (they have had a difficult year with Mam and Dad breaking up and I would love to put a smile on their little faces). Has anyone had experience of claiming this as a self-employed individual?

I am going to sign up over the weekend, take the writing test and see how I do; if I manage to get 3 stars or above then I'm going to have a crack at it (as I can keep the first 20 pounds of anything I earn before my JSA is affected), and try to build it up to a point where I am working for 16 hours, and can then sign off... is this a good idea? Or is 16 hours reasonable as a starting point?

(So many questions... sorry!)

Just a very daunting thing to do really! I have never been in the position of being the sole breadwinner before, as my ex-husband always worked and I have worked on and off around the children. I have to make sure I have enough to feed us and keep a roof over our heads... thinking I might sign up for Avon as well (I have done this before) just to make sure I have something to fall back on if there's ever a slow week!

Lou x

googler

loulou1980 wrote: »

I guess my main concern is that I can manage to do at least 16 hours per week, as I will need to claim Working Tax Credit and as a lone parent I have to show that I am working for at least 16 hours per week to be eligible for this (as I understand it, for the first year, I wouldn't need to demonstrate that I was earning the National Minimum Wage, but after that I would). It would also be great if I could get In Work Credit as well, as the extra £40 a week for a year would be enormously helpful and mean I could possibly take my bairns on a little break away in the summer holidays (they have had a difficult year with Mam and Dad breaking up and I would love to put a smile on their little faces). Has anyone had experience of claiming this as a self-employed individual?

I don't think any of this has anything specifically to do with Textbroker, and perhaps is more appropriate to the benefits forum...?

googler

cte1111 wrote: »

I think a lot of us are working on some fairly lucrative Team Orders for Team UK. So maybe are not picking up the other orders at the minute. If you're not already in this team, I would apply....

Unless it's listed under a different name on the TB lists, I can find no trace of it.

Have been accepted privately to 1 team, applied for 3 others, all of which have been sitting as 'pending' since I applied (well over a month now), and none of the open teams remaining are named Team UK ....