Media Shower Review: An Update on My Thoughts and Feelings

I wrote back in June about Media Shower. It was all going really well back then and you can check out my Media Shower review for yourself right here.

However, things have changed now. Since September 2013, I’ve heard nothing from my editor or from the owner of the company. I’ve sent a few emails asking questions but nothing.

I am happy to say that they don’t owe me money. Everything was paid on schedule in September 2013 and I did a couple of revisions on pieces that, really, weren’t my fault as the instructions didn’t state anything of the sort initially. However, the lack of communication and answers has left a sour taste in my mouth.

As a writer, I would never drop off the planet. If a client wanted answers to questions, I’d give them. If I didn’t quite have those answers yet, I’d be upfront and honest about that. I wouldn’t just ignore the emails. It is unprofessional of a company and it’s a shame that my Media Shower review has had to change so much.

Maybe the company is going down or maybe there isn’t the work available at the moment. However, surely the company should have said something. Just a polite “sorry, no work available right now” or “after a few months, we’ve decided you don’t fit our style” would be enough for me. I’m not bothered about the actual answer; I’d just like one!

What are your thoughts on Media Shower? Have you had a positive experience suddenly turn sour? Are you a writer and have just found that there is no communication?

Media Shower Review: Is It Worth Your Time?

Media Shower is a content provider that has been around for about ten years. It is run by John Hargrave and his wife, Jade, and offers content to businesses and individuals around the globe. I recently applied for Media Shower and have now written almost 20 posts for them so I think it about time to write my Media Shower review.

Is Media Shower a Scam?

One of the first things freelance writers want to know is whether a site is a scam. Media Shower is completely legitimate and a great place to write (personally speaking!). The company pays on time and quickly approves articles. Writers get to work with one editor and communication is flawless through email.

There are monthly writer’s meetings, where new social media techniques and writing skills are discussed. This is a great chance to get all the writers together and share thoughts about any recent topics that have come up. It also gives the writers a chance to communicate directly with the head of the company!

Media Shower Pay

So, now that you know Media Shower isn’t a scam, it is time to discuss the pay in this Media Shower review. The pay is a reasonable $25 per post. 500 words is the requested amount but it is more about quality and if there isn’t enough on the topic, 400 words is acceptable according to the writing standards – I’ve never gone below the 500 words because the topics I’ve had have been interesting and full of information.

There is a sample to start with but this is paid at the standard rate – this was the first sign to me that it was a legitimate company! The pay for the sample is instant upon approval but for others it is on the 10^th of the month for the writing completed the previous month. Payments are on time and there are three options:

1.  PayPal to an address that you give

2.  Direct bank transfer

3.  Cheque although I believe that this is for US writers only

You can choose the form of payment suitable for you. I chose PayPal due to conversion costs from dollars to pounds.

Media Shower Review: The Types of Topics

The topics writers are asked to write about vary. The editor you are assigned will send the topics that you need to write about and will usually send a bulk on a similar topic to keep the research to a minimum at one time. This is a great way to make sure your hourly wage stays at a decent rate. The types of topics I’ve had have been about Steve Wynn and Las Vegas and about social media and Google+.

Writers are asked to find at least one image per post – some will ask for more depending on where it is supposed to go in the end. The good news is that finding images are relatively easy. Media Shower has an account at Photos.co.uk, where writers can quickly download photos and use them without attribution. The aim is for the images to link in with the content of the post and used to break up the writing.

I love writing for Media Shower and I hope this is something that will continue into the future. The editor I work with is great and the topics have been really interesting. I want to regularly bring new writing opportunities or help you stay away from scams, which is why I’ve brought you this Media Shower review.

Ozio Media Review: Is Ozio Media a Scam?

Is Ozio Media a Scam? Here's my honest Ozio Media review

I heard about Ozio Media two and a half years ago when I was on the hunt for new clients. I found out about them through Freelancer.com and, even though their rates were extremely low, I opted to work for them.

I was instantly taken on and given a lot of work – more work than I thought I would get at first. While it was low paying, knowing that I would get the work and was actually paid on time was helpful.

However, in May or June 2011, I decided to quit. The rate was too low to keep going and I was suffering terrible headaches and burn out writing so much. From other Ozio Media reviews online, it seems like it was a good thing.

I started writing for Ozio Media again around February/March this year. The rates had gone up slightly and I was hitting a very slow patch. It is this experience that has led me to write my Ozio Media review.

I truly believe that Ozio Media is a scam! Please do not trust them anymore.

I don't know if they changed hands around June 2011 since that’s when all the negative press seems to be around but it doesn't matter. They no longer pay their writers and have hardly any work available anyway.

The second time of writing for them, I went through a long process of being accepted and getting my rate set. They don’t pay more than $5/100 but at the time it was worthwhile accepting that. I’ve written two articles for them since being accepted – the first still hasn’t been paid for and the second was rejected for spelling errors that weren't actually there.

I’ve tried contact Ann (no last name) but received no reply about my pay. It’s only $18 but it is the principal. If Ozio Media don’t want to be labelled as a scam they should pay for all work when due, no matter how small the amount is.

I did get offered another project but with how long it has taken to be paid, I turned that project down and haven’t heard from the company since. I’ve now used the article that I sent to them after checking that it wasn’t online first and have alerts set up to make sure I know when it is posted online without my permission.

Please do not trust Ozio Media. I was surprised that they had changed their practices so much (and for the worse). I didn’t think about checking for other Ozio Media reviews before applying the second time after a positive experience the first but this negative one has really tainted it.

Is Ozio Media a scam? Yes! A big one!

Watch out and don’t accept any work from them. You won’t get paid and they will just refuse to contact you.

There are plenty of other options available. There are higher paying clients, who pay your worth and on time.

Clients, if you are looking for somewhere to hire writers, please do not opt for Ozio Media. I’m not sure the type of quality that you will get from some of the writers as I’m not sure about the editorial process. The article of mine that was rejected was supposedly full of errors but I’ve double checked and found nothing wrong – there may be someone else making changes.

Client, please pay your writers a fair rate and go directly to them. These middlemen companies are scam artists and unprofessional.

Good luck writers and clients.

Note: This is my personal Ozio Media review from my personal experience. I have not been paid by anybody to write this and do it freely.

Image credit: Stuart Miles/Freedigitalphoto.net

Freelancer.com Review: It Isn’t Worth Your Time

I haven’t written on my blog in a while but I’m getting back into the habit and today’s post is about Freelancer.com. I’ve been on this bidding site for two years now and it did help me find some clients – two of which I am still working with today. However, I recently had some issues with someone on there unwilling to pay for the work that I rightly did – work that is currently being used on Squidoo without my permission or proper payment. So, I thought I’d warn all my readers about the scam on Freelancer.com and give my own review.

Low Pay Just Not Worth It

The majority of the projects I have found on there are low in pay. Many promise higher rates of pay after some time working together. But get this – it will never happen. Those who promise pay increases will likely drop you the minute you start asking. Am I telling you this from experience? Yes! I have been fooled into believing these empty promises.

Most writing projects on the site are for $1 or $2 per 500 words. Seriously? Can you really live on that? I can’t! I want projects that are going to pay me $10+, depending on the topic. I know some topics take me a few minutes to write about and five articles at $5 each will usually give me a $20-$25 per hour return rate but there are others that take hours and the pay just isn’t worth it.

Although, this tip is for those specifically in First World countries; those where the standard of living is lower may find the benefit.

Freelancer.com Support Doesn’t Support

When I had a problem with someone unwilling to pay, I decided to opt for the Dispute service on the site. Want to know a secret – the dispute system doesn’t work. The “Employer” has to set up a milestone for a “Freelancer” to dispute it but, I’ve heard, that that still doesn’t activate the option. Is there really any point in having a system that doesn’t actually work?

I contacted the Customer Support, which is non-existent. I asked simply questions and got long-winded answers that didn’t even answer them! They kept stating how their job was to set up the Employer and Freelancer but once a job had been accepted, it was out of their control. Sites like Guru, Elance and PeoplePerHour are completely different in that aspect and listen to both sides of the story and start a dispute.

They kept telling me to contact the Employer but I had exhausted that method. I know that legal recourse is my only option but it is very difficult with just a screen name to go on. I know data protection laws mean that they cannot give me the details but I wanted to know the legal paperwork they would need to send it – it took four attempts of answering that question for them to finally give me the legal address; for those who want the answer it is legal@freelancer.com.

I am now in the process of talking to the legal team, who seem to be a little more ‘switched on’ than the support and have actually answered my questions. We’ll see what happens.

The Review System Is Seriously Flawed

There is a review system but it only works when a project is completed. You cannot leave a review if the project is still in progress or if you abort it out of failure to pay. This leads to issues of many projects racking up and users getting away with not paying people with no recourse. I’ve seen many Freelancers bid on future projects just to warn others about the failure to pay but I don’t think it really scares people off, unfortunately.

My advice after this Freelancer.com review is to stay away – well away! There are plenty of others sites to bid on that offer better projects, payment terms and a good support system. I’m trying Guru and PeoplePerHour at the moment and will tell you more as I know more. I’ve heard good things about both so we’ll see.

By the way, those who do use Freelancer.com, stay away from the user Sigmaanddelta. This person states on his profile that he writes all his own content and doesn’t give all the details when hiring others. He outsources all his work and then claims that he doesn’t use the work so won’t pay the people he outsources to – of course he won’t use the work! The person who hires him thinking that he will write the work uses it!

Writing Targets for 2013

I’ve found that it is important to have goals and write them down. This makes them more realistic and pushes you towards them even more. Always set a deadline for your goals that is realistic and attainable but still pushes you. This will offer you the motivation you need to continue with your writing and get to where you want to be.

My New Year business resolution for 2013 is to take my writing more seriously. Last year was difficult for me since from April to December I was on maternity leave and my family life was more important. Now that I am back, I am looking for more ways to create a residual income stream so that I can have time off to spend with my little girl and higher paying clients to do less work throughout the day. Here are the goals that I have for 2013.

Set a Target for the Month

This year I will have a monthly target that I will push myself to meet. I’m starting off relatively low for the first couple of months at £1,000 per month, which is about the wage of someone who works full-time at minimum wage in the UK. As I develop my writing and goals, this monthly target will increase.

Having a monthly target helps me set a daily target. I divide the amount that I want to earn each month by the number of days that I want to work. This will differ from month to month. For January, I don’t need to take any time off, so I just need to factor in the days that I want to take off during the week – usually Wednesdays and Sundays. The only other day that I took off was New Years Day. That left me with 21 working days in January, which means that my target per day is £47.

A Goal for More Residual Income

I never really took this seriously the last couple of years but did have articles up on various websites. While I’ve been on maternity leave, those articles have been building up money and I did receive payout every now and then and without much promotion for me. I’ve even started seeing my own blogs offer a return after all the work I’ve been doing. I now see that residual income is a reality and want to make it a reality for me.

I’m researching more websites that offer residual pay, such as HubPages and Squidoo. I signed up for many when I first started writing online but left them, thinking that I’d never see payout. This year I’m looking at them more serious and setting up a schedule to post at various websites on a regular basis to help improve my chances of residual income.

Starting My Own Websites

The end of 2012 I started to get my own websites up and running. The first was Student Survival Tips, which is still building slowly. I now have Mummy and Baby Musings and am looking at many other options. I want to take a move away from Blogger blogs and have my own sites, where I have more control. These sites will also offer me more residual income so that I can take some time off.

Finding Higher Paying Clients (Preferably in Pounds)

I write for a number of content sites that pay minimal amounts. They help to fill in the gaps when my clients don’t have any work for me. However, this year I’m going to search for more higher paying clients and more websites that accept guest posts for a larger pay. I’ve found a number of tech sites looking for writers so I’m going to start taking my tech writing more seriously.

By finding higher paying sites and clients I will be able to do less work during the day. Instead of it taking me four or five hours to reach my daily target (still less hours that it does for someone working full-time at minimum wage), it will take me a couple of hours. What could be better than working half a day and spending the rest of my time with my six month old daughter?

I’ll keep the content sites though. While the pay is low, I can do the articles quickly. It takes me about 15 minutes to complete a 400 word article. I worked out a couple of weeks ago that I type at a rate of 95 words per minute on average! These sites usually offer topics that I’ve already got the research for or know answers off the top of my head from years of writing on the same topic. They’re not worthwhile full-time but they are great to fill in the gaps on bad days.

What are your goals for 2013? Are you looking for more residual pay? Are you finally taking the steps to start writing and earning money? Good luck!