4 Websites that Pay $100+ For One 1500-Word Article
Monetize your writing without relying on algorithms.
There are times when I get tired of relying on algorithms.
It hurts when you pour your heart and soul into an article, and it falls flat because the algorithm doesn’t favor it. You get paid peanuts. The hours you spent writing and researching suddenly start feeling meaningless.
If you’ve ever felt the same, this article is just for you. Here, I’ve listed four websites that pay upwards of $100 for one article. There are no algorithms involved. You don’t have to depend on views for money. If you have talent and can write a good article, you’ll get paid for your effort.
So read on, and don’t forget to share this article with your writer friends. If you’d like to watch a more candid version of this list in video format, here you go:
1. CopyHackers
A super tough website to get into, CopyHackers only accepts one in 30 pitches they receive, and only about one-third of these articles are published. Since submissions are open for creators from all over the world, the competition is going to be insanely hard and you have to put your best foot forward.
The topics that CopyHackers accepts are related to startups, marketing, freelancing, etc. The articles need to be more than 2000 words and they have to be first-person accounts of your journey. Make sure you share screenshots and any evidence of research or interviews that you conducted.
Basically, your article cannot be an opinion piece. It has to be a story of how you founded your own startup or freelance business. As long as it’s useful to the target audience of startup enthusiasts, freelancers, and small business owners, you can go ahead and submit your article.
The payment can range from $300 to $1,000 for each article. The final amount depends on the editor’s discretion. So, the higher the quality of your article is, the more you can get paid. The highest amount is $1000 for just 2000 words. Isn’t that incredible?
How to submit
You have to send a pitch about your article and a brief synopsis. You need not add the full article. If they are interested in publishing, you’ll hear back with a request to submit the full text.
If you’re not sure how to write a killer pitch, I made a video detailing the same. Watch on, for I’ve also included a copy of the pitch that got me accepted into a publication that paid $250 for my article.
Check their submission guidelines here.
2. Smashing Magazine
The target audience for Smashing Magazine is developers and web designers. So, if you have any articles or stories surrounding this genre, then you are the right person to write for Smashing Magazine.
The type of articles that they accept are tutorials, opinion pieces, ultimate guides, and case studies. They prefer first person accounts with as many stats as possible. The article needs to be as research-backed as you can make it.
The payment is $200 per article, paid via PayPal. If you live in any country where PayPal exists, you can definitely apply for Smashing Magazine.
How to submit
You have to write a pitch for your article that you want to be considered for submission. This is the same process as we discussed for CopyHackers: you have to send the pitch to them via their email.
Again, you don’t have to include the full article in your pitch. All you need to do is send the outline. The best part about submitting to Smashing Magazine is that they reply within one week, so the period of limbo between submission and acceptance won’t be too agonizing.
Check their submission guidelines here.
3. A List Apart
The target audience for A List Apart includes designers, developers, content, strategists, and such like. They are looking for well-researched articles, backed by statistics or first-person accounts backed by your own experience.
How to submit
You have to send the pitch, including the full article via Google docs. They reply within one week, so you don’t have to wait too long before you start working on your next project.
Once your article is accepted, you would have to work with an editor for a few rewrites of the article. And then finally, when your article gets published, you will be paid $200 for just one article. The word count that they’re looking for is 1500 to 2000 words.
If you know something in this genre that the target audience of A List Apart would find interesting, then this is a great place to submit your article.
Check their submission guidelines here.
4. International Living
International Living is looking for well-researched or personal pieces about global travel, living, retiring, or investing in real estate, that are not found anywhere else on the internet. They want unique stories of travel that stand out and not just simple, everyday travel stories that we see in travel magazines.
You can to either submit your own experience or you can do interviews with people who are digital nomads or who follow a very interesting lifestyle.
When you’re pitching to them, make sure that your story is not generic, but offers a very practical solution to a common problem that people might have when traveling to the places that you are writing about.
And if it’s value-packed, your chances of getting accepted will also be higher. The payments for the articles that get accepted range from $225 for a 900-word article and $350 for a 1600-word article.
Aside from that, you can also submit your original photos along with the article. For each accepted photo, they’ll pay you $50 extra, and it’s just for one-time use. You retain all rights of the pictures and you can use them anywhere else you want later on.
Isn’t that an amazing opportunity for people who love to travel and write?
Check their submission guidelines here.
Are you excited to submit to any of the websites on this list? Leave a comment to let me know.