Prospect Solution - Helping You to Help Undergraduates Cheat Degree Passes

Prospect Solution appears to be a respectable, professional agency, providing freelance work for writers of graduate or undergraduate status. However, its website is less than up-front about what its writers will actually be doing, or why they will be paid so highly. This article explains exactly what Prospect Solution pays its writers for, and why no writer with the slightest sense of common decency should agree to write for the company.

Prospect Solution is a company that shows up time and again in the Adsense ads shown on this blog and anywhere else online where freelance writing is discussed or written about. The company maintains a consistent and high-profile marketing campaign, promising to pay its writers excellent fees for producing essays on their own specialist subject within a limited time period. But how can Prospect Solution afford such high fees, and what do they do with all these essays?

That's simple; the essays are sold on to (presumably well-off) undergraduates to pass off as their by handing in as part of their degree coursework. Prospect Solution and its writers (in addition to a number of similar UK companies, one of which is called Ivory Research) are literally enabling British students to fraudulently pass degree courses, and thereby undermining the very fabric of higher education. Such behaviour is clearly morally reprehensible, yet the company has thousands of writers on its books, and is, as previously mentioned, continually on the look out for more.

Prospect Solution doesn't clearly identify the nature of the work its writers are undertaking on its official website, which means freelance writers may sign up unwittingly, unaware of exactly what they will be doing. A quick trawl of the internet reveals this has already occurred, with forums displaying questions from recent, successful Prospect Solution applicants regarding what will become of their essays - and the horrified responses they post when they subsequently discover the truth from other Prospect Solution writers.

This means, not only is Prospect Solution enabling undergraduates to illegally obtain fraudulent degrees, it's also tricking writers into writing the essays. Such a company could hardly be described by anyone as respectable or professional.

Of course, desperate people - of whom there are many, especially in times of economic hardship - take desperate measures, and it is understandable, although not entirely forgiveable, that writers and graduates with serious financial problems would agree to undertake writing work such as this. However, for the companies providing the work, there really is no excuse. If one can successfully run a business selling one product, one can usually also do so with another product - preferably one that is ethically sound.

Anyone considering writing for Prospect Solutions, or already doing so, is advised to re-evaluate their options. Would you be happy if you discovered your doctor, teacher, lawyer, psychologist, financial adviser or MP (I thought I'd better mention them, since they cheat in every other capacity) had fraudulently obtained their degree?

Don't enable these people to cheat. Don't write for Prospect Solution, or any similar company - no matter what fee they are offering. Integrity is worth more than all the money in the world.

Demand Studios Opens its Doors to UK Freelance Writers

Demand Studios is a popular online service that enables thousands of American freelance writers to earn money writing for a living. Until recently UK writers weren't accepted at Demand Studios, but that has now changed, which is brilliant news for UK freelance writers.

Demand Studios provides work for freelance writers. Applicants must provide a professional CV and should ideally have English qualifications and freelance writing experience. The company has previously refused UK writers, but recently altered its policies - much to the delight of UK Associated Content writers, who were recently told their services were no longer required. Demand Studios offers the perfect alternative.

Demand Studios pays its writers twice weekly for submitted articles, and members are free to choose which topics they write about from a list of available titles. Once claimed, these titles are reserved exclusively for a period of seven days, within which time writers must have finished writing the article and submitted it to an editor for approval. Editors at demand Studio don't just check articles for spelling and grammar mistakes - they also check facts, so this is a venue for serious writers with specialist knowledge of particular areas, or those committed to conducting serious research.

At Demand Studios, each article commands a fee of anywhere between $3 and $15, depending on which type of article you choose to write. This could mean a half-reasonable wage for freelance writers who can create several articles per day in the higher paying categories.

There are also member forums to enable communication and support between Demand Studio members, and the editorial team claim to be around to help their writers, should they require any assistance. All in all it seems like a reasonable set-up for those new to freelance writing, and will certainly help build a beneficial portfolio.

If you sign up to write for Demand Studios please pop back and leave a comment to let us know what your experiences are.

Apply to Become A Freelance Writer for Demand Studios

Infobarrel: Online Publisher For Freelance Writers

Infobarrel is a relatively new online publisher for freelance writers. It uses a similar system to Hubpages, in that writers are not paid by Infobarrel for page views - they instead monetise their articles using Adsense, Amazon Associates, and Chiquita advertising accounts. Infobarrel makes its money by placing in-text ads on the articles. It does not share this revenue with its members, nor does it disclose any information regarding how much it makes. This aspect of the site is less than transparent and begs the question, is Infobarrel fair to writers, in the way it arranges payment?

Infobarrel is open to all freelance writers, although publishing standards are fairly high, and they intend this to always be the case, because it is beneficial for SEO. Because of this, all articles are approved prior to publication, unless written by a pre-approved member. In order to become pre-approved a writer must have been a member for at least fourteen days, and have published at least ten articles about a diverse range of topics, the majority of which should be without self-serving links. After this period articles written by competent writers are published automatically. This doesn't mean that errors don't slip through, however, but when encountering errors in other writers' Infobarrel articles it is possible to contact a member of editorial staff who will either correct the error/s themselves, or ask that the original writer correct them. This is a facility not offered by many online publishers, and an important aspect of creating a successful website.

Infobarrel allows its writers to publish articles previously published elsewhere, provided they have been removed from the previous publisher’s website. Articles are published on the main Infobarrel website, in the relevant category. Each category also has an article on its main page, describing the category in question. Infobarrel members are able to write these introductory articles themselves if the category description page is empty (which some still are), thereby attracting many additional internal visitors, due to the increased exposure on the Infobarrel site.

What makes Infobarrel attractive to writers is that - besides the potential to earn revenue through using the advertising methods already mentioned - they are also able to add two self-serving links to each article, in addition to a signature link. This means that for every article published a writer can add three separate links to additional web pages, thus promoting additional articles on other websites, a blog, or any other form of internet business. This makes Infobarrel a lucrative opportunity for bloggers, website owners and other entrepreneurs, who can take advantage of Infobarrel’s good page rank and use it to promote their blog, website and even individual (related) product pages.

Infobarrel has installed some gimmicky features, such as a points system - to show how often/well/appropriately writers use the site - and regular contests for its members. There’s also the opportunity to donate a percentage of earnings to charity, a member's only forum, and the usual facility to network and make friends, follow writers' RSS feeds, leave comments, ‘like’ articles, etc.

Overall, Infobarrel isn’t a venue for professional freelance writers, but it can provide experience for those new to freelance writing online, or hoping to improve their writing skills. Its usefulness regarding promotion is a major selling point, since many online publishers do not allow self-serving links. This is probably Infobarrel's most useful feature, but it unfortunately leaves the system open to abuse, with a danger - particularly as the site grows and editorials become automated - of repetitive articles advertising the same websites and products again, and again being published.
Infobarrel is recommended to beginners to freelance writing online, and hobby writers.

Freelance Writing: Getting Published Online

There are so many ways in which to go about getting published online that newcomers to the world of freelance writing may feel overwhelmed with choice and confused regarding which site is best for their needs. Reading reviews can be beneficial, but one has to bare in mind that the writer of the review may have had a different experience with the company than other writers have, so reading several reviews of each site is necessary before any real comparison can be made. Also, a review written by someone with long-term experience writing for numerous online publishers is more valuable than one written by a newcomer to freelance writing online, or someone whose experience is limited to one or two companies.

Many writers make the mistake of over-valuing or under-valuing their worth. There are incredibly talented writers who are are simply unaware which companies will pay them appropriately for their skills, and consequently waste their time writing for sites that pay peanuts. Then there are writers whose English skills are more than questionable, who see no need to improve and who publish anywhere they can, flooding the internet with poorly written articles and expecting to be paid well for their meagre efforts.

It's essential to know one's place in the world of freelance writing. If you are aware of what your skills are, and how they compare to those of other writers, it's possible to find a suitable place to publish, with the best rate of pay for your current abilities. In this way you can work on any shortcomings that may be preventing you applying for better-paid work elsewhere, while simultaneously earning money and gaining valuable writing experience.

Getting published online is relatively simple, but there's far more to it than that if you want to be financially rewarded for your efforts. For example, you need to choose whether you prefer up-front or residual payments (with some sites a mixture of both is available, but this is a rarity). Usually up-front payments are reserved for better writers, but there are sites which pay a small upfront fee to less able writers. At the end of the day, these sites would happily pay the same small fee to a writer of extraordinary talent, so be sure to search around and get yourself the best rate you can find if you know you're a skilled writer. Topic choice is also an important factor, especially regarding residual earnings; marketing skills also play a large part in this type of freelance writing.

And if you're not so highly skilled but still want to give it a go? We all have to start somewhere, and practice is the name of the game; the more you write the more natural writing will become. If you have difficulties with spelling and general grammar there are plenty of books out there to help. There's also software on the market to help you correct your work and learn key skills. Or why not enrol on a course to improve your writing? If you're seriously considering a career in freelance writing and know your skills are below par this may well be necessary. Reading also improves writing skills, so set aside a little time each day to read technical or academic books (popular fiction usually contains lots of slang and is sometimes completely unedited, so could be teaching you more bad habits!).

If you're new to freelance writing and seeking somewhere online to be published you'll find links to various sites on the 'Links' page (see titlebar, directly beneath header). Each site will be explored in detail in subsequent posts.

Welcome to Freelance Writing Online

This is a formal welcome post to all future readers of the Freelance Writing Online website. I'd like to thank you for visiting, and to apologise if you've arrived before I've got the site reasonably full of information. Please bare with me - I'm a freelance writer myself and have several other websites to maintain, a child to home-school, and exams to study for, so time is precious.

Once set up, this website will provide information concerning how to get published online, reviews of freelance writing sites, tips and resources to help improve written English, and all sorts of other advice concerning how to carve a career in the online world of freelance writing.

Please feel free to leave a comment if you have any questions about freelance writing online. You can also follow the blog via Goodle, or subscribe to our RSS feed (see right-hand sidebar).

Thanks for dropping by!