What Are Content Mills? Everything New Writers Should Know

Content mills, also known as content farms, are companies that use freelance writers to produce high volumes of content for clients. Mills offer a wide range of written content to help clients looking to build awareness, generate leads, increase sales, or rank well in search engines.

For clients, content mills help them keep up with the demand for fresh content at an affordable price.

A company can submit a brief and have it fulfilled for as little as a few cents per word by gig workers ghostwriting on behalf of the mill.

Here’s an example of packages offered by iWriter:

These rates are attractive to businesses looking to keep content marketing costs low.

Unfortunately, rates this low mean writers often have to sacrifice quality for quantity to make a living.

But fast writers keep volume high, which keeps clients happy and orders coming in. This, in turn, keeps writers working.

And that’s how mills keep churning.

Content Mills vs. Content Marketing Agencies

A content mill is all about quantity. Their main focus is pumping out content to fit a topic or keyword.

Companies that use mills grab their audience’s attention by flooding their marketing channels with content.

For example, an IT support company might identify “Dell laptop repairs” as a popular keyword. Ordering and publishing 100 articles based on that phrase gives them a fast boost in search engine visibility.

But it’s short-term thinking. Low rates and tight timescales mean writers’ research is minimal. This...