Laying Low to Avoid the Demand Studios WDP / WEP?

By Jillian Markus, Demand Studios Review Writer

Posted On 8/31/11

I have been noticing a trend when it comes to which writers are ending up in the Demand Studios Writer Development Program, the WDP, and which aren’t. Or is it the Demand Studios Writer Evaluation Program? The WEP? This reminds me of when they renamed it Demand Media Studios.

Anyway, from the Demand Studios writers I keep in contact with online, as well as those posting on various forums, it seems that some writers may be avoiding the WDP/WEP by simply laying low. They aren’t getting negative feedback from editors, causing them to be bubbled up, because they aren’t supplying copy editors with anything to comment on.

Some Demand Studios writers have even admitted to being on the low end of the grammar score percentages released by Demand Media. They have not been swept up by the giant Demand Studios WDP capture net in spite of their low scores and, at least as of late, paltry production rate.

With one exception, these writers did not plan on avoiding the WDP by laying low; it just worked out that way. They either got sick of the Demand Studios title drought or were sick of Demand Studios as a client altogether. They moved on to something else - other writing clients, brick and mortar jobs, extended vacations while they took a closer look at their options.

Of course, no one wants to be entered into the Writer Development Program. It’s a major bummer to have your article claim limit knocked down to three and to have to sit on pins and needles while you wait for the verdict. Even if you don’t have your writing privileges revoked, you get passed on to a probation period for an unspecified length of time where your work will be more closely monitored than usual.

I wouldn’t necessarily recommend this laying low strategy though, if only because we have no idea how long the Demand Studios Writer Development Program will be around. I have a sneaking suspicion that this isn’t a short term affair, but is more likely to become standard operating procedure.

There is the chance that Demand Media will get rid of so many writers with the WDP that they will start to lower their standards when they evaluate writers. Then again, there are always new writers out there looking to write for Demand Media properties through the studio and quality control is more of an issue than ever before since Panda struck.

So How Do You Avoid the Demand Studios WDP?

Firstly, familiarize yourself with the new Demand Studios Writer Guidelines. You can find them under the Resources tab on your work desk.

You also need to spring for an AP Stylebook if you’ve not already done so. Demand Media uses AP style, with a few exceptions, which are outlined in the guidelines.

Make sure you take the time to read over your articles once or twice from start to finish before submitting. This gives you a chance to catch grammatical errors you may have missed when looking at it section by section. It will also help you check the overall flow of the article.

Use .edu and .gov references, or else references you’ve found using the Demand Studios custom Google research tool.

Perhaps more importantly, set yourself up so that your freelance writing business isn’t sunk if you land in the WDP and find yourself getting that “thanks for your time, but you’re fired” email from Demand Media.

Protect Yourself by Relying Less on Demand Studios

Start looking for other clients, right now! Demand Studios was never a good place to earn your full time income and it’s even less of a good idea now. Take a look at the alternatives to Demand Studios list, as well as our freelance writing category for job leads.

Get yourself a copy of Writer’s Market and start pitching through query letters. Create a personal writing website, which will act as your online portfolio. Include a brief bio, your best writing clips and contact information. Keep it basic and professional. Leave the cat videos and diatribes on religion for other sites.

Which brings me to my next point: start setting up your own blogs and websites where you can earn 100 percent of advertising and affiliate revenues. If you’re a bit of a Luddite when it comes to these things, you can set up a blogger blog pretty easily. If you want to get a bit more advanced, try self hosting a WordPress blog. I recommend using HostGator for hosting and Namecheap for domain registration. Take a look at WordPress For Dummies to help you get started.

If you’d rather go with something a bit more complicated and professional than a blogger blog, but a bit easier and more user friendly than learning how to create a self hosted WordPress site, check out the program XSitePro. This site was built using XSitePro and while it is a bit pricey, you can use it to build any number of revenue generating sites, making it a worthwhile investment.

Demand Studios is a good place to get your feet wet. It is also a good place for many practiced and accomplished freelance writers to earn some extra income during dry spells. But if the current less than stable conditions at Demand Media Studios has you all turned upside down, it’s probably to stop and reflect, then reevaluate the importance you’re placing on this one client.

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