For clients

Textbroker now offers Textbroker Images, a service for purchasing stock photos.
You can purchase high-quality, individual images for the low price of just $8.99 each. For more information, please visit our image FAQ

Textbroker may count words differently than other processors, sites or software. For example, Textbroker counts most HTML phrases as a word whereas Microsoft Word does not. To avoid paying for HTML, you can state in your instructions that authors should not include it and add it yourself before posting if needed.

Currently, our website does not allow uploaded/attached documents. You may use HTML to include an image, copy and paste a link into the order briefing or use a file sharing site, such as Google Docs to share your documents. When using Google Docs, please ensure your link is set to “anyone with the link can view.”

We do not have WSDL files available for the API. Unfortunately, it is not compatible at this time.
Theoretically, the API should work with C# and .NET; however, many clients have experienced significant difficulties with this integration.

Textbroker is a marketplace for freelance authors and clients. Completion of your orders depends on the availability of authors and what orders they consider appealing. The pace at which orders are chosen strongly depends on the details and complexity of the order for the quality level assigned, word counts, difficulty of topic, etc. While most orders are completed by our clients’ stipulated deadlines, we are unable to guarantee completion dates of orders.

If your order is not accepted by any author by the stipulated deadline, it is the client’s responsibility to delete the order. If you have a deadline in stipulated in your order briefing that has passed, please reach out to support at [email protected] and we will assist in removing the order from any author still holding it.

Authors set their own DirectOrder prices and can set a client specific rate from within their author account. You can check the minimum cost per word and more information on pricing on our Self-Service pricing page. Please contact an author before sending a DirectOrder to negotiate pricing and to ensure that the author is available.

To easily communicate with an author regarding their rate, we recommend that you use this formula to calculate what the author needs to set their client specific rate to in order to meet your pricing needs:
Client Rate / 1.35 = Author Rate

For example, if you want to pay 3 cents per word, by using the above formula you can determine that the author needs to set their client specific rate to 2.22 per word from within their author account.

Textbroker reviews all orders for adherence to our Terms of Service and to prevent potential issues before they go live to our authors. Some of the most common reasons for which an order may be declined are:

• The order includes your contact information or requests an author's contact information. Contact information includes phone numbers, email addresses, full names, social media contacts, personal sites, etc.
• The order requests pornography or advocates illegal or offensive actions
• The order instructions request more words than in the maximum word count set for the order
• The order request is not suitable for the quality level at which the order is placed
• The order is a request for academic work, positive reviews, testimonials for a product or service the author has not used
• The order request is unclear and may confuse authors
• There is a duplicate keyword that may prevent your order from being submitted
• Your stipulated deadline has passed

You will receive an email alerting you that an order has been declined. Further details are available in your Textbroker account. Our client services team is happy to help you with any questions that you have about declined orders!

You may want to view our video on placing your first OpenOrder. From your dashboard, click on the blue “Create New Order” button. You can then choose between Open, Direct, or TeamOrders by clicking on “Place Order” under the corresponding type. This will bring you to the templates page. Select the most relevant template for your orders. If you are unsure, we recommend the “Order Guidelines Template.”

The order placement form is very flexible. The minimum information required for an OpenOrder is:

• Quality level of the author
• Project folder
• Category
• Minimum and maximum amount of words
• Processing time
• Order title 
• Order briefing information

When you’ve completed all necessary fields, click on "Continue." If everything meets your approval, click on "Place Your Order."

You can see the status of your order on your dashboard or by going to Order Administration>Orders. You will receive an e-mail notification when your orders have been completed.

The more information you give, the easier it will be for the author to write your order and the more likely you are to be satisfied with the content that you receive. You will find several templates in your account that will prompt you to include relevant and important information in your order briefing for the authors. We also recommend that you include examples whenever possible.

The word count sets the length of an article.
The author cannot submit articles that do not meet the minimum amount of words requested.
If the writer exceeds the maximum word count, he can submit the article for your review, but you are not charged for the additional words.

The procedure is very similar to the single order placement. From the order form, click on “Bulk Input.”
You can then enter your order titles. Use the "Enter" key to place each title on its own line. This is how our website differentiates between titles.

Enter order instructions that apply to all orders in the field "Order Briefing" section. Use [PLH] as a placeholder to insert the individual order title in your description.

Example:
Order Titles:

turtles
cats
dogs
birds

Description: Please write an article on the feeding and care of [PLH]. Write for kids and repeat the keyword at least twice.

The author who elects to write "turtles" sees: Please write an article on the feeding and care of turtles. Write for kids and repeat the keyword at least twice.

The author who elects to write "cats" sees: Please write an article on the feeding and care of cats. Write for kids and repeat the keyword at least twice.

All other requirements can be set as usual and will apply to all orders. For example, the word count minimum and maximum that you set will apply to each individual order.

TeamOrders allow you to put together your own group of favorite authors. This is especially helpful for topics that require specific knowledge or experience, or regularly recurring orders.

You set the price for your team. You can check the minimum price per word on our Self-Service pricing page. To recruit 4-star authors, we suggest setting your team pricing your team slightly higher than the OpenOrder pool pricing. This helps attract authors to your team and encourages them to prioritize your orders over others placed in the OpenOrder pool.

All teams can include a section of team-specific terms and conditions as well as an application. The terms and conditions option is excellent for clients that have special needs, like requiring authorship, confirming that authors have specific subject or local knowledge or requiring consent to a non-disclosure agreement. The application is helpful for allowing you review of an author’s writing abilities or knowledge before allowing them access to your orders.

All authors can apply to a casting call team; private teams are invitation only and only the authors that you've invited can join.

The author sees following details of your order:

• Category
• Order title
• Quality level
• Min./max. word count
• Price per word
• Processing time
• Order briefing
• Keywords included and densities
• Your client ID

The author does not see your company name, your location or your website unless you share that information in your instructions. Authors can sort orders by client and see any orders that you have available to write. This is helpful when an author understands your niche or style.

The author can retrieve the following information about you via your client ID:

• Rejection rate (percent)
• Revision rate (percent)
• Titles of articles that author has completed for you
• Client specific rate set by the author specifically for you

Your Textbroker account has several preloaded, formatted templates for you to choose from. You also have the option to format your order briefing with HTML tags. Here are some examples (you will need to remove unnecessary spacing in the tags):

(1) < b > bolded words here < /b >
Use these tags to mark one or more words as bold

(2) < br >
Use this tag to start a new line.
 

(3) < p > Paragraph text here. < /p>
Use these tags to start a new paragraph.
 

(4) < b style="color:red;">This is bolded red sentence. < /b >
Use the above tags to color and bold important information.

You may preview your order briefing by clicking on “Preview briefing” under your order title.

Please note that other tags, CSS, programmer language and/or scripts that transcend this listing may not available.

The processing time is not your overall turnaround time. It is the amount of time that the author has to complete the article once they have chosen to write the order.

We strongly suggest a processing time of one day for orders of 800 words or less.

If an author accepts an order but cancels it before the order's processing time expires, the order is placed back in the author pool. The next author that accepts the same article still has the full processing time for completion.

An author that has canceled an order only has one more chance to pick up that order. This prevents authors from holding an order for a longer period of time.

If you have a firm deadline in mind for your order, we strongly recommend that you include it in a time and date format in your order briefing. Example: Deadline: 12pm PT, 10/20/16. This helps to ensure that no matter when an author picks up your order they know when you need it completed by.

An OpenOrder is available to all Textbroker authors who meet or exceed the quality level chosen by the client. When an author previews an OpenOrder, it is momentarily removed from the order pool. If the author does not accept the order within 10 minutes, it will go back into the pool where other authors can see and accept it. While an author is working on the order, only that author can access the order. If an author cancels an OpenOrder for any reason, the order will go back into the pool where another author can take it. An author can pick up an order a maximum of two times.

The processing time starts when the author chooses to write the assignment and works like a ticking countdown clock. If the author doesn't submit by the end of the processing time, the order will automatically expire and return to the order pool for another author to write.

As authors cannot see when an order was placed, we strongly recommend that you also include a firm dated deadline (MM/DD/YY) in your order briefing for the author when using the OpenOrder pool.

In the case of an OpenOrder, the assignment is returned to the author pool. TeamOrders go back to the team.

DirectOrders stay in your account under the dummy account ID "Textbroker." You can then re-assign the order to the same author or choose another author.

Requesting a revision is only possible if the article has not yet been accepted by you or by automatic acceptance (72 hours after submission by the author). In order to request a revision, simply access the article by going to Order Administration>Orders. To the right of the order, you will see a gray “Revise Order” button. You will then be prompted to provide information about what you need revised. Please note that you may only ask for revisions that are in keeping with the original briefing that you have provided.

Authors have 24 hours to complete your revision. Authors can abort the revision process at any time in which case OpenOrders will go back to the author pool, TeamOrders will go back to the other authors on the team. DirectOrders stay in your account under the dummy account ID "Textbroker." You can then re-assign the order to the same author or choose another author.

Revisions can significantly delay your project. Please try to give the author as much information in the original order briefing as possible to ensure that the first draft meets your needs.

You can find the orders that have been submitted for your review under Order Administration>Orders. Orders that are waiting for review and acceptance will have a status of “to verify” or “revised – to verify.”

Starting from moment the article is released by the author, you have 72 hours to review, accept, refuse or send the article back for revision. If you do nothing within the 72 hours, the article will automatically be accepted and the funds deducted from your client account.

If your order status is "available to authors," you can change any part of your order. To change an order, go to Order Administration>Projects>click the Project that holds the order you wish to change>check the box to the right of the order> select "Change selected order" dropdown menu>click "Go."

You will then be able to edit your briefing, change categories or switch your order to another order type, etc. Once you have made the necessary changes, click “Continue'” to save and place the edited order.

Please note that changes may not be possible while an author is working on your order.

If there is an issue with an order that is being worked on by an author, please contact our Client Services department at [email protected].

To delete an order, go to Order Administration > Projects > click the project that holds the order you wish to delete > check the box to the right of the order > select "Delete selected orders" from the dropdown > click "Go."

Once you've deleted the order the funds will automatically be returned to your available account balance.

Yes. Upon deletion of an order, the funds will automatically be returned to your available account balance. Please note that orders that are being worked on by authors, submitted for your review or accepted into your account cannot be deleted.

The archive function gives you the ability to move project folders that are no longer active. To archive a project folder, go to Projects>select the project you’d like to archive>select “Move to archive” from the dropdown>click “Go.”
Archived projects can be accessed and reviewed at any time by going to Order Administration>Show Archive. Additionally, you can un-archive a project folder at any time.

Please send us an e-mail to [email protected] Please make sure that the return address of your e-mail is the same as your registered client e-mail address.

If you have any additional questions, please contact us at [email protected]

The price list can be found under https://www.textbroker.com/clients-prices-conditions

All prices for are based on the word count.
You determine the minimum and maximum amount of words that will be reimbursed.
When assigning an OpenOrder, the price per word is calculated by a fixed price of the quality level you chose.
With a DirectOrder however, the price per word is determined by the author.
In a TeamOrder, you set the price for any orders placed to that team. You can adjust this price at any time.

Banning an author will prevent the author from accessing your orders or starting new messaging threads with you in the future. Please note that banning an author will not affect any current orders that the author may be working on or prevent them from replying to an existing message thread.

You can view all banned authors under Authors>Banned List.

No, our Terms of Service do not allow the exchange of personal contact data, including email addresses, phone numbers, full names or social media connections. For your protection, please communicate via our internal messaging system.

Currently, our website does not allow uploaded/attached documents. You may use HTML to include an image, copy and paste a link into the order briefing, or use a file sharing site, such as Google Docs to share your documents. When using Google Docs, please ensure your link is set to “anyone with the link can view.”

For detailed information, please access our Terms of Service and look under the section VI.: "Grant of Rights to the customer."

No. All texts must be a unique work and cannot, in whole or in part, coincide with any published material. This goes for an author's own work as well as third-party resources.

Authors may use quotations if referenced and attributed appropriately unless otherwise stated in the client's instructions. Furthermore, only short passages of a text may be quoted. An adoption of an entire passage or even several sentences is prohibited. 

The client only receives the copyright when the order is accepted, at which point the author will be paid. The client does not receive copyright before acceptance and cannot publish the article until it is accepted.

Publishing an article before it is accepted is de facto acceptance. The author will be paid by the client for articles that are published, although an article does not have to be published for the author to be paid, only accepted.

If an author cancels work at any time during the creative process, the author retains the rights to work produced prior to cancellation. The client may not publish previous drafts of the article.

If an article is rejected and Textbroker supports the rejection, the author retains the rights to the article. The client may not use or publish any version of the article. The author may use the article in any way.

If an article is rejected and the rejection is overturned, the author is paid and the client receives the copyright to the article.

Yes, all articles are automatically checked for plagiarism against published content online and content written internally. If an article is flagged for results, it is reviewed by our quality control team before being passed on to you for review. Copied content may be allowed through if it is a quote, a legal term, a common phrase, a list of items or other information critical to the content or where a change may compromise the integrity of the information being provided. Despite our thorough quality control, it is possible that these security measures could be bypassed. In case of any infringement of copyright law, the author is held liable, and Textbroker will assist its clients fully if they seek legal remedies.

No. Every article an author submits must be unique and may not be resold to multiple clients. This fact is also explicitly and clearly indicated on the user menu in the author account.

Textbroker pays the authors for you. This way you spare yourself an elaborate billing procedure and 1099 processing for every single author.

Before placing your first order, you will have to make a minimum $25.00 deposit via the offered deposit options. Your deposit must cover the full costs of the work you plan on ordering. 

With the money in your account, you can now place orders! The funds for any orders are held aside until you accept the article.

When you accept the articles, the funds are immediately deducted from your account, and are credited to the author. The author can see which articles have been accepted and how much was paid for each article. 

Upon first order placement and deposit, you will receive a welcome call or email from Textbroker Client Services. We take this opportunity to review your first order with you and provide recommendations. In addition, to protect your credit card and PayPal account, we will verify the details of your payment. You may be asked to provide supplemental documentation.

Please note that your orders will be on hold until we hear from you to discuss your order. This is a one-time procedure and once your account has been verified, your future orders will automatically go to our activation queue to be reviewed and released to our authors. Please ensure that your contact information is valid in order to avoid delays.

Affiliate programs limit your earnings by setting a specific margin. Instead of limited earnings, we offer a content reseller program that allows you to set your own prices and earnings. Contact us today for more information.

No, we require funds to be in your account when you place an order, because authors must be paid immediately to release their copyright. Withholding the funds when you place your order allows us to pay authors the instant you accept your articles, showing exactly when the copyright was transferred.

You can find receipts for all of your deposits in your client account under the "$" icon located at the top of your account.

Deposits may be made via PayPal or credit card via PayPal’s guest check out.
Your payment is automatically credited to your Textbroker account directly after your deposit. You can find all payment details in your client account under the "$" icon, including the option to set notifications via email when your account balance runs low.

We also accept personal checks and wire transfers. Please note that clients are responsible for all associated fees.

Deposits made via PayPal and credit card via PayPal’s guest check out are usually transferred within 15 minutes.

If your transaction did not deposit immediately, PayPal may be conducting a fraud check on your transaction. PayPal does not notify you of this and withholds the money for up to 24 hours. As soon as PayPal's review is completed, your funds will automatically be credited to your Textbroker account.

If you have concerns about your deposit, please contact support at [email protected]. Please note that Textbroker is unable to expedite PayPal’s review of your transaction.

Textbroker works on a deposit basis and all payments to authors are completed via Textbroker.

Before placing your first order, you will have to make a minimum deposit of at least $25, which will be credited to your client account. A printable online receipt is generated in your client account every time you make a deposit.

Once funds are deposited into your account, you can then place orders. Your available balance must cover the cost of the orders you wish to place. The funds for all active orders are frozen until you have either accepted or deleted the orders.

If you wish to close your Textbroker account at any time, you can request a refund of the remaining available balance. Please send an email to [email protected] with your refund request. Your balance is not automatically refunded when you close your account.

There are many options available to you after you accept an article. You can have your articles emailed to you as plain text, CSV, or RSS formats automatically when you accept the article. These formats, along with MS Word, are available in manual export as well. Our XML-RPC pushes your articles to WordPress, Joomla or Drupal.

We also have an API and a WordPress plug-in to make ordering and retrieving completed articles easy and comfortable.

Automatic export will automatically send you each article individually upon acceptance. You may set up this function by going to Order Administration>Projects>click on the settings icon next to the project>click on “Export settings.”

Please ensure that you have set up this function before accepting your articles. If the export is set up after articles have already been accepted, you will have to export those articles manually.

Manual export will send you all your accepted articles from a project when you choose. Manual export formats include MS Word, plain text in an email, CSV and RSS. Please note that special characters are UTF-8 coded in CSV and RSS files.

Yes. Clients will need to update their project export settings in order to do this. Please contact Textbroker Client Services at [email protected] with any questions.

Please note that Textbroker does not offer WordPress support.

The API allows you to directly connect your content management system to the Textbroker platform. You will be able to manage the entire ordering and approval process inside your own application. Please find more information and the technical documentation for API integration here. Because the connection is custom to your CMS, we cannot program the API for you.

DirectOrders are available only to a specific author of your choice. We strongly recommend that clients contact the author before sending a DirectOrder to ensure that the author is available.
Each author can set his/her own DirectOrder price, regardless of their quality level.

Use our automatic password retrieval option. We cannot see your password. If the automatic system doesn't work, send us an email at [email protected] or [email protected] using your registered address, and we will reset your password.

Prices for orders are based on word count and quality level.

You set the minimum and maximum amount of words. The author cannot submit an article shorter than the minimum word requirement. An author can submit something longer than the maximum requirement, but you only pay for the maximum number of words.

All orders incur a processing fee. For more information about pricing, please visit our Self-Service pricing page.

Textbroker can provide nearly any type of article. Current projects include website content, how-to articles, keyword-focused evergreen content, white papers, press releases, product descriptions, informative articles, blog posts and travelogues.

We do not accept academic papers or homework at all. We do not accept explicit adult articles as OpenOrders. We reserve the right to refuse articles that advocate illegal behavior or acts.

The more detailed your order is, the better the article will be. Also, consider the appropriate level of quality when placing OpenOrders. Research-intense or highly technical orders should exclusively be assigned to 4 or 5 star authors.

You can export your articles by locating your completed orders from within your project folders or by going to Order Administration>Orders. Only orders with a status of “done” can be exported.

To export an order, select the gray box next to the order>select “Export selected orders” from the dropdown menu>click “Go.”

You may export your article in one of the following formats:

• Plain text (email)
• CSV
• RSS 2.0 (XML file)
• MS Word Doc

You can choose to select a single order, multiple orders or multiple pages of orders for export. Automatic export is also available by email or directly to WordPress, Joomla, or Drupal.

As soon as submitted texts have passed plagiarism checks, Textbroker sends you an email notification that an order is ready for your review. You can receive an email notification upon completion of each order or once a day. To change this feature, please go to the “gear” icon at the top of your page and click on “Settings.”

Clients are able to rate articles based on how well the finished product meets their needs. This rating is solely for the author's notes. We do not take the client's rating into consideration when evaluating an author's quality level.

Authors who have passed the proofreading test are automatically considered for 5-star status. Upon passing the proofreading test, the author will be placed on a list for 5-star observation. When our editors have enough material to make a decision, they will notify the author.

• Level 1
• Level 2
• Level 3

3-star articles may still contain spelling mistakes, but they are usually attributed to homonym confusion and minor typos. Repeated, consistent spelling errors are not acceptable at the 3-star level. Also, capitalization mistakes will be limited to specialized, isolated cases, like “Ipod” instead of “iPod.” 3-star authors will use commas correctly approximately 50 percent of the time or more. Although there might be pronoun and subject/verb agreement errors in 3-star writing, they will be minor. Additionally, 3-star authors will have mastered the use of definite and indefinite articles. While possibly containing some filler, 3-star articles will largely make logical sense and will have a discernible argument.

4-star articles may have minor grammatical errors only; many have none at all. Misspellings and typos are very rare in 4-star work. Capitalization will be entirely correct, and complex punctuation will be used correctly: There will be no errors in the use of colons and semicolons. Dashes, parentheses, ellipses and exclamation points will be used in a way that is consistent with the AP Stylebook and is not stylistically obtrusive. However, occasionally, 4-star articles can contain choppy sentences or awkward phrasing and may be in parts lacking overall article flow. The argument in a 4-star article will be strong. However, it may be presented in a concise and straightforward manner that is somewhat simplistic. The average person will consider a 4-star article to be very good, and this is the level at which most clients order.

5-star authors have proven to our editorial staff that they invariably provide professional-grade writing. Each article will be nearly flawless, and 5-star authors will consistently provide content that meets our stringent 5-star standards. At the 5-star level, we do not tolerate spelling mistakes, typos, capitalization errors or punctuation errors that are not mandated by the client instructions. The argument will be extremely strong and will be presented in a style that is insightful and compelling, all while being impeccably and thoroughly researched. Additionally, 5-star authors will interact with clients and Textbroker staff in a manner befitting their status as professionals. Our 5-star authors are hand-picked by our editorial staff and represent the best that Textbroker has to offer.

Please keep in mind that sometimes clients specifically request that a keyword violate the rules of grammar. We encourage our authors to follow client instructions even if the client asks the author to omit a grammatically necessary comma or to misspell a word. Be assured that our editors have access to the clients’ instructions and do take them into account when rating articles.

Differences Between 3-Star and 4-Star Articles 

The main difference between 3-star and 4-star articles, aside from 4-star authors displaying a stronger grasp of grammar, punctuation and overall sentence construction, is the strength of the argument. While 3-star articles still contain an argument, the arguments may be unclear due to filler, repetitive information or overall lack of sentence clarity. 4-star articles only contain isolated incidences of filler that are relevant to the main topic of the article.

Differences Between 4-Star and 5-Star Articles

The main difference between 4-star and 5-star articles is the way in which the argument is presented. The argument in a 4-star article will be strong. However, the argument may be presented in a concise and straightforward manner that is overly simplistic rather than compelling. Stylistically, 4-star articles can contain choppy sentences or awkward phrasing. Overall, the argument will be laid out but not necessarily in a persuasive or engaging way, lacking transitional sentences and overall article flow. While 4-star articles should be grammatically correct with only minor errors, stylistically the articles are not as developed or engaging as those written at 5 stars.