Do you feel that your voice is not being heard and that your work is undervalued? Don’t worry: Vocal has you covered.
In short, Vocal is a platform for and only for writers creators, not to mention “vocal provides the storytelling tools and engaged communities for writers, musicians, filmmakers, artists, and all types of creatives to get discovered, and fund their creativity.” We live in a time when to label yourself as a creator translates to creativity on steroids; everything you do must stand out and be as creative as possible. Why? Well, it seems as though everyone wants to be a content creator, even more than writer’s creators. Still, the same rule applies. Thus, this causes the market to be oversaturated.
What is Vocal Offering?
If you want to write for Vocal, keep in mind the many “communities” that they offer. In other words, keep in mind the many categories that they offer. This includes, but not limited to, futurism, blush (skincare, makeup, essentially anything that has to do with beauty), relationships, fashion, and many more. Moreover: “Keep in mind that when you publish Vocal may decide to place your piece into a different Community they feel is better suited to the article.” This is not to say that what you have written was not good, rather Vocal might believe your article would do best someplace else.
How Do I Sign Up?
Good question. This most simple answer is: submit your work and see where that takes you. It’s free to make an account as well, which eliminates any monthly fees. One of the beauties of Vocal is that they do not have a ‘like’ or ‘follow’ button. This levels the playing field, so every writer’s creators have a fair shot at getting recognized and more importantly paid. Because come on, we all love fairness, at least to a certain extent.
When will I get paid?
Slow down, kiddo! You’re not guaranteed money right off the jump. The way the system works is that you’d need as many readers as possible, so basically make sure you’ve written a bomb-ass article to generate enough readership. For example, expert writer Robert Turner states that: “In terms of Social Media, the stronger your following on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Quora, LinkedIn and others, the better Vocal will work for you. You can generate your own readers and get paid for them.” Also, when you’ve submitted your work, be sure that it is clear of any grammatical errors, as Vocal does not do that for you. So, even though you’re in complete control over what you publish, you’re also in control of how it is written, formatted, and edited.
So, back to the question: when will I get paid? Well, according to Alina Bradford, “writers earn $3.80 per 1,000 reads. If you subscribe to Vocal + (which is $10 per month with a 30-free trial), you’ll earn $6 per 1,000 reads. So, say you subscribe to Vocal+ and your article goes viral, snagging 1 million reads. That’s earnings of $6,000.” It’s extremely unlikely that will happen, though you never know: miracles do happen!
Final thoughts
If you’re a freelance writer like myself, don’t feel that you’re too good to submit your work. Trust me, it will pay off. Your writing will improve drastically which is just as important as getting an article published. If they haven’t told you already, let me tell you: journalism is a very competitive field to be in. Whether you want to admit it or not. It’s not easy, so don’t try to take the easy way out. However, because of Vocal, every writer, whether beginner, intermediate, advanced, has a fair shot at getting an article published. Although Vocal hasn’t had some push back from people who claim that the system is rigged, at least they a platform for those that enjoy the art of writing. Just have fun with it, and believe me, something will come out of it.
That’s it. So what are you doing? Go out there and write.
Featured image credit: Steve Johnson
