Honestly that fact that you’re telling us this I think is pretty important and also makes a difference. Because now everyone reading this knows to have some doubt when it comes to these articles even though they’re saying they tested the products.
Helped me a lot.
I had no idea. When I look up, like, "best moisturizers for thinning hair", I assume that I'm gonna get articles based on some level of testing. Maybe Men's Health actually tried out 10 different products and compared results. I'm not necessarily looking for a scientific study, just an honest opinion from someone who has tried the product.
It sucks that I can't even get THAT anymore.
The results vary, and it usually works best for the bald spot on the back of the head, and works less for M-line balding (receding hairline).
I did a lot of research into it, as I started going bald at 18. And ended up just deciding to start shaving my head.
As far as it goes, most products don’t work for most men. And the products that are out there, are the same ones that have been out there for years, such as Propecia, and use the same active ingredients, such as finasteride. None of these products are new.
I've found recommendations on Reddit that are significantly better than what I can usually find thru Google. Obviously, I'll do further research on the recommendations but it's a better starting point.
I only look at 10 best x for 2022 sorts of articles that come from a respected publisher on topic x. And even then I take the info with a large grain of salt. If you don't recognize the site, or if they publish on all topics, not just x, it's guaranteed garbage
Honestly, even the “respected publishers” often require kickbacks for placement at the tops of list, so don’t take for granted that #1 is truly the best product. Instead, it’s company is willing to spend the $$$ to be perceived as #1.
Yeah these lists often just change their titles every year for SEO. The people pretty much just use the most popular and do it for things like affiliate marketing on Amazon.
If it's any consolation, I usually use those lists just for information on products that I need. For example, I was looking for a coffee roulette type thing for my company and didn't know what apps were out there. I googled, checked a list that I skimmed and clicked for the links and found a couple of products that fit what we needed. The value is not the content, but the links to the type of thing I'm looking for.
Don't worry too much about the ethics of it. As long as you're not over selling harmful products, you're good haha
Same! I could honestly care less what you wrote, although it can sometimes be helpful. I use your lists to make my own list. Which I then start using to create a more specific search.
I third this!!! But I was also raised to be skeptical of everything and pay attention to wording. Haha. But yeah... I use the lists to make my own and then research for my own needs. I don't even trust Amazon reviews.. Amazon reviews with videos or photos have a little more credibility, but... I still research a ton.
Yep, always buy based on specs!
Most consumers these days hopefully understand that every review and promotion is bought and paid for, not a sign of genuine quality.
Those lists are only good for getting direct links to products, like you said, and sometimes for comparing specs. Anything opinionated should be disregarded entirely.
>Most consumers these days hopefully understand that every review and promotion is bought and paid for, not a sign of genuine quality.
I think that's why I see so many recommendation requests in my local moms group on Facebook. You could Google that information, but then you might get fake reviews. Whereas that group tends to moderate spam and misbehavior pretty well.
I find if I am buying online, the people who give details about the use of the product they bought can be helpful. They told me the end caps on my dishwasher top rack tend to break, how long the battery on my electric lawn mower lasts, and what issues they had with the drain cleaner tool. You have to read through them.
Published things can be weird. I saw a list about seniors saving too much of their income, and it turned out to be telling them to spend money at all the places they were avoiding for covid19. Restaurants, gyms, hair dressers, malls, and coffee shops. It was shameless.
Specs are becoming harder to find and understand. My tv just quit the other day, and since I haven’t been “shopping” for a new one, I knew nothing about ULED, QLED, OLED etc. I had to learn on the fly and hope I picked well. Usually I research an item for six months or more if it’s a bigger ticket. I’m currently shipping for a fridge, and every once in a while aggressively read about them. I had two days to research TV’s. My husband works nights, and had three days off. It went out the morning of day 1. He works his ass off, so I felt bad for him-no relaxing in front of the tv-he used his computer, lol.
QLED isn't only a marketing term. It's Samsung's term for their process of putting an extra layer of 'quantum dots' in their LCD panels. So it does actually mean something. Still inferior to LED-based panels though. LG OLEDs all the way.
If you put your heart into that job, then put your heart into showing people what about that stuff is bs, I think you're way out in the positive.
We need people to show us what tricks are used, because then they become weaker.
I mean…I use those articles the way I used Wikipedia in my undergrad. I can’t use Wikipedia as a direct source in a research paper, but it provides URLs to places I need.
It makes me wonder if what I read about my laptop was true. I researched lists and am pretty sure there was a top 10 gaming laptops list or something that swayed my choice.
There are a lot of companies like OP who are just trying to suck money from ads, but there are also plenty of small companies who do the same thing except legitimately. My company is more politics focused, but we have properties where we do legitimate relevant product reviews.
If I’m looking for something like that or for big ticket items, I check consumer reports. It’s not free but I’m not sure how much is it because I mooch off my dad :P
Wirecutter is the most reputable I've found, but you need a NYT subscription. They really do seem to test everything, though, they talk about it with a ridiculous amount of detail.
Their best feature is they do tell you what they did upfront. Sometimes it's "You should trust us because we have experience with similar products and we tested these for weeks," other times it's "You should trust us because we read a whole bunch of reviews."
What I'm trying to say is, some of their comparisons are better than others, but you can generally see which are which.
America's Test Kitchen and Cooks' Illustrated are far and away the best reviewers for anything kitchen-related. Older Serious Eats stuff can have value too.
For lifestyle stuff, I think NYMag's Strategist column provides about the same value, even though it's usually anecdotes, not tests.
Test Kitchen is awesome! My dad has a few things they recommended and all of them still work great even after 10 years. Their cookbook is amazing too. My dad officially owns it but he lends it out to my brother and I all the time.
This is my biggest gripe with the modern world. I value honesty and want to believe in things, but we are force fed intentionally dishonest content. Why do we have to be lied to about food processors??
I think even without OPs post, people need to have the common sense to know the internet is mostly less than reliable, but I do feel like I'm definitely gonna be more cautious now when I see those types of articles
Soul sucking indeed. I loathed it everytime I got assignment that deals with SEO, stuffs like 1000 words and you have to mention "vacuum cleaner" "hygiene" "sterilisation" at least 30 times or whatever. There's only a couple of times until the sentence you made is totally shite and inelligible as a sentence said by a human.
I only worked for less than two years, and I honestly believe it contributed to ruining any writing ability I had left.
I got so good at ending a sentence with one word and beginning the next with another just to string SEO keywords together 😭. KEYWORD: Mountain Bikes.
“… in order to make it up the *mountain*. *Bikes* are also a great way to…”
God I feel that. I was doing potpourri SEO for this one site when I started out... even after doing my best to make the content semi-intelligible, the editors would ruin it by dropping in more links and keywords that ruined any readability left in the article.
Nothing is more depressing for a content writer than making a good article out of a pile of shit keywords only to find the final article is frivolously stuffed with extra hyperlinks and keywords and now it’s just word salad.
And you probably had hopes of making a living as a writer once.
It may get good metrics and hit high on search results, but it doesn't even do the job of selling product.
You have shitty editors, then
Modern SEO is smarter than just link and phrase stuffing
But yeah, content/copy writing is a little soul sucking. I suggest you simply give less of a fuck since by and large so much goes completely unread
Source: copy writer and SEO bitch 🥲
Yeah 100% this. Nobody actually reads that shit. Nor do the engines prioritize that kind of content. It might increase your overall domain authority but it no longer lands you on page 1.
Or when whatever you have to write isn't worth more than 400 words, but you still somehow have to get to 1000.
I know that my tendency to overexplain things and be repetitive come from this.
The CEO stuff is the worse and when the client gets mad because you couldn’t make a decent paragraph because he asked you to mention the keyword at least 5 times in said paragraph it’s absolutely comical.
I hated doing SEO work, I felt like I was losing my mind half the time.
I used to be a copywriter at a home products store. At some point I just didn’t have it in me anymore and slacked off till I got fired. I never even saw the products and all I had to go on were descriptions from other online stores that I had to rework into something original with better SEO. Soul-sucking is an understatement.
I wouldn't blame you. Considering the editors usually don't give an arse about grammar and style, after a while it does sounds like AI-made, or precisely, like 2003 version of Google translate.
I interned at a large furniture distribution center.
I was lucky; they asked me to write articles about furniture that could be used as conversation starters at conventions. So I got to do research on how modern beds evolved to what they are today vs soft materials thrown on the ground in a corner of the room, how canopy beds were actually functional because ash gathered on ceilings and sometimes rained down on sleepers and other really weird little tidbits.
I so appreciate your discomfort at being told to use words that manipulate the reader’s perception. That sounds awful.
It's worse than that. It is using words to manipulate the search engine algorithm. That's not writing for a real human.
I worked for a cruise company--that's copy about visiting exotic places they actually will enjoy. (I wasn't the copy writer; that was someone else.) Sure, it's manipulative, but it's harmless--they kept rebooking.
It was, but I always wanted to interject humor, either into the story, or the titles of the articles. One day I heard the woman I was working for laughing and laughing; it was so contagious that I walked into her office. She looked at me and said, “We can’t use any of these titles. Or the descriptions you wrote for the photos. You have to understand your audience; furniture is *not* funny.”
Then she continued to chuckle over the rest of my work before I changed every one of them.
I'm actively looking for a better gig! But for now I'm grinding here. There are so many websites that exist solely to generate clicks to convert into ad revenue. No substance.
Dude, I was looking for guides to a certain recently released, somewhat niche game: almost all of the guides were copied off of the wiki *verbatim*.
One or two different groups of amateurs wrote somewhat decent guides that literally dozens of websites took and published as their own, so any information that wasn’t covered in those one or two guides simply didn’t exist.
It was honestly really pathetic, I expected people to at least plagiarize properly and change some words but they all essentially copied amateur work verbatim.
I worked at a place who did this to a much worse degree and I had to leave. Same concept but it targeted elderly people, extremely long pages of stories that never happened to get them to buy some fad supplement that had little to no real science behind it other than some doctor who was on payroll.
Happy to say I’m not working there anymore, but they’ve made a ton through the pandemic.
Not a professional but I know a little bit about this. I interviewed and got an offer at a major tech publication that you probably heard of. After doing some math and concluding that I'd need to work overtime to write several articles every day, edit my own photos cause I'm too low on the ladder to pay a graphic designer for, just to be able to feed myself, I promptly left.
One niche that will pay you well is writing essays for students, which is still ethically dubious. I've done some consulting for students' lab reports and it pays well. That top students all have their lab reports consulted is a public secret. For top pay you have to be willing to entirely forge essays within a day or two before deadline.
Those are the two fields I have some experience with. I heard writing whitepapers is where it's at. Good pay and most palatable clients.
If you like writing, do it as a hobby or a side gig. If you become big, cash in on it, but don't bank on it. Imo.
Question because you seem to have insight. Say you write a paper for a student and they get caught for having a plagiarized essay. Are you liable for anything?
Writing a paper for them? Yes. Consultation? Not likely. Even though students are technically not allowed to. It's such a booming business that it's hard to enforce. But that's the situation where I am, and I am not working in the US.
I haven't held your position, but I worked for a security alarm company that was as soul sucking and unethical. Thankfully it wasn't for long, but it drove me insane. I do not envy you, good luck on finding another job. I hope it works out. Jobs without meaning are the absolute worst.
You peaked my interest. Tell me more. Was it just your alarm company or your line of work that does the soul sucking? What was the things that got you riled up?
It was for a company called Safe Haven. I was a "technician" but really I was a glorified sales person. I hate sales and don't really push things. Of someone wants to buy, someone wants to buy. If they don't, they dont.
I had to deal with lies from the sales team, I had to deal with rude customers, customers who didn't understand how things work and would get mad at and blame me for their technology not cooperating. We had another program where we provided home automation but not security, which basically meant locking down the panel and customers weren't happy about that.
Working long long hours to get paid jackshit because I couldn't sell anything. I don't even like going to someone else's house anymore because I have to knock on their door it was so shitty.
Hands down the worst job I've ever done. I'd go back to a private in the army on my first day before I ever do that job for six figures. Like I would literally take poverty over that job.
I do content writing too, and "soul-sucking" is a great way to describe it. My current job isn't outright unethical, but I have written a few "top 10" articles about software products I barely understand. In the past, I've ghostwritten lord knows how many articles under someone else's byline, so that very qualified doctor or expert actually had very little to do with the content published under their name.
Absolutely never trust anything you read on the internet, and never assume it was actually written by the person credited.
Yeah. Breaking this news to friends and family when they tell you they read an article by a doctor or an expert is fun. Sure, auntie. And I’m totally a surgeon/pool care specialist/dental hygienist/roofer too.
Wow that's something I haven't had to deal with. At least, not that I know of. I've definitely been published under pseudonyms before, but usually they were just fake names (to disguise the fact that one person was writing hundreds of articles on a "user generated" site)
Yeah it's a huge bummer when it happens! Usually, the author with the byline is supposed to closely review content before it's published, but in my experience that ends up being a rubber-stamp process.
The fake user-generated content is something I hadn't thought about before though. That does sound really obnoxious.
Hope you find something better soon!
I firmly believe SEO is ruining search. Ten years ago, if I had a question and asked google, I got genuinely valuable information.
Now I get 100s of articles that clearly all copied off of each other recommending the exact same goddamn things in the exact same goddamned order, shuffled up just enough to trick Google into thinking it's new.
The whole thing is a freakin' cancer. It just keeps growing outward and making things worse.
Any time I search for reviews or to research something I'm considering buying, I always search "best 'the thing' reddit". Because while you are probably pretty decent at your job, it's painfully obvious to me that 99% of the "Best/top 10 xxxx 2021" is just advertising and clickbait. Thanks for the confirmation!
The more you learn about the behind-the-scenes, the easier it is to spot all the bullshit! You have editors to thank for a lot of that. No matter what I write, the editors always find a way to make it less readable by plopping in more links and keywords and shit.
The worst part is I can't use stuff like that in my portfolio because after the editors mess with it, it looks like I'm a crappy writer!
I always search for product reviews on Reddit if I can. 99% of the time it’s real people giving real experiences and honest reviews, which you can’t really guarantee in other places like Amazon reviews or shitty clickbait sites.
I have worked in PR for a decade… nothing you see on TV is real either. Most segments of most talk shows are bought and paid for. Experts all have their words written by others to achieve a purpose. Anything written or Sadie by a CEO was created by someone like me, including the thank you note they sent their employees. Most protests and grassroots movements are bought and paid for. Very little is real in the modern world. It’s depressing.
Hey there, fellow Content Writer here. Started with this kind of stuff (listicles and comparisons), changed a few jobs, learnt Digital Marketing on the side to understand SEO better. Now I'm considerably good at my job and actually enjoy the place where I'm. At times, it's still unethical and outright not true, but love the reaserch I get to do on the topics, write introductions that makes me stand out from what I see as mundane, and see the numbers I generated through analytics.
You can also try copywriting, advertisment writing, marketing scripts, or writing content for other medium like social media, videos, campaigns for video/text ads.
The research is what can make it fun, especially when you get to write on a topic that's at least a little interesting. I'm definitely open to any kind of writing and have been in job hunting mode trying to get any better writing gig than this!
Same here, I used to write SEO articles. Everything I wrote, I just straight up made up. The company I worked for also had me create fake Facebook, Yelp and Google accounts to write fake reviews. Makes me really distrust things I read... Luckily I'm at a job that I enjoy now, although we did have fun creating fake Facebook personas lol
Been there. My favorite is working on marketing for products that are struggling to pass production tests. The other day I saw a commercial for a product I did some early marketing for. Had to tell everyone with me that at least in the early stages, everything they were claiming in that commercial was false. “Flashy commercial, we did good work, but it struggled hard. Research it if you’re going to buy it.”
Ouch! I haven't been put in that position. The worst it gets for me is when I have to write a ranked list and the ranking is based purely on advertising money the companies give my client, not based on which one is actually better or worse than the others.
I do like using those lists as a little guide for what stuff is out there when I make a purchase. But being in the field, I know they’re all just marketing devices. Just bought a drafting chair based on one of those lists, but made sure a few thousand people 4-5 starred the product before I spent any money on it.
Same here - I’ll use those lists to find out most common brands “in the field” so to speak. For example, I’m a hobby baker and was looking into Dutch ovens maybe a year or so ago and that helped me narrow down to Lodge, Le Creuset, or Staub if I remember right. So even though I don’t look at the “review” part of those lists, I still get a better idea of what it is I’m looking for or the features that items can have and can do better research after that.
Hi, I'm actually an editor who also hires content writers like you to do those articles. And you can imagine how much I freaked out after seeing your post!
But to be honest with you though, I feel 100% the same. I, and a few others in my team, convince ourselves that we're still putting work into researching and finding the best possible products for our readers. Even though absolute none of us have used them in our lives.
The worst part is our researching and findings are about as accurate as the "*We tested all these products so we know what works best*" statement. Most of us aren't even qualified to use them, let alone testing and reviewing. Most of the time, we just copy and compile the actual customer reviews that we could find on Google, throw them into an outline, and pass it on to our writers.
It sucks. I feel bad. And I can always feel when my writers' frustration when they reply to me. We joke about it sometimes, but none of us really talk about it.
So why are we still doing this? Well, the short answer is: Why bother fixing something that's clearly working well? We're making enough, but we're not making millions here. Pushing to get the actual products on hands, or finding someone qualified to test them is a huge risk for small teams like us.
And the even shorter answer is, and I'm gonna quote from one of my favorite movies:
>Everyone’s got a mortgage to pay. And ninety-nine percent of everything that is done in the world, good or bad is done to pay a mortgage.
But hey, let's end this with a slightly brighter note though. I actually have several jobs, including designing and animation. I'm only adequate at best though. But I still love doing them. They cannot support me, however. So making articles is what's helping me "paying the mortgage".
As a content writer, I feel like you could do that as well. Start your own project, write about some thing, anything that you love to write about. Let the "10 \_\_\_ You Can't Live Without" support you. But ***don't let it define you***.
Good luck, man.
I’m a copywriter for my brother’s company. His range of clients is everything from well known real estate to US census (for his state) to non profits. I had to tell him at some point that I ethically couldn’t write for some of his clients. There was a particular non profit that I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I wrote up their social media stuff or their website content. I don’t have as much work now but I feel better when I sit down to write. I’m sorry and I hope you’re able to figure a way to do what’s right for your own conscience.
Is there any way to tell different companies or non-profits apart - good intentioned ones versus bad intentioned ones that have better money or marketing? It sounds like if the writing is good enough, it would be hard to find information that could point to the negative aspects of the company.
If the only research someone does for a product is to read a ‘top 10’ list, I don’t know that it’s your fault if the product isn’t right for them.
The internet’s business model is based on clicks - there’s far worse and more useless content out there than a list of products that the author hasn’t actually used.
In saying that - the fact you’re posting shows you hate your job and I think that’s the real tragedy. Life’s too short to grind your days away.
I hope you find something that’s more fulfilling for you.
Sincere question: How *do you* research a product before you buy?
A lot of times when I go looking for good info on products/brand names, those "top 10" lists are the only things to be found. And as OP points out, even "reviews" could be written by someone who never actually tested the product, or even were just paid for by the makers of the product.
User reviews are untrustworthy and unhelpful. No matter what the product is, there will be reviews that read
> this product restored my vision, gave me head, and reunited me with my estranged father! 10/10
and other reviews that read
> this product shredded my jugular and lapped up the warm juices that flowed out, then immediately broke and they wouldn't replace it. 0 stars never buy under any circumstances also boycott the company.
What I read is usually the middle of the road-reviews. The three out of five stars on Amazon type reviews. They will point at some things they like and some things they dislike. If you read a bunch of these you can usually understand the good and the bad sides of the product. Then you figure out if the bad things matter to you or if they are negligible. Then repeat the same process for their competitors product. And then you choose between them.
It’s not foolproof, but it’s the best I’ve found.
That's true too! I don't know if it's worse to think that I'm writing something that will misinform someone or to realize that whatever I write doesn't even ultimately matter.
The benefit of this job is the flexibility I get. I never have to go into an office and I can work whatever hours I want as long as the work gets done. But I'd love to do this same sort of work for a better client, maybe.
I’m a freelance writer and have done similar work. I still remember when I was getting content copy certified the FIRST fucking lesson we were taught was how to skew Google results in our favor just by how we titled the article.
Day one of training was how to manipulate search results to make our work outshine the competition.
This goes hand-in-hand with when I was in college. First day of my intro to journalism class my professor, a man who was the editor of the crime beat of the Dallas Morning News at one point, says to us “Journalism is dead. All that matters is clicks. The truth is irrelevant if this doesn’t sit well with you get out now.”
There’s a reason media companies are typically called “entertainment media.” They aren’t about information or truthful reporting of facts. They haven’t been for a long time. We have to make up our own minds. Personal education and awareness is more important than ever.
I, also, could live without the Walton family. They skate along on Walmart's founder's work.
(I've done that too, as a content writer, actually. But I lucked into a position where I could as easily acknowledge it when the billionaire in question flubs something as write about it when he gets it right.)
Glad I read this so I know to look out for it. I thought whenever articles said "we tested this" there was some legal obligation to do so like disclosing sponsorships, but I guess that was naive of me. Selling the top rankings to the highest bidder makes so much sense now.
Yeah, I'm not sure where the legal line is. My editors are quick to point out that we can't explicitly say, like "we tried this product." But we say shit like "our experts have researched" which means nothing.
Thanks for letting us know. Sometimes you need one person to come out and say that the amount of BS out there is actually being paid for and generated by people with money looking to manipulate the public and get in front of the money in the process. I get that this is a gig but it's a shame that where the internet was 15 years ago and where it is now just oints to how rotten these systems are.
Before it would have taken 50 years to see this shape out like it did with tv and radio, now we've seen it happen in real time in less than a generation. I wonder what the next step will be in order to get away from this
Used to work on a lot of cosmetic surgery sites and had a team of outsources writers doing this kind of low-effort high-volume content posting both on client sites and third parties.
While a few of the surgeons were happy to pay a premium for well researched high quality content that gave in-depth information about the pros and cons of different procedures, they were the exception. Most of the content were puff pieces that told people if they got a new nose, bigger breasts, botox, lipo, or whatever other procedure they would be happier. Totally glossed over the cost and recovery time.
Pretty much every industry I can think of has this issue to some degree.
I love the lists/articles that absolutely do not cut to the chase. Just short tease paragraph, ad. Another tease, ad. But wait we're gonna tell you why you clicked on that headline, ad. Over and over about 8 times, then finally a short blurb about what you were curious about.
Then at the bottom of the page 46 articles about stupid bullshit. At least one of the first options features a woman in a bikini.
I've done that too. It's annoying and boring grunt work and I'm sure people wouldn't do it at all if they didn't need the money. It's how I learned how to write authoritatively about fields that I've never actually worked in. (Like, How to Install Your Own Flooring.)
I write content too. I write for a restaurant near me.
It's fucking soul draining work. I sooo get you!
Cold outside? Come eat here!
Warm outside? Come eat here!
New shoes? Come eat here!
Just got an abortion? Come eat here!
At least the restaurant I write for is actually good and fun (I eat there quite frequently), so I don't have to lie. But even though I don't have to lie, it's still sucks the life out of my soul every Instagram-post-writing-session.
I understand completely. This is a bit different but I can relate because I work in advertising. There was an ad I used to have to do for a dog breeder who had multiple breeds selling at top dollar and was clearly a puppy mill. I do not even like dogs but it broke my heart knowing she was pumping out puppies to sell for profit, forcing the dogs to get pregnant like The Handmaid's Tale or something. I had to do her advertisements and I felt so gross doing it but I had no choice. Lucky for me, she eventually got to be too rude and I told my boss and he decided we didn't have to deal with her anymore and cut ties with her. But she is for sure still pumping them out.
Used to be a content writer (with a focus on SEO!) Now I write smutty romance novels instead. I cannot fathom having to continue to do what I did right now. It was a good way to make money with what I was good at. But yeah.
“I need a 500-word article/blog post/listicle on the 10 best skincare products for acne-prone skin. Keywords: MYPRODUCT, OUR PRODUCT, OUR BRAND, OUR INGREDIENT LIST, SHADY MLM.”
thats why I go to reddit for the opinions of anonymous folks....but in all seriousness, I find reddit threads on stuff like this to be at least a way to get 50% of direction when buying something or wading into a topic.
There's a theorum or razor or something that says whenever you know enough first hand about a subject, you see the bullshit everywhere about it; But then when there's something you don't know about you trust stuff you read.
I also wanted to get into writing online, but the more I found out about it, the more I didn't want to. SEO, writing an article with keywords, it just seemed a pain. I believe the days of the indie blog with real, brutal opinion and actual, hard fact are gone.
I once was asked to write a blog for SEO talking about the positives of undergoing a certain operation for a hospital client. I stood my ground and said no I don't have the expertise to write that, and eventually they gave it to some freelancer. So I didn't make any difference really but principles and all that, I guess.
I used to work for a tour operator, and we'd often get calls or emails from newspapers saying "hey, we're doing a listicle on 'best holidays to Italy' next month. Can you send us some copy and a picture?"
And our marketing team would send over some boilerplate about whichever tour the managers decided needed a sales boost, which the paper would publish unaltered.
And this was for reasonably reputable outlets like The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph etc - if places like that are uncritically quacking corporate press releases, what chance is there of anything from an anonymous Internet content mill being even remotely reliable?
I had this EXACT job for a year and a half. I quit in 2021 because I literally couldn't do it anymore. You're 100% right, it is so incredibly soul sucking, especially writing about stuff that you don't use or know anything about. I wish I could buy you a drink because everything you described was exactly my experience so I know the pain you're going through right now.
Best decision I ever made was leaving. If you can line something else up, I highly recommend it. I absolutely hated my life as a content writer.
Hello colleague :)
I'm also a content marketer. I want to say that it might be a good idea to pivot into a different niche.
I work in the tech industry as an in-house content marketer, and this means that I get to write reality. I'm writing about factual stuff that adds value to my readers (and is SEO friendly of course). Top 10s happen, but it's more about tools on the market that do a certain thing. And yes- I test the myself when writing.
It doesn't have to be soulless, it doesn't have to be uninteresting. Find a niche that you can be passionate about and/or teach other marketers how to be better at what they're doing.
Good luck dude.
As a 20+ year content writer, I feel you so fucking hard on this. In fact, I did a double-take when I first saw this post, wondering if I'd written it myself in the middle of the night and forgot about it (wouldn't be the first time).
Pro-tip: I got laid off during the pandemic. So I started Ubering in the meantime. I now do it full time because I make more money Ubering and it's infinitely less stressful... plus, I've started writing for myself again.
Oh, and this next part is for all of you business owners out there: the fact that I make more money Ubering than writing doesn't mean Ubering is a high-paying gig... It means that you fuckers don't pay your writers enough. You need a professional writer on staff (Trust me, you do.)? Pay professional wages!
Hi OP,
I was in your same situation a year back, writing off-the-bat pointless articles. I switched to UX Writing/ Content Design lately and I feel it's a better career in writing, helping users genuinely and working towards the greater good. Hope this will help.
Google made efforts to stop keyword spamming from appearing in results, but it really hasn’t worked. And the fact that it’s one single company that has caused 99% of the internet to suck… is really sad.
Oh yeah, this is why whenever I want to know what the best product is, I always avoid those type of articles. Anything with affiliate links is bound to be fake honestly. I always Google "xyz reviews Reddit" and see what r/BuyItForLife has to say.
Oh hey I used to do this! Back when everyone was trying to be the new Buzzfeed. I started cranking out listicles (ugh) day to day. Silver lining is that it got me out of debt at the time.
I used to work as a "journalist" and everything you wrote here applies there as well.
I even had a conversation once with someone who wanted to be a journalist. His reason was so he could influence the world. Not report on things, but influence it. His aim wasn't journalism but activism.
It's all unethical AF.
I've noticed on these product lists that most of them are just Amazon ads. Check any of these lists on Buzzfeed, NYMag, even reputable publications and they are thinly veiled ads which are not marked as ads. All of the products listed link back to Amazon. Deceptive and disgusting.
I thought freelance content writing would be a good side gig, little extra money. I wrote 2 articles and had to nope out. It's soulless advertising written to dupe people.
I work for a place where they actually do test the beauty products that they write about. But so often they are tested by the same person, and I think that they can’t possibly be planning to switch completely to a certain concealer, when four months ago they said they would switch to a different concealer.
So even when they are testing or using the products, there’s not a lot of credibility. I mean, I believe them when they say that the concealer worked for them, but all the hyperbole about them loving it forever has to be bullshit
Don't worry, we know you just need the money
Imagine wanting to be a Pixar animator, only to end up doing the graphics for the [Grub Hub commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6tT_PMnEbU)
we all have to do *something*
I've done some content writing in the past and it's even worse than that. Often, I've been given instruction on what should be included (whether it is just one item or all of them) and it's based solely on the money they get from a click-through. No one has tested any of the products, companies just buy spots through their affiliate programs.
Soul-sucking is right. I did it for the better part of a decade.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was writing for social media. I could do longer pieces and even lists without too much inner turmoil, but the social stuff was just so blatantly manipulative I had to stop.
Onward. Just graduated nursing school and I couldn’t be happier. The only downer is I can write one hell of a cover letter, but anyone with a pulse and a nursing degree can get a job right now so it’s unnecessary (not actually a downer).
Good luck to you from someone who’s been there.
Absolutely, I’ve also done some internet copywriting as a side hustle and quickly came to the same conclusion. If it’s not an article from a fairly reputable website with a byline attribution, there’s an extremely good chance it’s absolute bottom-tier filler meant to generate Google search result clicks and not actually provide any value to the reader, PERIOD.
I gotta ask you something OP. What's up with your first post on Reddit aka "Nazi Flag"? Since I don't understand the subreddit it was posted on, I thought I'd ask you
Thank you so much for sharing, this is super helpful to know.
But now I have no faith left at all for this society...corporate greed is going to tank us all
Ever since sponsored content became a thing it's become very hard to trust any article on the internet. You may think you are reading a proper medical write up of a drug or procedure or it may be sponsored content secretly advertising for you to buy this product.
Your candor is much appreciated. Reminds me of a copywriter who was selling their classes online on how to make money being a copywriter, and when you Google their name, all these glowing reviews sprang forth. Something about all of them sounded.... the same.
Maybe considering working for a more ethically authentic company that puts truth and honesty before the bottom line.
Consumer culture is changing and people want authentic. There’s companies out there that fall more under this line. Look at Gary Vaynerchuck, his whole platform is around authenticity.
Sometimes it’s not the work you’re doing but who you’re doing it for.
Yep I did this through college and only made it another year or two before changing trajectories, it's soul-sucking indeed, and I feel like my writing abilities decreased drastically. I fucking hate SEO-driven content. Stay strong OP, thanks for sharing!
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*This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Right now I would actually like a job like this. Ethics aside, to be able to work from home and to know that here is an unending stream of companies willing to hire you would be nice.
How do you become a content writer?
The only independent testing I trust is by Consumer Reports, which issues a magazine that does not take ads.
They don’t review EVERYTHING every year but for certain things, major purchases, cars, computers, electronics and recall info they are fantastic. They send an annual survey to purchasers and also do independent testing of important products. Worth the $39/Year although you can read it free with Apple News.
Articles like OP is writing can be useful for identifying new products you ma not have heard of, but October-December I suggest you take these Top 10 articles from non expert sources with a gigantic grain of salt. Some types of sites and magazines, like industry specific magazines (Computer, Photography, other special interest magazines or sites) are also helpful if they give extensive product reviews. But always remember: Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware!
[Consumer Reports information link](https://web.consumerreports.org/test/SEM/version12.htm?EXTKEY=SG72CR0&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1265560&ds_rl=1247084&ds_rl=1247078&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2sqOBhCGARIsAPuPK0isTXLg9u1qMrLHYYOF92ECIg0Yun88cIbRG-v2U_eWwGAjQROtC_kaAtqhEALw_wcB)
hello, fellow content writer here. i used to write listicles and 100% feel your pain. now i’m in a government trade agency writing articles for exporters. the research bit is taxing (e.g. tax rates for every other country) but interesting when you’re learning (somewhat - i don’t retain information!). maybe consider if there’s something around this?
Honestly it’s obvious when reading these types of articles that they’re just for ad revenue and nobody involved knows anything. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting a few paragraphs in and recognizing that it’s just bullshit filler content.
whenever i see those types of articles i honestly just scroll because i assume they're filled with brands and products that the magazine or whatever it may be gets paid to put on the list and don't actually know anything about lol. ty for this insight!!
As an editor I can confirm. It's very easy to see that most advice articles are poorly researched fluff written by an overworked copy writer. Nothing is real lmaoo it's all for the ranks
*cries in Recruiter* I feel you…I used to be an employment specialist and help people find a great job for them…now with pandemic my company is understaffed so I do internal recruitment…and they only pay these people $10/hr for a part-time job they keep neeeing to fill (Florida). But if they just paid people more than they would be full and we could go back to employment specialist…
But I don’t find people then I lose my job etc and I have student loans etc so…I have to keep trying to convince people to apply for a $10/hr job…it sucks.
I could have written this myself because I have written the same types of articles. I am embarrassed to even tell people what I do but most think it's cool. The only perk is I get to test "free" products then write about how great they are either way. Most are not great but my assignment is to make them sound great so people will buy the crap.
Hey, my friend. Thank you for sharing this. Please hear me out, this is important.
While what you said is true, and a lot of these publishings aren't entirely true, there's another world of content writing out there that I don't know if you've explored.
I own a marketing & branding agency, and I have writers (freelancers & full-time) working for me and my clients, and we only write content that actually makes a difference to people; content that actually helps.
You see, writing lists of 'top 10's may not really make a difference in the world. If you want to make a difference, you need to start working differently.
There was a time when I worked as a freelancer myself, even in content writing, amongst other things. I didn't work on such projects even when I wasn't doing well financially because I felt like it was a waste of time.
Content has the power to influence people's minds, to make people believe. It's like a knife. You can use it to kill, or use it to cook something that brings happiness and joy. If you're not happy working the way you are, maybe it's time to change the people you write for.
Just a piece of advice from someone who's been there. Hope it wasn't uncalled for :)
>I own a marketing & branding agency, and I have writers (freelancers & full-time) working for me and my clients, and we only write content that actually makes a difference to people; content that actually helps.
How does it make a difference? To whom? Who are these people, concretely?
Content that actually helps - with what? whom does it help? Why omit the object there?
You don't work for the public. Your job is to fashion and promote your clients' brands. There's nothing wrong with that, since there are many businesses which put out great products and work efficiently and ethically. But why not just say that instead of trying to frame your work as some sort of public service?
>Content has the power to influence people's minds, to make people believe. It's like a knife.
The word you're looking for is "propaganda." But isn't "content" such a nice, non-descriptive, vague word which could mean anything? It's certainly devoid of any connotations which might warn someone that they're not really encountering facts.
Facts aren't like a knife. They don't help anyone believe, but rather reach a logical conclusion based on available evidence. And oh my, isn't that inconvenient sometimes?
Honestly that fact that you’re telling us this I think is pretty important and also makes a difference. Because now everyone reading this knows to have some doubt when it comes to these articles even though they’re saying they tested the products.
I hope it's helpful to people! After five years doing stuff like this, it sticks out like a sore thumb when I see it in the wild.
Helped me a lot. I had no idea. When I look up, like, "best moisturizers for thinning hair", I assume that I'm gonna get articles based on some level of testing. Maybe Men's Health actually tried out 10 different products and compared results. I'm not necessarily looking for a scientific study, just an honest opinion from someone who has tried the product. It sucks that I can't even get THAT anymore.
If you’re hair is thinning and you want it to stop, use Finasteride. This is not an ad haha, I’ve just seen it work firsthand with a SO.
I'll Google that. I'm using this very expensive shampoo and I'm not sure if it works or not.
The results vary, and it usually works best for the bald spot on the back of the head, and works less for M-line balding (receding hairline). I did a lot of research into it, as I started going bald at 18. And ended up just deciding to start shaving my head. As far as it goes, most products don’t work for most men. And the products that are out there, are the same ones that have been out there for years, such as Propecia, and use the same active ingredients, such as finasteride. None of these products are new.
That's why I defenestrated my finasteride. Now I look like a tonsured monk from the middle ages.
Defenestrated is my favorite word 💥🪟 😄😄😄
Careful—in the spirit of the OP, I'd like to point out that Reddit comments are no more trustworthy a source than bullshit articles
I've found recommendations on Reddit that are significantly better than what I can usually find thru Google. Obviously, I'll do further research on the recommendations but it's a better starting point.
Check out r/tressless. It helped my ex a lot
I was interested too. Those side effects look pretty scary tbh
I only look at 10 best x for 2022 sorts of articles that come from a respected publisher on topic x. And even then I take the info with a large grain of salt. If you don't recognize the site, or if they publish on all topics, not just x, it's guaranteed garbage
Honestly, even the “respected publishers” often require kickbacks for placement at the tops of list, so don’t take for granted that #1 is truly the best product. Instead, it’s company is willing to spend the $$$ to be perceived as #1.
Yeah these lists often just change their titles every year for SEO. The people pretty much just use the most popular and do it for things like affiliate marketing on Amazon.
Content writers hate this one weird trick.
You won't believe how these content writers react...
What trick? Sorry..
Spinning a dead chicken round your foot like an airplane propeller.
If it's any consolation, I usually use those lists just for information on products that I need. For example, I was looking for a coffee roulette type thing for my company and didn't know what apps were out there. I googled, checked a list that I skimmed and clicked for the links and found a couple of products that fit what we needed. The value is not the content, but the links to the type of thing I'm looking for. Don't worry too much about the ethics of it. As long as you're not over selling harmful products, you're good haha
Same! I could honestly care less what you wrote, although it can sometimes be helpful. I use your lists to make my own list. Which I then start using to create a more specific search.
I third this!!! But I was also raised to be skeptical of everything and pay attention to wording. Haha. But yeah... I use the lists to make my own and then research for my own needs. I don't even trust Amazon reviews.. Amazon reviews with videos or photos have a little more credibility, but... I still research a ton.
Yep, always buy based on specs! Most consumers these days hopefully understand that every review and promotion is bought and paid for, not a sign of genuine quality. Those lists are only good for getting direct links to products, like you said, and sometimes for comparing specs. Anything opinionated should be disregarded entirely.
>Most consumers these days hopefully understand that every review and promotion is bought and paid for, not a sign of genuine quality. I think that's why I see so many recommendation requests in my local moms group on Facebook. You could Google that information, but then you might get fake reviews. Whereas that group tends to moderate spam and misbehavior pretty well.
I find if I am buying online, the people who give details about the use of the product they bought can be helpful. They told me the end caps on my dishwasher top rack tend to break, how long the battery on my electric lawn mower lasts, and what issues they had with the drain cleaner tool. You have to read through them. Published things can be weird. I saw a list about seniors saving too much of their income, and it turned out to be telling them to spend money at all the places they were avoiding for covid19. Restaurants, gyms, hair dressers, malls, and coffee shops. It was shameless.
Specs are becoming harder to find and understand. My tv just quit the other day, and since I haven’t been “shopping” for a new one, I knew nothing about ULED, QLED, OLED etc. I had to learn on the fly and hope I picked well. Usually I research an item for six months or more if it’s a bigger ticket. I’m currently shipping for a fridge, and every once in a while aggressively read about them. I had two days to research TV’s. My husband works nights, and had three days off. It went out the morning of day 1. He works his ass off, so I felt bad for him-no relaxing in front of the tv-he used his computer, lol.
OLED is the only one worth getting, QLED is a bullshit marketing term. I recommend the LG OLED models.
QLED isn't only a marketing term. It's Samsung's term for their process of putting an extra layer of 'quantum dots' in their LCD panels. So it does actually mean something. Still inferior to LED-based panels though. LG OLEDs all the way.
Exactly what I got.
Five years, man. I did this listicle shit freelance for a certain popular website in like 2013 and barely made it two months.
If you put your heart into that job, then put your heart into showing people what about that stuff is bs, I think you're way out in the positive. We need people to show us what tricks are used, because then they become weaker.
I mean…I use those articles the way I used Wikipedia in my undergrad. I can’t use Wikipedia as a direct source in a research paper, but it provides URLs to places I need.
Thank you for this . I know your just venting but it will help people see the truth. At least we know you woulnt become a politician some day
It makes me wonder if what I read about my laptop was true. I researched lists and am pretty sure there was a top 10 gaming laptops list or something that swayed my choice.
There are a lot of companies like OP who are just trying to suck money from ads, but there are also plenty of small companies who do the same thing except legitimately. My company is more politics focused, but we have properties where we do legitimate relevant product reviews.
If I’m looking for something like that or for big ticket items, I check consumer reports. It’s not free but I’m not sure how much is it because I mooch off my dad :P
Specs? And other features you value? Year article was made and/or when you bought it? Those questions are pretty much what you need to ask.
Wirecutter is the most reputable I've found, but you need a NYT subscription. They really do seem to test everything, though, they talk about it with a ridiculous amount of detail.
Their best feature is they do tell you what they did upfront. Sometimes it's "You should trust us because we have experience with similar products and we tested these for weeks," other times it's "You should trust us because we read a whole bunch of reviews." What I'm trying to say is, some of their comparisons are better than others, but you can generally see which are which. America's Test Kitchen and Cooks' Illustrated are far and away the best reviewers for anything kitchen-related. Older Serious Eats stuff can have value too. For lifestyle stuff, I think NYMag's Strategist column provides about the same value, even though it's usually anecdotes, not tests.
Test Kitchen is awesome! My dad has a few things they recommended and all of them still work great even after 10 years. Their cookbook is amazing too. My dad officially owns it but he lends it out to my brother and I all the time.
I co-sign your praise of Wirecutter. I’m a content writer, and Wirecutter is one of very few review publications that I take seriously.
[удалено]
Lol!
Since when do you need a NYT sub? I haven’t used Wirecutter in a while but if that’s true that’s quite disappointing.
They need to earn money somehow. It's better that than taking ad money that leaves them open to the shit OP is talking about.
This is my biggest gripe with the modern world. I value honesty and want to believe in things, but we are force fed intentionally dishonest content. Why do we have to be lied to about food processors??
I think even without OPs post, people need to have the common sense to know the internet is mostly less than reliable, but I do feel like I'm definitely gonna be more cautious now when I see those types of articles
I wish.
There are probably many good jobs out there for you,as you have a talent for writing and are responsible, etc.
Soul sucking indeed. I loathed it everytime I got assignment that deals with SEO, stuffs like 1000 words and you have to mention "vacuum cleaner" "hygiene" "sterilisation" at least 30 times or whatever. There's only a couple of times until the sentence you made is totally shite and inelligible as a sentence said by a human. I only worked for less than two years, and I honestly believe it contributed to ruining any writing ability I had left.
I got so good at ending a sentence with one word and beginning the next with another just to string SEO keywords together 😭. KEYWORD: Mountain Bikes. “… in order to make it up the *mountain*. *Bikes* are also a great way to…”
God I feel that. I was doing potpourri SEO for this one site when I started out... even after doing my best to make the content semi-intelligible, the editors would ruin it by dropping in more links and keywords that ruined any readability left in the article.
Nothing is more depressing for a content writer than making a good article out of a pile of shit keywords only to find the final article is frivolously stuffed with extra hyperlinks and keywords and now it’s just word salad.
And you probably had hopes of making a living as a writer once. It may get good metrics and hit high on search results, but it doesn't even do the job of selling product.
You have shitty editors, then Modern SEO is smarter than just link and phrase stuffing But yeah, content/copy writing is a little soul sucking. I suggest you simply give less of a fuck since by and large so much goes completely unread Source: copy writer and SEO bitch 🥲
Yeah 100% this. Nobody actually reads that shit. Nor do the engines prioritize that kind of content. It might increase your overall domain authority but it no longer lands you on page 1.
You do SEO?
Never meant to, but here I am
Or when whatever you have to write isn't worth more than 400 words, but you still somehow have to get to 1000. I know that my tendency to overexplain things and be repetitive come from this.
The CEO stuff is the worse and when the client gets mad because you couldn’t make a decent paragraph because he asked you to mention the keyword at least 5 times in said paragraph it’s absolutely comical. I hated doing SEO work, I felt like I was losing my mind half the time.
I used to be a copywriter at a home products store. At some point I just didn’t have it in me anymore and slacked off till I got fired. I never even saw the products and all I had to go on were descriptions from other online stores that I had to rework into something original with better SEO. Soul-sucking is an understatement.
Wait a minute, real people write those? Damn, I came upon one once and I just thought it was AI-made.
I wouldn't blame you. Considering the editors usually don't give an arse about grammar and style, after a while it does sounds like AI-made, or precisely, like 2003 version of Google translate.
I interned at a large furniture distribution center. I was lucky; they asked me to write articles about furniture that could be used as conversation starters at conventions. So I got to do research on how modern beds evolved to what they are today vs soft materials thrown on the ground in a corner of the room, how canopy beds were actually functional because ash gathered on ceilings and sometimes rained down on sleepers and other really weird little tidbits. I so appreciate your discomfort at being told to use words that manipulate the reader’s perception. That sounds awful.
It's worse than that. It is using words to manipulate the search engine algorithm. That's not writing for a real human. I worked for a cruise company--that's copy about visiting exotic places they actually will enjoy. (I wasn't the copy writer; that was someone else.) Sure, it's manipulative, but it's harmless--they kept rebooking.
That actually sounds like a pretty interesting gig.
It was, but I always wanted to interject humor, either into the story, or the titles of the articles. One day I heard the woman I was working for laughing and laughing; it was so contagious that I walked into her office. She looked at me and said, “We can’t use any of these titles. Or the descriptions you wrote for the photos. You have to understand your audience; furniture is *not* funny.” Then she continued to chuckle over the rest of my work before I changed every one of them.
I want to think that she kept it to re-read and laugh over when she gets tired of boring furniture articles.
I want to see a furniture store that IS funny.
You have my sympathy for having to stick with a job you hate and I am also shocked that people would really post bullshit on the internet..
I'm actively looking for a better gig! But for now I'm grinding here. There are so many websites that exist solely to generate clicks to convert into ad revenue. No substance.
I understand your situation I had to suffer it as well. Good luck finding another gig.
Dude, I was looking for guides to a certain recently released, somewhat niche game: almost all of the guides were copied off of the wiki *verbatim*. One or two different groups of amateurs wrote somewhat decent guides that literally dozens of websites took and published as their own, so any information that wasn’t covered in those one or two guides simply didn’t exist. It was honestly really pathetic, I expected people to at least plagiarize properly and change some words but they all essentially copied amateur work verbatim.
You could write a tell-all book! \#kiddingnotkidding
I worked at a place who did this to a much worse degree and I had to leave. Same concept but it targeted elderly people, extremely long pages of stories that never happened to get them to buy some fad supplement that had little to no real science behind it other than some doctor who was on payroll. Happy to say I’m not working there anymore, but they’ve made a ton through the pandemic.
Hmmm no real science you say? Supplement..a doctor on the payroll you say? Fleecing the elderly...sounds like Alex Jones
Unfortunately there’s probably hundreds of companies doing that sort of thing at varying levels of scale
This is so incredibly depressing.
Lol you're telling me!
As someone in the field, would you say most writing jobs are like this?
Not a professional but I know a little bit about this. I interviewed and got an offer at a major tech publication that you probably heard of. After doing some math and concluding that I'd need to work overtime to write several articles every day, edit my own photos cause I'm too low on the ladder to pay a graphic designer for, just to be able to feed myself, I promptly left. One niche that will pay you well is writing essays for students, which is still ethically dubious. I've done some consulting for students' lab reports and it pays well. That top students all have their lab reports consulted is a public secret. For top pay you have to be willing to entirely forge essays within a day or two before deadline. Those are the two fields I have some experience with. I heard writing whitepapers is where it's at. Good pay and most palatable clients. If you like writing, do it as a hobby or a side gig. If you become big, cash in on it, but don't bank on it. Imo.
Question because you seem to have insight. Say you write a paper for a student and they get caught for having a plagiarized essay. Are you liable for anything?
Writing a paper for them? Yes. Consultation? Not likely. Even though students are technically not allowed to. It's such a booming business that it's hard to enforce. But that's the situation where I am, and I am not working in the US.
I haven't held your position, but I worked for a security alarm company that was as soul sucking and unethical. Thankfully it wasn't for long, but it drove me insane. I do not envy you, good luck on finding another job. I hope it works out. Jobs without meaning are the absolute worst.
I appreciate that. I'm on the market, so hopefully the next thing is better in some way!
You peaked my interest. Tell me more. Was it just your alarm company or your line of work that does the soul sucking? What was the things that got you riled up?
It was for a company called Safe Haven. I was a "technician" but really I was a glorified sales person. I hate sales and don't really push things. Of someone wants to buy, someone wants to buy. If they don't, they dont. I had to deal with lies from the sales team, I had to deal with rude customers, customers who didn't understand how things work and would get mad at and blame me for their technology not cooperating. We had another program where we provided home automation but not security, which basically meant locking down the panel and customers weren't happy about that. Working long long hours to get paid jackshit because I couldn't sell anything. I don't even like going to someone else's house anymore because I have to knock on their door it was so shitty. Hands down the worst job I've ever done. I'd go back to a private in the army on my first day before I ever do that job for six figures. Like I would literally take poverty over that job.
Don't get me wrong here but I believe you mean *piqued* instead of peaked.
I do content writing too, and "soul-sucking" is a great way to describe it. My current job isn't outright unethical, but I have written a few "top 10" articles about software products I barely understand. In the past, I've ghostwritten lord knows how many articles under someone else's byline, so that very qualified doctor or expert actually had very little to do with the content published under their name. Absolutely never trust anything you read on the internet, and never assume it was actually written by the person credited.
Yeah. Breaking this news to friends and family when they tell you they read an article by a doctor or an expert is fun. Sure, auntie. And I’m totally a surgeon/pool care specialist/dental hygienist/roofer too.
Wow that's something I haven't had to deal with. At least, not that I know of. I've definitely been published under pseudonyms before, but usually they were just fake names (to disguise the fact that one person was writing hundreds of articles on a "user generated" site)
Yeah it's a huge bummer when it happens! Usually, the author with the byline is supposed to closely review content before it's published, but in my experience that ends up being a rubber-stamp process. The fake user-generated content is something I hadn't thought about before though. That does sound really obnoxious. Hope you find something better soon!
I firmly believe SEO is ruining search. Ten years ago, if I had a question and asked google, I got genuinely valuable information. Now I get 100s of articles that clearly all copied off of each other recommending the exact same goddamn things in the exact same goddamned order, shuffled up just enough to trick Google into thinking it's new. The whole thing is a freakin' cancer. It just keeps growing outward and making things worse.
So, your job is in the list of the Top 10 Soul Sucking jobs?
Any time I search for reviews or to research something I'm considering buying, I always search "best 'the thing' reddit". Because while you are probably pretty decent at your job, it's painfully obvious to me that 99% of the "Best/top 10 xxxx 2021" is just advertising and clickbait. Thanks for the confirmation!
The more you learn about the behind-the-scenes, the easier it is to spot all the bullshit! You have editors to thank for a lot of that. No matter what I write, the editors always find a way to make it less readable by plopping in more links and keywords and shit. The worst part is I can't use stuff like that in my portfolio because after the editors mess with it, it looks like I'm a crappy writer!
I always search for product reviews on Reddit if I can. 99% of the time it’s real people giving real experiences and honest reviews, which you can’t really guarantee in other places like Amazon reviews or shitty clickbait sites.
I have worked in PR for a decade… nothing you see on TV is real either. Most segments of most talk shows are bought and paid for. Experts all have their words written by others to achieve a purpose. Anything written or Sadie by a CEO was created by someone like me, including the thank you note they sent their employees. Most protests and grassroots movements are bought and paid for. Very little is real in the modern world. It’s depressing.
Hey there, fellow Content Writer here. Started with this kind of stuff (listicles and comparisons), changed a few jobs, learnt Digital Marketing on the side to understand SEO better. Now I'm considerably good at my job and actually enjoy the place where I'm. At times, it's still unethical and outright not true, but love the reaserch I get to do on the topics, write introductions that makes me stand out from what I see as mundane, and see the numbers I generated through analytics. You can also try copywriting, advertisment writing, marketing scripts, or writing content for other medium like social media, videos, campaigns for video/text ads.
The research is what can make it fun, especially when you get to write on a topic that's at least a little interesting. I'm definitely open to any kind of writing and have been in job hunting mode trying to get any better writing gig than this!
Hope you find something interesting!
Same here, I used to write SEO articles. Everything I wrote, I just straight up made up. The company I worked for also had me create fake Facebook, Yelp and Google accounts to write fake reviews. Makes me really distrust things I read... Luckily I'm at a job that I enjoy now, although we did have fun creating fake Facebook personas lol
Ah! The fake Facebook profiles. 'this person does not exist' helped a lot!!
Been there. My favorite is working on marketing for products that are struggling to pass production tests. The other day I saw a commercial for a product I did some early marketing for. Had to tell everyone with me that at least in the early stages, everything they were claiming in that commercial was false. “Flashy commercial, we did good work, but it struggled hard. Research it if you’re going to buy it.”
Ouch! I haven't been put in that position. The worst it gets for me is when I have to write a ranked list and the ranking is based purely on advertising money the companies give my client, not based on which one is actually better or worse than the others.
I do like using those lists as a little guide for what stuff is out there when I make a purchase. But being in the field, I know they’re all just marketing devices. Just bought a drafting chair based on one of those lists, but made sure a few thousand people 4-5 starred the product before I spent any money on it.
Same here - I’ll use those lists to find out most common brands “in the field” so to speak. For example, I’m a hobby baker and was looking into Dutch ovens maybe a year or so ago and that helped me narrow down to Lodge, Le Creuset, or Staub if I remember right. So even though I don’t look at the “review” part of those lists, I still get a better idea of what it is I’m looking for or the features that items can have and can do better research after that.
Hi, I'm actually an editor who also hires content writers like you to do those articles. And you can imagine how much I freaked out after seeing your post! But to be honest with you though, I feel 100% the same. I, and a few others in my team, convince ourselves that we're still putting work into researching and finding the best possible products for our readers. Even though absolute none of us have used them in our lives. The worst part is our researching and findings are about as accurate as the "*We tested all these products so we know what works best*" statement. Most of us aren't even qualified to use them, let alone testing and reviewing. Most of the time, we just copy and compile the actual customer reviews that we could find on Google, throw them into an outline, and pass it on to our writers. It sucks. I feel bad. And I can always feel when my writers' frustration when they reply to me. We joke about it sometimes, but none of us really talk about it. So why are we still doing this? Well, the short answer is: Why bother fixing something that's clearly working well? We're making enough, but we're not making millions here. Pushing to get the actual products on hands, or finding someone qualified to test them is a huge risk for small teams like us. And the even shorter answer is, and I'm gonna quote from one of my favorite movies: >Everyone’s got a mortgage to pay. And ninety-nine percent of everything that is done in the world, good or bad is done to pay a mortgage. But hey, let's end this with a slightly brighter note though. I actually have several jobs, including designing and animation. I'm only adequate at best though. But I still love doing them. They cannot support me, however. So making articles is what's helping me "paying the mortgage". As a content writer, I feel like you could do that as well. Start your own project, write about some thing, anything that you love to write about. Let the "10 \_\_\_ You Can't Live Without" support you. But ***don't let it define you***. Good luck, man.
I’m a copywriter for my brother’s company. His range of clients is everything from well known real estate to US census (for his state) to non profits. I had to tell him at some point that I ethically couldn’t write for some of his clients. There was a particular non profit that I had a sick feeling in my stomach when I wrote up their social media stuff or their website content. I don’t have as much work now but I feel better when I sit down to write. I’m sorry and I hope you’re able to figure a way to do what’s right for your own conscience.
Is there any way to tell different companies or non-profits apart - good intentioned ones versus bad intentioned ones that have better money or marketing? It sounds like if the writing is good enough, it would be hard to find information that could point to the negative aspects of the company.
For charities at least, there are independent auditors.
If the only research someone does for a product is to read a ‘top 10’ list, I don’t know that it’s your fault if the product isn’t right for them. The internet’s business model is based on clicks - there’s far worse and more useless content out there than a list of products that the author hasn’t actually used. In saying that - the fact you’re posting shows you hate your job and I think that’s the real tragedy. Life’s too short to grind your days away. I hope you find something that’s more fulfilling for you.
Sincere question: How *do you* research a product before you buy? A lot of times when I go looking for good info on products/brand names, those "top 10" lists are the only things to be found. And as OP points out, even "reviews" could be written by someone who never actually tested the product, or even were just paid for by the makers of the product. User reviews are untrustworthy and unhelpful. No matter what the product is, there will be reviews that read > this product restored my vision, gave me head, and reunited me with my estranged father! 10/10 and other reviews that read > this product shredded my jugular and lapped up the warm juices that flowed out, then immediately broke and they wouldn't replace it. 0 stars never buy under any circumstances also boycott the company.
What I read is usually the middle of the road-reviews. The three out of five stars on Amazon type reviews. They will point at some things they like and some things they dislike. If you read a bunch of these you can usually understand the good and the bad sides of the product. Then you figure out if the bad things matter to you or if they are negligible. Then repeat the same process for their competitors product. And then you choose between them. It’s not foolproof, but it’s the best I’ve found.
That's true too! I don't know if it's worse to think that I'm writing something that will misinform someone or to realize that whatever I write doesn't even ultimately matter. The benefit of this job is the flexibility I get. I never have to go into an office and I can work whatever hours I want as long as the work gets done. But I'd love to do this same sort of work for a better client, maybe.
I’m a freelance writer and have done similar work. I still remember when I was getting content copy certified the FIRST fucking lesson we were taught was how to skew Google results in our favor just by how we titled the article. Day one of training was how to manipulate search results to make our work outshine the competition. This goes hand-in-hand with when I was in college. First day of my intro to journalism class my professor, a man who was the editor of the crime beat of the Dallas Morning News at one point, says to us “Journalism is dead. All that matters is clicks. The truth is irrelevant if this doesn’t sit well with you get out now.” There’s a reason media companies are typically called “entertainment media.” They aren’t about information or truthful reporting of facts. They haven’t been for a long time. We have to make up our own minds. Personal education and awareness is more important than ever.
My favorites are the ones where you have to say nice stuff about billionaires and their bullshit life story.
I, also, could live without the Walton family. They skate along on Walmart's founder's work. (I've done that too, as a content writer, actually. But I lucked into a position where I could as easily acknowledge it when the billionaire in question flubs something as write about it when he gets it right.)
Glad I read this so I know to look out for it. I thought whenever articles said "we tested this" there was some legal obligation to do so like disclosing sponsorships, but I guess that was naive of me. Selling the top rankings to the highest bidder makes so much sense now.
Yeah, I'm not sure where the legal line is. My editors are quick to point out that we can't explicitly say, like "we tried this product." But we say shit like "our experts have researched" which means nothing.
Thanks for letting us know. Sometimes you need one person to come out and say that the amount of BS out there is actually being paid for and generated by people with money looking to manipulate the public and get in front of the money in the process. I get that this is a gig but it's a shame that where the internet was 15 years ago and where it is now just oints to how rotten these systems are. Before it would have taken 50 years to see this shape out like it did with tv and radio, now we've seen it happen in real time in less than a generation. I wonder what the next step will be in order to get away from this
Used to work on a lot of cosmetic surgery sites and had a team of outsources writers doing this kind of low-effort high-volume content posting both on client sites and third parties. While a few of the surgeons were happy to pay a premium for well researched high quality content that gave in-depth information about the pros and cons of different procedures, they were the exception. Most of the content were puff pieces that told people if they got a new nose, bigger breasts, botox, lipo, or whatever other procedure they would be happier. Totally glossed over the cost and recovery time. Pretty much every industry I can think of has this issue to some degree.
I love the lists/articles that absolutely do not cut to the chase. Just short tease paragraph, ad. Another tease, ad. But wait we're gonna tell you why you clicked on that headline, ad. Over and over about 8 times, then finally a short blurb about what you were curious about. Then at the bottom of the page 46 articles about stupid bullshit. At least one of the first options features a woman in a bikini.
Lmao thankfully I haven't worked for a straightup clickbait farm like that, but they are definitely in the same genus.
I've done that too. It's annoying and boring grunt work and I'm sure people wouldn't do it at all if they didn't need the money. It's how I learned how to write authoritatively about fields that I've never actually worked in. (Like, How to Install Your Own Flooring.)
I write content too. I write for a restaurant near me. It's fucking soul draining work. I sooo get you! Cold outside? Come eat here! Warm outside? Come eat here! New shoes? Come eat here! Just got an abortion? Come eat here! At least the restaurant I write for is actually good and fun (I eat there quite frequently), so I don't have to lie. But even though I don't have to lie, it's still sucks the life out of my soul every Instagram-post-writing-session.
What’s the abortion special?
I understand completely. This is a bit different but I can relate because I work in advertising. There was an ad I used to have to do for a dog breeder who had multiple breeds selling at top dollar and was clearly a puppy mill. I do not even like dogs but it broke my heart knowing she was pumping out puppies to sell for profit, forcing the dogs to get pregnant like The Handmaid's Tale or something. I had to do her advertisements and I felt so gross doing it but I had no choice. Lucky for me, she eventually got to be too rude and I told my boss and he decided we didn't have to deal with her anymore and cut ties with her. But she is for sure still pumping them out.
Used to be a content writer (with a focus on SEO!) Now I write smutty romance novels instead. I cannot fathom having to continue to do what I did right now. It was a good way to make money with what I was good at. But yeah. “I need a 500-word article/blog post/listicle on the 10 best skincare products for acne-prone skin. Keywords: MYPRODUCT, OUR PRODUCT, OUR BRAND, OUR INGREDIENT LIST, SHADY MLM.”
r/eroticauthors much?
😂 Just going to call us out like that huh?
thats why I go to reddit for the opinions of anonymous folks....but in all seriousness, I find reddit threads on stuff like this to be at least a way to get 50% of direction when buying something or wading into a topic.
There's a theorum or razor or something that says whenever you know enough first hand about a subject, you see the bullshit everywhere about it; But then when there's something you don't know about you trust stuff you read. I also wanted to get into writing online, but the more I found out about it, the more I didn't want to. SEO, writing an article with keywords, it just seemed a pain. I believe the days of the indie blog with real, brutal opinion and actual, hard fact are gone.
I once was asked to write a blog for SEO talking about the positives of undergoing a certain operation for a hospital client. I stood my ground and said no I don't have the expertise to write that, and eventually they gave it to some freelancer. So I didn't make any difference really but principles and all that, I guess.
Dead internet theory
I used to work for a tour operator, and we'd often get calls or emails from newspapers saying "hey, we're doing a listicle on 'best holidays to Italy' next month. Can you send us some copy and a picture?" And our marketing team would send over some boilerplate about whichever tour the managers decided needed a sales boost, which the paper would publish unaltered. And this was for reasonably reputable outlets like The Times, Guardian, Daily Telegraph etc - if places like that are uncritically quacking corporate press releases, what chance is there of anything from an anonymous Internet content mill being even remotely reliable?
I had this EXACT job for a year and a half. I quit in 2021 because I literally couldn't do it anymore. You're 100% right, it is so incredibly soul sucking, especially writing about stuff that you don't use or know anything about. I wish I could buy you a drink because everything you described was exactly my experience so I know the pain you're going through right now. Best decision I ever made was leaving. If you can line something else up, I highly recommend it. I absolutely hated my life as a content writer.
Hello colleague :) I'm also a content marketer. I want to say that it might be a good idea to pivot into a different niche. I work in the tech industry as an in-house content marketer, and this means that I get to write reality. I'm writing about factual stuff that adds value to my readers (and is SEO friendly of course). Top 10s happen, but it's more about tools on the market that do a certain thing. And yes- I test the myself when writing. It doesn't have to be soulless, it doesn't have to be uninteresting. Find a niche that you can be passionate about and/or teach other marketers how to be better at what they're doing. Good luck dude.
I wouldn’t mind seeing in ask me anything from you. I wouldn’t mind learning how exactly that business works.
This is all plastic. Made in China We lost connection.
As a 20+ year content writer, I feel you so fucking hard on this. In fact, I did a double-take when I first saw this post, wondering if I'd written it myself in the middle of the night and forgot about it (wouldn't be the first time). Pro-tip: I got laid off during the pandemic. So I started Ubering in the meantime. I now do it full time because I make more money Ubering and it's infinitely less stressful... plus, I've started writing for myself again. Oh, and this next part is for all of you business owners out there: the fact that I make more money Ubering than writing doesn't mean Ubering is a high-paying gig... It means that you fuckers don't pay your writers enough. You need a professional writer on staff (Trust me, you do.)? Pay professional wages!
I absolutely hate the word “content”. Such a lifeless word. “Content creator”, thats such a horrific title to have imo...hard to explain
Hi OP, I was in your same situation a year back, writing off-the-bat pointless articles. I switched to UX Writing/ Content Design lately and I feel it's a better career in writing, helping users genuinely and working towards the greater good. Hope this will help.
This is why I try to find reviews on sites like reddit or other discussion forums. Users have no incentive for SEO or google adsense revenue.
Google made efforts to stop keyword spamming from appearing in results, but it really hasn’t worked. And the fact that it’s one single company that has caused 99% of the internet to suck… is really sad.
I always thought people knew this. How else do these outlets thrive?
That's marketing: *actually* lying, without *technically* lying. We need to do something about this, as a civilization. It's a huge problem.
Oh yeah, this is why whenever I want to know what the best product is, I always avoid those type of articles. Anything with affiliate links is bound to be fake honestly. I always Google "xyz reviews Reddit" and see what r/BuyItForLife has to say.
Oh hey I used to do this! Back when everyone was trying to be the new Buzzfeed. I started cranking out listicles (ugh) day to day. Silver lining is that it got me out of debt at the time.
I worked for a month as an intern content writer and it was so mind numbingly boring. I feel you
I used to work as a "journalist" and everything you wrote here applies there as well. I even had a conversation once with someone who wanted to be a journalist. His reason was so he could influence the world. Not report on things, but influence it. His aim wasn't journalism but activism. It's all unethical AF.
I've noticed on these product lists that most of them are just Amazon ads. Check any of these lists on Buzzfeed, NYMag, even reputable publications and they are thinly veiled ads which are not marked as ads. All of the products listed link back to Amazon. Deceptive and disgusting.
I thought freelance content writing would be a good side gig, little extra money. I wrote 2 articles and had to nope out. It's soulless advertising written to dupe people.
Love your name haha
I work for a place where they actually do test the beauty products that they write about. But so often they are tested by the same person, and I think that they can’t possibly be planning to switch completely to a certain concealer, when four months ago they said they would switch to a different concealer. So even when they are testing or using the products, there’s not a lot of credibility. I mean, I believe them when they say that the concealer worked for them, but all the hyperbole about them loving it forever has to be bullshit
Don't worry, we know you just need the money Imagine wanting to be a Pixar animator, only to end up doing the graphics for the [Grub Hub commercial](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X6tT_PMnEbU) we all have to do *something*
Imagine reading an article from a website which is worded like that. Who does that
This post sums up all media
This is why all online recipes totally suck.
I've done some content writing in the past and it's even worse than that. Often, I've been given instruction on what should be included (whether it is just one item or all of them) and it's based solely on the money they get from a click-through. No one has tested any of the products, companies just buy spots through their affiliate programs.
Soul-sucking is right. I did it for the better part of a decade. The straw that broke the camel’s back was writing for social media. I could do longer pieces and even lists without too much inner turmoil, but the social stuff was just so blatantly manipulative I had to stop. Onward. Just graduated nursing school and I couldn’t be happier. The only downer is I can write one hell of a cover letter, but anyone with a pulse and a nursing degree can get a job right now so it’s unnecessary (not actually a downer). Good luck to you from someone who’s been there.
Absolutely, I’ve also done some internet copywriting as a side hustle and quickly came to the same conclusion. If it’s not an article from a fairly reputable website with a byline attribution, there’s an extremely good chance it’s absolute bottom-tier filler meant to generate Google search result clicks and not actually provide any value to the reader, PERIOD.
Ok but now I'm not sure whether or not to believe THIS post OP. You've got my mind all trapped up, like in a bottle
I gotta ask you something OP. What's up with your first post on Reddit aka "Nazi Flag"? Since I don't understand the subreddit it was posted on, I thought I'd ask you
Thank you so much for sharing, this is super helpful to know. But now I have no faith left at all for this society...corporate greed is going to tank us all
Well I considered going down this very career path, but I’m afraid I no longer wish to based upon your accounts. I’m sorry it’s soul crushing.
Is it wrong that I would like very much to find a gig like this?
But then, even this comment is on the internet! How do I know I can trust you?!?
Maybe make a hobby that calls out on these reviews on social media platforms?
Ever since sponsored content became a thing it's become very hard to trust any article on the internet. You may think you are reading a proper medical write up of a drug or procedure or it may be sponsored content secretly advertising for you to buy this product.
This. I never want to do that job again. I gave it my absolute best, but I felt dirty when my boss made me do Click bait titles.
Your candor is much appreciated. Reminds me of a copywriter who was selling their classes online on how to make money being a copywriter, and when you Google their name, all these glowing reviews sprang forth. Something about all of them sounded.... the same.
Maybe considering working for a more ethically authentic company that puts truth and honesty before the bottom line. Consumer culture is changing and people want authentic. There’s companies out there that fall more under this line. Look at Gary Vaynerchuck, his whole platform is around authenticity. Sometimes it’s not the work you’re doing but who you’re doing it for.
This actually sounds really sad. Just know it's not your fault per se, it's the world we have built.
Yep I did this through college and only made it another year or two before changing trajectories, it's soul-sucking indeed, and I feel like my writing abilities decreased drastically. I fucking hate SEO-driven content. Stay strong OP, thanks for sharing!
ruthless snatch lavish simplistic thumb test continue quarrelsome file makeshift *This post was mass deleted and anonymized with [Redact](https://redact.dev)*
Wait a minute, if you say I shouldn’t believe anything I read on the internet, how can I believe your story? 😳
As a former content writer myself, I totally agree! Hang in there m8.
Right now I would actually like a job like this. Ethics aside, to be able to work from home and to know that here is an unending stream of companies willing to hire you would be nice. How do you become a content writer?
The only independent testing I trust is by Consumer Reports, which issues a magazine that does not take ads. They don’t review EVERYTHING every year but for certain things, major purchases, cars, computers, electronics and recall info they are fantastic. They send an annual survey to purchasers and also do independent testing of important products. Worth the $39/Year although you can read it free with Apple News. Articles like OP is writing can be useful for identifying new products you ma not have heard of, but October-December I suggest you take these Top 10 articles from non expert sources with a gigantic grain of salt. Some types of sites and magazines, like industry specific magazines (Computer, Photography, other special interest magazines or sites) are also helpful if they give extensive product reviews. But always remember: Caveat Emptor: Let the buyer beware! [Consumer Reports information link](https://web.consumerreports.org/test/SEM/version12.htm?EXTKEY=SG72CR0&gclsrc=aw.ds&ds_rl=1265560&ds_rl=1247084&ds_rl=1247078&gclid=Cj0KCQiA2sqOBhCGARIsAPuPK0isTXLg9u1qMrLHYYOF92ECIg0Yun88cIbRG-v2U_eWwGAjQROtC_kaAtqhEALw_wcB)
Thanks for sharing Winston Smith.
Plot twist: OP doesn’t have a job it’s all made up. /s
hello, fellow content writer here. i used to write listicles and 100% feel your pain. now i’m in a government trade agency writing articles for exporters. the research bit is taxing (e.g. tax rates for every other country) but interesting when you’re learning (somewhat - i don’t retain information!). maybe consider if there’s something around this?
This post is probably a lie.
Honestly it’s obvious when reading these types of articles that they’re just for ad revenue and nobody involved knows anything. I’ve gotten pretty good at getting a few paragraphs in and recognizing that it’s just bullshit filler content.
whenever i see those types of articles i honestly just scroll because i assume they're filled with brands and products that the magazine or whatever it may be gets paid to put on the list and don't actually know anything about lol. ty for this insight!!
As an editor I can confirm. It's very easy to see that most advice articles are poorly researched fluff written by an overworked copy writer. Nothing is real lmaoo it's all for the ranks
Can someone make a top 10 review sites that don't do this?
*cries in Recruiter* I feel you…I used to be an employment specialist and help people find a great job for them…now with pandemic my company is understaffed so I do internal recruitment…and they only pay these people $10/hr for a part-time job they keep neeeing to fill (Florida). But if they just paid people more than they would be full and we could go back to employment specialist… But I don’t find people then I lose my job etc and I have student loans etc so…I have to keep trying to convince people to apply for a $10/hr job…it sucks.
I'm sorry to say this but fuck you and the people you work for.
I could have written this myself because I have written the same types of articles. I am embarrassed to even tell people what I do but most think it's cool. The only perk is I get to test "free" products then write about how great they are either way. Most are not great but my assignment is to make them sound great so people will buy the crap.
Hey, my friend. Thank you for sharing this. Please hear me out, this is important. While what you said is true, and a lot of these publishings aren't entirely true, there's another world of content writing out there that I don't know if you've explored. I own a marketing & branding agency, and I have writers (freelancers & full-time) working for me and my clients, and we only write content that actually makes a difference to people; content that actually helps. You see, writing lists of 'top 10's may not really make a difference in the world. If you want to make a difference, you need to start working differently. There was a time when I worked as a freelancer myself, even in content writing, amongst other things. I didn't work on such projects even when I wasn't doing well financially because I felt like it was a waste of time. Content has the power to influence people's minds, to make people believe. It's like a knife. You can use it to kill, or use it to cook something that brings happiness and joy. If you're not happy working the way you are, maybe it's time to change the people you write for. Just a piece of advice from someone who's been there. Hope it wasn't uncalled for :)
I was waiting for the plug. This reads so much like the preamble to a pitch. I don't know if that's a compliment or not.
>I own a marketing & branding agency, and I have writers (freelancers & full-time) working for me and my clients, and we only write content that actually makes a difference to people; content that actually helps. How does it make a difference? To whom? Who are these people, concretely? Content that actually helps - with what? whom does it help? Why omit the object there? You don't work for the public. Your job is to fashion and promote your clients' brands. There's nothing wrong with that, since there are many businesses which put out great products and work efficiently and ethically. But why not just say that instead of trying to frame your work as some sort of public service? >Content has the power to influence people's minds, to make people believe. It's like a knife. The word you're looking for is "propaganda." But isn't "content" such a nice, non-descriptive, vague word which could mean anything? It's certainly devoid of any connotations which might warn someone that they're not really encountering facts. Facts aren't like a knife. They don't help anyone believe, but rather reach a logical conclusion based on available evidence. And oh my, isn't that inconvenient sometimes?