“Content mills.”

If you’re a writer, just saying those words together is the emotional equivalent of cursing in front of your grandmother.

Truthfully, content mills do make for a ridiculously easy target.

They don’t pay enough.

They work their writers to death.

They churn out crappy copy and turn search engine results into dumpster dashes. They teach writers to be worse at their craft, not better. They eat self-esteem for breakfast. They disappear at the most inopportune moments (like just before payday).

Did I mention they don’t pay enough?

But content mills can also be “crash course” training grounds for long-term success in the grown-up, go-it-yourself freelance world. Here are the 6 most valuable freelancing lessons content mill writers can learn from the experience. 

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