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A rev share site get to you stick around often by only paying out if you write a set number of articles each month. You can end up feeling trapped; forced to write so you get paid for the work you’ve done in the past. You can step away, though.

One of the things that I love about rev share is the ability to get paid more over time than I would get for some flat-rate pieces as a freelancer. However, I do have an issue with some models.

There are a couple of models I hate. The first is those that only pay for a set amount of time, such as the first 30 to 90 days a post is published. Those posts are still making a site money, so why am I not getting paid? The second is when a site forces you to write a certain number of articles so you are still an “active” writer. If you don’t meet quota, you don’t get paid for any of your views.

The latter can leave you trapped with a site for far longer than you’d like. After all, your hard work of the past is going to waste. The truth is that you’re wasting more time and money by sticking with sites, especially if they’ve been hit badly by the Google Helpful Content SEO update.

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Walk away from a rev share site for brighter pastures

You’re still putting time into creating new content. Usually, it’s the newer content that is going to perform better on a site. That older content may trickle in some views, but it’s not enough to make you rich.

So, you want to look at where you’re going to make the most money. When I see a site is making me less than $50 and I have to write one just to keep getting paid that, I tend to walk away if I’m not enjoying it anymore. I’ll stick around if I like it because sometimes I just want to write something I’m passionate about, but most of the time, I walk away.

There are private clients willing to pay you that $50 for just one post. There are other rev share sites out there. There are even other ways to make money online.

Don’t feel trapped for a small amount of money. Walk away and do what’s good for your needs.

Most sites aren’t going to take this personally, and if they do, they don’t understand the business of freelancing. They get it that you need to go where is best for you.

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It’s a bit of a FOMO issue in rev share

There’s always that fear of missing out on something within the rev share sites. You may be worried that suddenly a post takes off, or you may be worried that a site that was hit by the SEO updates last year and in March of this year manage to get its traffic back. You want to be there when that happens.

Honestly, it’s unlikely that you’ll have an older post suddenly go viral. The Helpful Content Update (which isn’t that helpful from a user perspective) has had a devastating effect on bloggers. The core update in August 2024 isn’t going to suddenly reverse everything that happened. You don’t need to worry about a site suddenly taking off again.

Even if it does, do you really want to wait it out? If it was your own blog, I’d definitely say wait it out. When it comes to rev share, you need to write where you are going to make money.

Step away from the feelings of FOMO. You’re not missing out on anything. You’re gaining your life back.

And I write all this because I’ve been in this position. I’ve felt trapped on particular rev share sites and a little lost on what to do next. Part of it has been that feeling that things could pick up again, but I doubt they will. Add in toxic editors and clients, and I’m just not going to stick around to be paid peanuts for work of the past.

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When do you step away from a rev share site? Share your thoughts in the comments below.