IAPWE, also known as the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors, has been around for quite a while.
And scamming a lot of people out of their hard-earned money.
Yes, IAPWE ISN’T a site that I would personally recommend. I wrote this blog post in 2019. Depending on what year you’re reading this, then you know that you’re not the first (and probably not the last) person to ask whether IAPWE is legit.
You All Know The Scam…
1. The Craigslist Ad
So far, I’ve only seen IAPWE as a Craigslist ad. Most of the posts are usually pretty similar. Make money as a writer or editor by following a certain link:
According to the screenshot above, the ad claims that you can make $10 dollars per 100 words that you write, or $3 per 100 words that you edit. So for a thousand-word article (like this one you’re reading), you would make $100 if you wrote it, and $30 if you edited it.
2. Waiting A Month For A 5-digit Pin
Once you click through the link, and submit your content, they ask you to send them a random 5-digit pin.
You can see from the screenshot that it was over a month that IAPWE replied to my original email with my 5-digit pin.
3. The Money That You… Don’t Get?
Unfortunately, even after you’re allowed to register, you don’t get to make money quite yet. At least, this is what happened when I tried to join many years ago.
As you can see in the screenshot above, I can’t see the jobs, because I haven’t upgraded to a Professional or Business member yet?
What kind of idiotic-ness is this?
According to the link I followed (shown above), it looks like it’s going to be around $6 per month, just to be part of their little membership group.
Guys, you don’t need me to let you know that even if this wasn’t a scam, it’s not worth it.
4. The Money They Make Off Of You
And this is where the scam comes to a close.
When you sign up, you just get added to a job board section for people hiring writers.
So, you’re not even making money through IAPWE. They’re just collecting your money to send you to free resources.
What do others say about IAPWE?
So, I found a bunch of complaints about IAPWE on BBB and Reddit. People are pretty unhappy with them for a few reasons:
Force Trial Of Professional Subscription
IAPWE offers a free basic subscription, but users must accept a 30-day free trial of their Professional Subscription to access it.
(This screams scam to me right off the bat!)
This subscription option involves granting access to their PayPal account through PayPal’s automatic payments feature.
When users try to cancel their subscriptions, IAPWE ignores their calls and emails.
Cancellation Process Do Not Work
Some users who subscribe to their offerings for $9.99/month have complained about the lengthy process involved in canceling the subscription.
Even after following the process, the subscription is not canceled, and they continue to be charged monthly.
Increase In Membership Fee Without Prior Notice
Others have reported a sudden increase in the membership fee without prior notice after being a member of IAPWE for a few months.
When they try to cancel their membership using IAPWE’s form, they receive a notification that they will receive an email confirming the cancellation.
However, they do not receive any email from IAPWE even after several months, and the membership fee continues to be deducted from their account.
Fake Free Trial
Several users have expressed their dissatisfaction with IAPWE’s free trial policy. They claim that they were charged monthly fees despite signing up for a free trial.
Even after attempting to cancel their subscription multiple times, they did not receive any confirmation or acknowledgment from IAPWE.
This has caused frustration and inconvenience for these users.
Can You Even Make Money Writing Now-A-Days?
Look, as always, I’ll be honest, and give it to you straight.
Getting paid to write articles for other people isn’t something that is worth it now-a-days.
Especially if you’re in the United States or one of the major 1st world countries.
Notice the emphasis on “for other people“.
Let me emphasize it one more time.
For other people.
Now, if you write articles for yourself, well then, you can definitely make a ton of money.
This Is How You Can Make Money By Writing For Yourself
See the screenshot above.
That is money coming to me because I wrote something.
Yup.
I actually wrote a couple of things about a year and a half ago, and it’s still making me money to this day.
You see, you don’t need to work for someone else to make money by writing.
You just need to learn how to take that passion of yours (writing), combine it with another passion of yours (like for me, getting scammed), and have it make money for you, even after you finish writing.
Back when I was first starting out, trying to learn how to make money by writing, I stumbled across a program called Wealthy Affiliate.
Back in 2018, Wealthy Affiliate was (and still is) teaching me how I can take any passion I have and make money from it.
I know, I was thinking the same thing as you:
“Any passion at all, and you can make money from it?”
Make Money By Writing About Any Passion Of Yours!
As of writing this (in 2023), it’s 5 years since I’ve joined Wealthy Affiliate, and I’ve put that question the test.
Over the course of those 5 years, I’ve made money blogging about many different types of topics:
- bad breath
- recipes
- how not to get scammed
- self-care
- decluttering/organizing
- minimalistic wardrobes
- bullet journaling
I’m actually in the process right now of starting a new site with my wife about homesteading, gardening and homemaking.
Any passion you have, and you can make money from it by writing about it.
Let’s Be Honest: This Isn’t For Those Who Need Money Right Now.
If you’ve landed on this page, and you’re looking for money right now, then this isn’t going to work for you.
Wealthy Affiliate isn’t a “Get-Rich Quick” scheme.
I personally had to work hard for a good three-four years to get where I am now (I worked on my site on and off during that time).
But it’s all worth it in the end.
As of right now, I’m fairly confident that if I were to have to start over, I could get to the success I am right now in less than 2 years.
Do You Want To Be Your Own Boss In Less Than 2 Years?
What would you do if you knew that in less than 2 years, you could be doing what you want, work when you want, and not have an employer breathing down your neck?
Not have to worry about finances?
Would you be willing to work through the hard times in your life (like when I had to work on my business even though I felt as though my marriage was falling apart, uncertain of the future, and scared this wouldn’t work?)
Would you be willing to learn something new every day? (With the knowledge I know now, I have the knowledge and experience of a Content Writer, Social Media Marketer, Paid Ad Specialist, Copywriter, Web Administrator, Funnel Strategist, as well as a ton of other job titles!)
If you are, then I would love to connect with you.
I’m willing to help you build your business in two years if you’re willing just to do the work and learn something new every day.
Are you interested?
Wow! Thank you for this valuable content. Didn’t think anyone would write an article about it. I got email from them today and I guess I’m going to reject the offer.
Same here. I am glad I decided to search reviews before I finished submitting my profile. I got a little sketched out during the sign-up process when I realized they wanted fees for the membership…
Very nice! I got an “acceptance” today, too. I was like, wait a minute… you want me to sign up for something? Lol. I think the waiting period makes it seem more legit.
It seems to be that they now offer ” a free membership option” with limited resources. And the fact that they pay only through a third-party seems very sus and off-putting.
Demand Studios… I know they suck, but I wish there were more out there like it these days.
It’s a scam. They also have an extension of .org, which normally serves for legitimate nonprofits. Stay away and keep your head high, writers. Know your worth, and it surely is not $10 per article.
Gia did you actually sign up with them? I ask because the first thing I saw after signing up was their freelance portal where they have their jobs listed. So far I have had no issue with payment for my work but I can only speak for myself. They now pay through Freelancer the website and it looks like they have a pretty strong presence there with many other freelancers that have completed work for them.
It looks like the paid memberships that they have are optional since I didn’t pay anything to sign up so I am not sure what the scam is. I also don’t think .org is only for nonprofits btw since I have seen other organizations that use .org but are not nonprofits (I think .org is for organization)
Thanks Brenda,
I also just signed up with them and have actually seen jobs on their freelance portal. I was a bit worried by the reviews here and wasn’t sure how much they pay but I am going to try them out. Thank you for the clarification. I will get back with my experience.
Hi Cathy,
How are things coming along? I too have been considering IAPWE.
Hi Cathy,
Can you please tell us about your experience so far? I just got an email from them but due to this article, I found I am very skeptical about joining. Your feedback will be greatly appreciated.
Thanks in advance.
How did you gain access to the jobs board without signing up for the paid membership? This area on the site is restricted without a paid SAnmembership.
I received an invite link right after I registered. The link is different from their job board page. It’s called the freelancer portal. Did you try emailing them?
I also had this immediately. As soon as my free membership was confirmed, without needing a credit card, I started finding jobs. It may not be super honest on the outside, but they don’t flat out lie about anything.
Hi Greg. I joined and I can see tasks on the Freelancer Portal. But do I pick and submit tasks? I emailed them but haven’t responded. Thanks
Hello, how is IAPWE going with you because was thinking of signing up. Looking forward to your reply or anyone else’s that has seen its benefits so that I don’t end up wasting my time with them. Thanks
Hey Kennedy,
I wouldn’t recommend this program – look at all the other reviews online, and they all say the same.
Andy
Hello Brenda,
Are you still with iapwe? Did you later have a challenge with them?
They are a total scam. I cancelled my membership but they have still been debiting money every month. I realised they are a scam when I had already signed up
Thank you. It looked fishy. Pay to play is wrong on any level.
Nice article. Thank you for creating this. Helps to learn about job opportunities out there.
The person is a RECRUITER for them… That’s some Andrew Tate level of scam, but for adults… Please. You can have access to legit writing jobs through so many sites, where you don’t have to pay upfront. Come on, now!
If people write a piece and conclude by writing “be your own boss and business owner”, they are praying on you!
I signed up today and did not see a freelance portal. In fact, I saw no place to search for jobs without being a premium member, and their website is awful. It feels like a scam because I can’t even see any jobs listed. I emailed them and haven’t gotten a response.
Any job or career offer of any kind from any field by so-called professionals that recommend and or demands payment upfront before you’ve received any earnings may not be illegal, but definitely unethical. The purpose is to earn not pay money for services upfront. Organizations are making an investment with you and in so doing going through the process with you with the good faith agreement that they will be paid on the back end along with you. Why are the customers taking all the risk? This has been a long-standing process. If there’s no risk for the organization, then it comes down to pay me now, and good luck buddy.
I appreciate the article Andy but as a writer you really should know the difference in the usage of ‘your’ vs. ‘you’re’ and use it correctly whenever you post an article.
Thanks for pointing out the typo, Jenna! It’s fixed now.
Don’t ever, Ever.. (E-V-E-R!) pay a “membership fee” like this one.
Legitimate jobs PAY YOU – not the other way around!!!
“I don’t thin IAPWE is a scam.” (I don’t think ) Just thought I’d let you know 🙂
Thanks for letting us know!
RIGHT ON, Much appreciation goes out to all the in depth digging done on that company and hats off just for remaining neutral & objective, oh and BRAVO!! to your editor because i dont recall a single solitary typo in that article…WRITE ON!!
Echoing the thoughts of others – the whole thing “seemed” fishy (even though the logo and org name sounded official), so really glad I found your article & site. Tried to sign up on your list, but didn’t see an option to do that. Anyway, thanks – bookmarking your site now…
I’m trying it out, despite the mostly lousy reviews. I’m a remote worker and I haven’t found other job boards very helpful. Upwork is the worst – and they charge you to apply to jobs now as well. I feel like I’ve tried a billion freelancer and remote work sites. I’m a former print journalist and an experienced content writer, and frankly, I can’t afford to work for a penny a word. I’m a good writer – I have steady clients. I just need more. I’ll report back on my experience.
hey, Karen. any updates on your experience? thank you.
I’m having trouble canceling my membership. I got an email saying to cancel through Paypal, but I couldn’t find IAPWE in my Paypal payments. I tried again on the IAPWE site and never got the email. It’s a bit frustrating.
It’ll be in the subscription section. When I signed up, they categorized it as a subscription to IAWPE.
I want to unsubscribe and leave but it is not letting me. It has my info and keeps charging. It is definitely a SCAM. Can any one help me UNSIBSCRIBE please.
I got my acceptance email today. After I registered I was offered the set of memberships; I chose the free one. I was then taken to a page that offered me a 30-day free trial of the Professional membership which, if I took the offer right then, would lock me into a $4.99 per month price. I accepted, went to the job search board, and immediately saw a half a dozen enticing offers from just the last week. Some of them are actual positions with online blogs like Healthline; some were editors for technical writing; one was editing drug information that is initially written by pharmacists that required a bachelors degree and three years of experience; there were a couple that paid a flat rate per month to write a few short articles per week about up-and-coming musical artists. None of the offers looked illegitimate, and there appeared to be a wide variety of types and topics. Each one that I clicked on took me to the job/gig offer page on the searching company’s website. It seems to me a lot like having an agent that instead of taking 10% of everything you book simply asks for $5 per month as payment for the time to curate the available jobs/gigs. It is then up to you to be able to find a reasonable amount of work.
Best reply yet. I don’t understand why people would think someone will provide a valuable service for free! I haven’t signed up, but…to expect something of this kind of value (links to paying jobs) without paying for THEIR efforts to compile the links really is foolish and asinine.
People think it’s a scam because they don’t say that UPFRONT! What is hard to understand? Why don’t they present themselves as a job board, if it is what it is? There is a big difference between being a publishing house and a paying job boards? Your legal status are not even the same. You’re not taxed the same if you run a legit publishing house, and if you run a website that hosts a paying job board. You as a user, your status is not the same.
For instance, you go on a date with a woman, and you think you’re on a date with a regular girl, but then she wants to charge you for the time she is going to spend with you, meaning that’s a paying date. Are you going to pay, because, well that’s still a date and you will be paying for the food anyway?
That’s the same type of logic here, a failed logic.
I’m going to give the free trial a go. Note that when paying via PayPal you can not only cancel, but file a dispute with PayPal for a refund.
Thank you for the detailed review. Unfortunately, IAPWE is not taking new applications and you have to join a waiting list. Surprisingly, at the bottom of their about me page they have posted a statement which reads, ”We are currently seeking members to take on administrative roles to help us identify and verify additional writing and editing job opportunities for our members”. Most likely there are no jobs to all about inside the platform and you subscribe to look for jobs. If this is working for anyone please show me the money?.
First of all, how many out there believe that you can build a successful business without investing a red cent? To become a successful writer you need a following of dedicated readers along with writing opportunities. Anyone who is successful, no matter what the they’re invested in, will tell you that you have to spend money in order to make money. Take our critic who wrote this review, isn’t there a link above encouraging us to check out Wealthy Affiliates Today?!? I’m certain that he gets paid for every click on that link. I’ll take my chances because I want to get my writing seen and if I believed every opinion I read on the Internet then I may as well give up on all the years I’ve spent honing my skills. Every successful writer will tell you about the years spent collecting rejection notices. I live about a block away from Stephen King and I pass his home everyday on my daily walk. Read his book, “On Writing” and you’ll find a wealth of information on the good and bad of being a successful writer. Without opportunity there is no success in this business. Just an opinion…
I became suspect as soon as I saw their own blog had no entries since around Sept. 2019.
I’m usually much better at recognizing these. I signed up, paid $4.99 and then when I couldn’t get in with my username and password, THAT’S when I started to suspect. OMFG. How stupid of me. So, I canceled the “recurring PayPal”, looks like I’m out $4.99 and of course I gave them my email and address and name. Awesome. Thankfully I used the super difficult password created automatically when signing up.
There’s a simple explanation for your experience. Your PayPal email is different from the email you signed up on Iapwe with, yes? I had the same issue but figured it out quickly. You’d have to log in with your PayPal email because that’s how the website can verify the person who paid is the one logging in. Also, they do have a freelance portal where you can self-assign work immediately, not sending out your resume to potential employers or clients. What I don’t know yet is if I’ll actually get paid for the work since you have to submit finished tasks at 10-day intervals.
Glad to have found this, thanks for saving me some time! It just seemed fishy. Anything that draws you in and then asks for money is NOT something I’m interested in.
I joined this organization for months, perhaps over a year. At some point, I applied for what I believed was going to be a steady writing job. They said they would pay $50/article. There was a lengthy list of articles to write and to submit. However, there was no feedback other than acceptance or rejection. I only tried twice and it took weeks to find out that they did not accept the submission. While I admit that it might have been that they concluded that the article wasn’t good enough, the whole matter was confusing and disappointing as I had been led to believe it was a steady and real writing job that paid closer to a dime per published word. It was most disappointing because I did really have to apply for the job, and sent in my resume which they claimed was why they hired me. So, the bottom line was that I was hired, then tried to do some work, and no pay to me resulted. After it went that way, I cancelled.
It is a scam. There was another blogger who confirmed this, and was a victim herself(or himself). Paying for a membership is already a red flag just to view opportunities and not receiving a response after signing up, etc. And also, how come nobody even noticed the copyright year on the bottom of the website that reads 2017? Doesn’t anyone else find that suspicious? That copyright year should be updated to 2021. There are red flags in your article, but you said, “I don’t think it’s a scam.” That’s very contradicting to your article, when people who can notice the red flags.
I foolishly signed up for Professional Membership from a craigslist jobs ad. There are no jobs in their jobs board. You get no perks or certification as described and their freelance link gives a database error. No way to cancel the paid subscription and membership. This article should flag it as a SCAM.
I was to give it a shot and try the free membership but I stopped when they asked to set up my account with Paypal. For a free membership? What do they need my Paypal details for? Nope!
IAPWE just tried to triple my monthly membership bank deduction, from $5 to$15. My bank informed me and I cancelled my membership, deleting the PayPal autopay as well. It’s very hard to find the membership cancellation part of their website, but it’s there.
I was also able to signup for the free membership and got access to the jobs portal…freelanceportal.iapwe.org and from here you can undertake tasks without premium membership. The premium membership for job postings that are target to you as a member which in most cases are emailed directly to you. i could be wrong, but again i had signed up for the same and ended being spammed with daily job postings. I think it is safe to work with Iapwe without necessarily being a premium member.
I had similar scenario. I signed up for a free account, linked my PayPal and was able to see a lot of jobs on freelanceportal.iapwe.org.
As for the scam claim, I still can’t tell upto now which side of coin. The bottom line is that IAPWE charge money as well as offers free membership.
And are you a business owner who is financially free, like the article said?
Do you make at least 2000 dollars monthly by producing 2000 words of content daily?
My experience.
Joined at the recommendation of another writer. Took about a month to hear back. Explicitly stated in one of four welcome emails (VERY confusing) that there were ‘free’ membership options available. That’s what I chose. Then I had to set up PayPal for a free membership – okay, I think, that’s to get paid, no problem.
Well, no. 30 days later, I get charged (with a $40 NSF fee) by PayPal. For a free account. To get a daily listing of jobs and some irrelevant video content. The jobs were great, but there’s no way I would have paid for them.
The Freelancer portal is separate, and confusing. Basically there’s a list of gigs, you pick one that you like, and you write about it. Submit it, and then you wait to see if it’s accepted. Not accepted? No feedback. Accepted? You have to head over Freelancer dot com to invoice and get paid.
Fun part, their terms of service say you have 30 days to get a refund. Well, I had no idea I was charged (31 days later) and my bank contacted me about the NSF fee. There’s nowhere to see this on their site – I’ve literally looked at every page. So I guess I should have ‘known’ free didn’t mean free, and they were going to charge me after a month? Nowhere did it say that.
Sigh. I should know better, I’ve been at this writing game for decades now.
I have an idea. How about charge the people who are requesting the article(s) rather than the people writing the article(s)? Makes sense, right?
That’s how it should usually be done. That make a lot of sense, Robert.
Andy
Andy,
I just happened upon your article by chance. I was accepted to join these people, and now after reading this I’m not wasting my time or money.
Thank you. I know there’s a place for me to be able to work from home and make money doing what I love.
Thank you,
Alicia
Your welcome, Alicia 😀
It’s very true what you wrote about them. I also applied, got a reply as being accepted more than month after I signed up. I’m right now on free membership trial and I checked that it does not offer what it promised.As example, AL program what would write for you or rewrite someone’s article. And it just offers jobs from other sites. It seems I will leave this one behind. Looks like waste of time and energy.
Thanks, Aelita!
Part of the application process requires me to allow Windows access to my email account, contacts list, and other lists. If I agree, Windows is able to, e.g., delete any information on these lists. Who in their right mind would allow this? I decided not to apply. There have to be better ways of getting work as a writer.
Got an email from them saying they accepted me.
Looked around and now see that it’s pretty much garbage.
Thanks, you helped me save time and energy.
Thanks to y’all & Andy. I would have been scammed if it weren’t for y’all. I’m never trusting these websites again, sounds too good to be true. They Pay through a third-party? We pay to be paid(/work)? They take forever to respond? Seems very off-putting and ridiculous. Seems like they now offer a “free-membership” option with limited “resources”. I’d say it’s an absolute scam.