IAPWE, also known as the International Association of Professional Writers & Editors, has been around for quite a while. Most often, you’ll find IAPWE on sites like Craigslist, being portrayed as an ad that can make you money.
IAPWE is a professional organization that provides training, resources, and job opportunities to writers and editors.
According to its website, the organization aims to help its members improve their skills, expand their freelance business, and connect with clients and other professionals in the industry.
It’s important to note that while it exists, it’s not a well-known association and most reviews indicate that the association is not highly reputable.
Most often, you’ll find IAPWE on sites like Craigslist, being portrayed as an ad that can make you money.
But is that really true? Or Is IAPWE a scam? That’s what our hope is to uncover in this article post. So come join us as we take a review of IAPWE.
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.
If you’re one who writes a lot, then this would definitely draw you in, to at least check it out. For example, on a good day, I can write over 4K words. That means, that I could make around $400 a day, just by doing what I do every-day.
But claims can always be deceiving. Just because an ad claims something doesn’t mean that it’s actually true.
Checking Out The Website
Clicking through the link will lead to a sign up form. The sign up form is pretty basic. They tell you about what you’re applying for, and ask for your name and email address, and also whether you’re signing up to be a Writer, or an Editor.
After you’ve done that, you can then add a sample of your writing. This (supposedly) will help them weed out anyone who’s not good at writing or editing.
You’ll also be asked to send a random 5 digit pin to their email address. I guess this is their way to get around using a captcha, and making sure they don’t get bots posting to their site (though I don’t know if that’s true or not.)
The Long Wait
I’m glad that I did this a long while ago, because you actually have to wait a month or so before they get back to you. And it’s not just me. I’ve read other reviews of people who had the same problem.
You can see from the screenshot that it was over a month that IAPWE replied to my original email with my 5 digit pin.
When applying to some sites, I have had to wait that long to get a reply. But those had a more in depth process, and had many more hoops to jump through to apply for certain work.
But IAPWE shouldn’t have to wait that long to reply to someone about whether they’re accepted or not. I honestly forgot about IAPWE, because if you don’t get a response, that usually means that they don’t want you.
But long story short, they did reply, and I decided to make an account and see what I could get my hands on.
Oh, The Things That You… Don’t Get?
Unfortunately, even after you’re allowed to register, you don’t get to make money quite yet.
So 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?
They’re making me join their little membership, just so that I can see the jobs out there? Just how much money does it cost?
According to the link I followed, it looks like it’s going to be around $6 per month, just to be part of their little membership group.
But, if you take a look at the screenshot above, it says that this is an upgrade special, and that I’m saving 85% through this special deal. But does that mean that it’s valid just for this month, or for every month?
If it’s only valid for just this month, then I’ll actually have to pay around $40 per month.
Is the upgrade worth it?
$6 dollars per month for a membership isn’t that much, especially if you’re going to make more than that per day by writing and editing, right?
Yes and no.
It would be worth it if you knew that you were going to get good jobs, and if you were going to work for a company that was legit. But IAPWE doesn’t quite seem like they fit the qualifications.
Oh, I have no doubt that they are legit, and the company has been around for a while. But they seem to be slightly deceiving when somebody signs up on their website.
It seems like you’re signing up to work for them. But in reality, IAPWE is actually just a site that pulls jobs from wherever they can find them, and posts them on their Job Board (which is only accessible to those who have a Professional or Business membership).
The IAPWE is also dedicated to bringing the most updated, legitimate and vetted writing and editing job opportunities to its members.
Currently, there are many different websites containing both legitimate as well as illegitimate writing and editing job opportunities and we make available, in one place, all of the opportunities that have been determined to be legitimate across over 100 different websites.
So they’re only giving you jobs that they find (and think are legitimate), and no jobs from within their own site/company.
On top of this, they have a B- rating on the Better Business Bureau’s website.
From the BBB, a rather well-established, and authority on businesses, IAPWE isn’t accredited according to BBB’s standards.
I took a look at other reviews of IAPWE, and most of them agree – the membership isn’t worth it, nor are the jobs on it helpful either. Some did note that the jobs did seem relevant to them, but after sending so many resumes, they didn’t get a single lead.
Other Common Questions:
What does Iapwe stand for?
Iapwe stands for the International Association of Professional Writers and Editors.
How do I cancel my Iapwe subscription?
If you would like to cancel your Iapwe subscription, you should reach out to the organization’s customer service team for assistance. You may be able to find a cancellation or contact form on their website, or you may need to email or call them directly to request that your subscription be cancelled. It’s important to note that some organizations may have a cancellation policy in place, such as requiring written notice or a certain amount of notice before canceling a subscription.
Is International Association of Professional Writers & Editors legit?
The International Association of Professional Writers and Editors (IAPWE) is a professional organization that provides training, resources, and job opportunities to writers and editors.
While it exists, it’s not a well-known association and some reviews indicate that the association is not highly reputable. As far as I’ve found, there haven’t been any ‘positive’ reviews that come from this site.
Is IAPWE A Scam?
I don’t think IAPWE is a scam. They are active on their social media, and have relevant blog posts, as well as keeping their site up-to-date.
Having said that, IAPWE really doesn’t seem to be completely honest with outsiders. They claim that they’ll give you a job, but they don’t tell you that you’ll need to pay for a membership, nor that the job will be for another company.
I personally wouldn’t recommend you go with IAPWE. There are plenty of sites that allow you to look for jobs, and all for free. Take a look at Indeed.com, Monster.com, or FlexJobs.com for free job postings.
If you are interested in making money with writing, then I would recommend Wealthy Affiliate. I did a review of them here. They are a site that helps you learn how to make money through affiliate marketing. Basically, they teach you how to make a website, and write article promoting things you like.
I’ve been a member of them for over 5 years now, and haven’t looked back yet. They do fairly well in helping you master a way to make money online, as well as being your own boss and business owner.
Through their training, I’ve been able to support myself and my family, all while working less than 8 hours a day and doing it from home.
52 thoughts on “Is IAPWE A Scam? (I Make More Money Elsewhere!)”
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’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.
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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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’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.
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?
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.
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.
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.
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
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