Can You Really Make Money on News Break?
By: Jordan Fraser
Tags: Money, Success, Writing, Finance, Entrepreneurship

Can You Really Make Money on News Break?

The News Break difference that makes it a revelation

Photo: Roman Kraft on unsplash

Lately, a couple of my beloved friends/fellow writers have noticed that (once again) I’ve been strangely absent from Medium.

Taking lengthy breaks from the platform is always a good indicator that I’ve discovered something new and exciting, and am instead dedicating my time to pursuing this new interest.

Yes friends, this has indeed happened. Except unlike with times gone by, the interest I’ve discovered isn’t something unique to me and my situation, I’m merely following the current that has carried many other writers in this new direction.

As you already know from reading the title, I’m talking about News Break.

Scam?

News Break is the news aggregate service we all thought was a scam a month ago. Some of us received emails inviting us to join their new creator program, others of us (including me) did not.

Some of those that were invited were turned off by the minimum payment promise of $1,000 each month, because of how fake that sounded.

I actually discovered it from a post I deleted from the Medium-focused Facebook group I help moderate. Someone had posted a referral code to the page, which is strictly against the rules, but it did pique my curiosity.

I assumed that this kind of new platform would probably be catnip for the types of writers that are drawn to Medium, so I searched ‘News Break’ in Medium and was greeted with a treasure trove of results.

The enlightening accounts of everyone’s positive experiences gave me the confidence I needed to apply for the program. I figured that it’s free, so I don’t have anything to lose by giving it a try.

Photo: Matthieu Stern via unsplash

What does it offer

The News Break Creator Program hasn’t been around long enough for anyone to get paid yet, so we won’t know for another week whether or not this program is absolutely, without a doubt, legitimate.

(Payment is sent on the 15th of each month for royalties earned during the previous month).

But the regular aggregate site that existed before the program has been around for 5 years, and was started by a former executive at Yahoo. So we can assume that News Break probably isn’t selling snake oil.

Instead, the site features breaking news and informative articles pulled from all over the web, and has made a lot of money doing so.

But now they’re ready to invest a lot of that money into producing original content. That’s right, just like Netflix before them, they’re splashing money all over the internet looking for creators to produce new content just for them.

Here’s what they’re offering;

They’re willing to pay a minimum of $1,000 per month for writers who will commit to contributing 3 articles per week. I see it as a twist on a conventional advance for novelists. Writers will need to sign a contract to that effect, although the contract states that either parties can cancel at any time.

Contracts are really turning off some writers, which I understand. Another interesting element is that the site won’t offer contracts to just anyone, you’ll need to apply and be accepted first. I received my acceptance about 2 weeks after applying.

Right now we’re in an early adoption period, so for three months, writing 3 articles per week is the only condition to receive the minimum payment. After three months however, writers will also need a minimum of 500 followers and a viewership of 500 unique readers on each article.

While on Medium this would be a near-impossible ask, I’ve personally found that attracting views is a lot easier on News Break.

The Difference

Since joining the site three days ago, I’ve uploaded 24 articles onto the site. Here are my dashboard stats so far.

Screenshot from News Break

These stats are actually lower than my real numbers because the dashboard only updates about every 24 hours, which the company claims they’ll improve.

The whole platform on the creation end feels like Wordpress did 10 years ago, or blogger did 15 years ago.

It’s very basic, and there’s no app for creators. But it’s exciting to be part of something while the paint is still drying. I appreciate being a part of something while it’s still in its infancy and before it gains all the bells and whistles, and drops all the perks.

Remember when Medium used to pay bonuses for quality writing? Infancy is a wonderful thing.

News Break welcomes previously published work, so I’ve boosted my presence on the site by uploading a bunch of my existing articles that have fleshed out my profile and made me more visible.

It turned out to be a smart move, because I’m now well on my way to achieving the follower and viewership requirements, even though I won’t be obliged to until February.

Dumping dozens of articles at once onto Medium would be social suicide for this site. It’s far better to upload slowly and regularly, while interacting with all of your readers.

News Break feels like a numbers game, where you really need to be present in a big way to be noticed at all. Writers are complaining that they’ve gained 30 followers over two weeks while publishing on a Medium-style schedule. Those writers may have to get a lot more aggressive or risk being lost by the algorithm.

Audience Interaction

After scanning the hundreds of comments I’ve received, I’ve definitely gained the impression that there are a lot more people on News Break than on Medium.

I’ve also gained the strong impression that these are the same people who watch and comment on YouTube videos, because these comments are (for the most part) vile or crazy.

For more than a year, I’ve stayed in the relative safety and comfort of Medium. During my time on Medium, I’ve received lots of harsh comments on a couple of my stories. But they all felt like comments written by people who read a lot, and had a strong opinion one way or another.

On News Break, I’m getting random racist comments mixed with jokes mixed with others asking about bran muffin recipes. It’s a mess of loud conversation and crazy accusations. While for the most part these comments go down some dark holes, they also make the site feel alive and well trafficked.

I’m someone that writes with the hope of exposure, and on News Break I’ve received in three days the amount of views I’d normally get on Medium in a week.

That might not sound like a huge difference, but I’ve been a writer on Medium for over a year and a half and have amassed hundreds of stories. I’ve uploaded just over two dozen articles onto News Break and in three days my stats are (by my standards) exploding.

The Real Consideration

The most important reason News Break works for me lines up with the exact reason Medium has stopped working for me in recent weeks.

Once upon a time, my views on Medium were from paid members about 90% of the time. Lately, I’d estimate that roughly 5% of my views are from paid Medium members.

There are a lot of factors contributing to this. One factor might be that I’m not producing content that Medium readers care about anymore, another is that I’m producing work that shows up well in a Google search.

Unfortunately, it has meant that while my viewership hasn’t decreased, my royalty payments have sharply decreased. My payment for last month was the first that I’ve ever felt was unacceptable for my stats, so News Break is coming at the perfect moment for me in my journey.

So I’m not going to quit Medium, but I’m also not going to take it as seriously as I have in the past. I’m going to stop checking my royalty payments, and instead only write for Medium whenever inspiration dictates. I’ll also continue running Money Clip, but won’t check daily as I have before. This may mean that stories will be published a bit slower than they have historically.

I won’t be following a schedule, or submitting to outside publications. Instead, all my effort will be going into News Break, which is the platform that best suits my goals and priorities in this moment.

Since I’m someone that attracts attention from people who seem disinterested in subscriptions, I’ll be writing articles that aim at attracting attention from everyone, and will enjoy that fact that every read (no-matter where they’re from) counts as a monetised view.

Think of the potential when taking away the paywall that prevents so much royalty income. I’ve always said that I’d prefer ads over a lower income stream, and now that’s what I’ve got.

I understand that some writers feel that News Break is too crass, and not artistic enough for your personal brand of expression, and I respect that. I agree that not everything is right for a site like News Break, which is why I’ll continue to contribute to Medium sometimes.

But for the most part, News Break is exactly my style, and I’ll be giving it all I’ve got. I’ll check back in once I’ve received my first royalty payment in January to confirm once and for all whether or not this is legit.