Zemandi- Is it a Scam?
Updated on: by Amy Kennedy
If you ever browse Craigslist looking for freelance writing jobs, especially if you have done so lately, it is very possible you have come across the writing site Zemandi.com.
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On first glance they look like an outstanding opportunity, especially for those new to the writing world. The pay is low but there is opportunity to move up to decent pay.
Also, they have a very generous referral program that allows you to earn a percent of what those that sign up under you earn indefinitely. I signed up and promptly began to research online to see what I could find out about Zemandi.
Money
Starting pay is $.40 per 100 words, but you can work up to $3.50 per 100 words. This starter rate is for those writers that earn a 3 star ranking on the first 5 articles.
If you rank lower than 3 you are not allowed to write anymore, and as you rank higher you get higher paying work.
You can also earn a 5% bonus for writing 25 articles that are accepted by the client in one week, and a 10% bonus for writing 50 articles accepted by the client in one week.
Then of course there is the referral program.
Once you earn $20 you are sent a referral link. You earn 6% of everything earned by those who sign up under your code.
Pay is every Monday that there is at least a $20 balance via PayPal.
The Chatter Online about Zemandi
This is where working for Zemandi gets murky. I couldn’t actually find anyone that had articles accepted.
It appears they have been extremely picky about acceptance and articles are sent back numerous times for rewrites.
Most of the writers I found posting about Zemandi considered the rewrites to not only be picky, which is okay because most clients want perfect work, but also grammatically incorrect. That is a problem.
The main red flag however, the one that alerted me to the fact that this was an actual issue and not just sour grapes on the part of some writers that had had their pride bruised, was 2 fold. First, the company posted on the forum where some of these negative comments were made.
Their post was not only hugely unprofessional, but it was also full of grammatical errors. In addition to that, the welcome email I was sent from them had errors in it.
The Better Business Bureau
There were also posts noting that Zemandi has lost its rating with the BBB. I looked it up and sure enough, there is no rating.
Of course I cannot prove that there ever was one for them to lose. They may have never had one, but that is not necessarily comforting.
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My Experience
By this point I had already requested and received my first assignment.
It was not one that would take a ton of time, but it would have taken some research. Definitely it was worth more than $.40 per 100 words, and knowing what I knew about how often they reportedly send back articles for corrections, I decided not to do it. That said, I do not have personal experience on how this company works.
Better Options
With the uncertainty around Zemandi, it is better to explore other credible options such as:
1. Upwork
Upwork is one of the largest platforms for freelance work, including writing.
Whether you’re looking for small one-time gigs or larger, ongoing projects, Upwork provides a wide array of job postings in categories like blog writing, copywriting, technical writing, and more.
One of the features that make Upwork stand out is the ability for freelancers to build a reputation through client reviews and ratings.
2. Fiverr
Fiverr allows freelancers to create their own “gigs” that clients can then purchase.
This could range from writing blog posts or copy to creating entire content marketing strategies.
The platform also has a rating system that helps successful freelancers get more visibility.
3. Freelancer
Freelancer is another large platform that connects freelancers with clients.
Writers can find work in a variety of fields, such as article writing, copywriting, SEO writing, and more.
Freelancer also hosts contests that allow writers to showcase their skills and earn money.
4. ProBlogger
ProBlogger’s job board is specifically designed for freelance writing and blogging gigs.
While the number of jobs posted isn’t as high as on some other platforms, the jobs tend to be high-quality and come from reputable clients.
5. Guru
Guru is a freelance marketplace that includes a category for writing and translation jobs.
One of Guru’s standout features is the Workroom, which allows freelancers to easily manage their work.
Conclusion
Proceed with caution. I could not find anything good about this company from anyone who has written for them.
If you have the time to write for that little pay with the knowledge that it may or may not work out, you can try. I don’t see much hope here however.
Do you have experience with Zemandi? Share with us below in the comments.
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Comments
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K Morgan
June 20, 2014 at 9:22 am
Hi F Stewart
Your conclusion is accurate. English is not the native language of the developer of the site. The level of respect toward those who actually take the time to contribute articles is pitifully poor. Although many that actually do the editing have superior grammatical skill. The web portal is not technically a Scam. They do pay out the posted wage schedule. They will not pay out if you have less than $20 in your account for any reason. This web site takes advantage of everyone who comes into contact with it, some may disagree as they do get paid to be taken advantage of. If you have a skill to write then please take the advice of this article and do not waste your efforts on an individual who thinks less than nothing of you. Self worth does matter, respect for self and others does matter. The assignments all come form other active web sites, find the good ones and forget about Zemandi.com.
Felecia
September 17, 2014 at 5:28 pm
Okay, so this is not supposed to be a website for professional writers to get recognized for their work. That’s pretty much outrightly stated in the About tab, which tells you frankly that you will be a ghostwriter–someone who writes articles, most of them pretty basic and menial, with no credit whatsoever given to you. Rates start out at fifty cents per 100 words; however, as you continue to put in articles on time and without real errors, the rate goes up some. Do not expect Zemandi to be like a career for you. It’s a way to make some extra money with your writing. You should not bash the website for not being something different than what it is. Also, in my experience, articles are usually accepted unless you have atrocious grammar or do not include the proper word count. Zemandi is not in charge of the acceptance of your articles; their clients are, the ones that give you the assignments, are. Also, I’ve gotten considerably speedy replies to emails that I didn’t really expect replies for. For example, I got an automated email telling me my 3200 word article was not long enough, when my word count told me it was 3234 words long. I replied telling them this, and they apologized, saying that it was in fact 3207 words long.
Laura
May 29, 2017 at 11:41 am
I just signed up with them. Thanks for your input.
Joy Fox
March 11, 2015 at 11:22 am
I have worked off and on for Zemandi, and I got all my work accepted, and I got paid per their promise. They now have book reviews, which is my favorite type of writing to do. This company is growing leaps and bounds, and they often times request that workers take on more work for monetary bonus rewards. When working for a company like Zemandi, realize that you are a ghost writer and get no credit for your written words. It’s just another way to make a few bucks to pay a few bills. It pays for my car gas, so I’m happy with that.
DestinyH
March 16, 2015 at 11:26 am
I have been writing for Zemandi off and on for over a year now. I got burnt out after the first few months, not because of Zemandi but because I was writing too much. I had to take a break. But every time I come back I am absolutely fine. I get paid as I was told, the articles are really easy, even if they require research, it’s easy to do and fast. It is not a scam like many believe and I have never had one of my articles rejected. I have had to revise 3 times now throughout the whole time I have been using them. That’s it! For those who have been rejected, maybe you did the assignment wrong, or your writing isn’t what you thought. It is an easy, fast way to earn some extra cash to use on whatever.
Sherrye
January 22, 2016 at 6:46 pm
I’m already in a similar relationship with iwriter so maybe I’ll keep on that path. Or not.
But dang, 40 cent for 300 words! And they expect good content, wow. That’s is extremely low, moving up from .40 is not a real motivator.
peggy
March 13, 2016 at 5:11 pm
The rate is 50 cents for 100 words for articles that are pretty easy. I have had a few requests for revisions but all of my assignments have been accepted. What I like about them is the flexibility it gives me around my other work. I can write one piece in a week or try to write more and make more. For someone who really wants to get into writing for a living there might be far better places, but for me right now; it is a good fit.
Alice
April 27, 2016 at 12:18 am
In general I agree with most of the positive comments about Zemandi.com; for me its just a game that pays very little. The sentiment that the creator has no respect for the individuals submitting articles is spot on. The site also will indicate that an article has timed out or expired, even though it was submitted and a receipt email had been sent.
This allows them to submit the article to the client and not pay the writer, who never knows who the client actually was in the first place. Happens randomly but to consistently to simply be a system error. The Bottom line is that Zemandi is not a scam and not for writers who desire respect. Its a system created to make one man very wealthy on the literate backs of educated individuals.
Charles
July 24, 2016 at 4:38 pm
Describing Zemandi as a scam is overdone; however, information from the site/support is quite misleading. For example, the person who recruited me promised that after three introductory articles, I would be upgraded and start earning more money. I started at level three after my first submission, which was immediately accepted by the client. It helps that I have been writing for Web content since 2007 and had 500+ Web articles in my resume.
In reality, you have to write at least ten articles for around 1/2 cents per word before you might be considered, if you ask, for getting on the waiting list for a “coach” who will help you “improve” your writing so you can someday be qualified for a better rate. While I still believed the three article introductory business, I wrote two more. In a couple of days those two will have been sitting waiting for client acceptance for a week. Then, you wait for another 3 or more days for the client to pay Zemandi before your money goes into pending payment, i.e., waiting for it to reach $20.00
Once burned, twice shy. I am not about to write around 3,000+ more words to then continue writing for peanuts waiting for some “coach” to teach me how to write. In short, the Zemandi business model does not favor experienced writers. I don’t understand why they do not save some staff time, eliminate the coaches, and just sign on good writers. I have had a four-star rating (the highest available) from Textbroker.com for years now, which pays better and lets you set your acceptable rates. You know exactly how much Textbroker adds for the amount they charge clients, which is honest, compared to Zemandi. You can even get direct orders from clients through Textbroker. You also get credit for your work and reviews from the clients. And it didn’t take a coach to get to four stars, just a few well-written articles.
Under the old poker adage of not throwing away good money after bad, I will let Zemandi keep the pennies in my account rather than waste more time when there are better and more ethical Web content companies out there.
Zemandi is recommended only for those who want to think they are writing for publication, even as ghostwriters and have no concern for the value of their work.
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January 17, 2017 at 3:02 am
Great post.
SJ
January 18, 2017 at 8:43 am
I wrote for them for all of 9 days before quitting. The majority of my articles were accepted, and there was no issue with payment either. However, on a few of them they wanted rewrites which would have been fine except that they were DISGUSTINGLY rude and unprofessional about it in emails. Don’t take my word for it. Here is a sample of some of the emails they sent me. I have saved a couple of them because I want every writer on the web to be fairly warned that you will be underpaid and abused if you work here!
“This is ridiculous! Again you are sending your tables. we will reject this now. We cannot use your tables as they look like crap!”
“What a waste of time! Did you even read the instructions?”
(The first one, I had received an automated message telling me my article was ONE word short so I edited it and resent it; I had not received their message about not sending any table in the work at that point!)
In another assignment, they advised a client to shorten his intro length request because the shorter length would result in “less bulls%@t from the writers.”
They have ZERO respect for their writers. I highly advise writers to look elsewhere. Anywhere else.
FStewart
January 19, 2017 at 8:45 am
Thank you for your feedback. Our readers need to see the positive and the negative.
MD
January 19, 2017 at 7:55 am
I have been writing for Zemandi for about 6 months now and they are a great option for extra money. Yes- everything said about them is true: 1) low pay, 2) no choice of topic, 3) no credit for your work and 4) 8-hour deadline. HOWEVER, they have always been true to the pay schedule- weekly. They have pretty much always had available assignments so if you have a weird schedule they are perfect. If you are unemployed like me and looking for the right job, they are also perfect. Just know what you are getting to/know your expectations and you’ll be fine.
There CAN be a time delay if the client doesn’t accept an assignment but of the ones I have done so far, I’d say this happened maybe three times. Plus, because my total is always way over $20 weekly, it isn’t that big a deal if they hold over $5. My normal extra money averages about $100 a week. That’s my car payment and a cell phone bill. Perfect for my schedule right now.
FStewart
January 19, 2017 at 8:43 am
Thank you so much for the feedback!
Kim
June 27, 2017 at 8:29 pm
Yes, it is a scam. I haven’t been paid my referral commission since Sept. 2016. They said they are having some type of “bot” problem. Really, for a year now? I’d switch to IWriter or some other service.
david archer
September 21, 2017 at 4:15 pm
well, i just going to start writing for Zemandi and was really excited until I read all of the reviews here. Guess I will look elsewhere. Thanks