5 Reasons I Write for Newsbreak | 3 Reasons You Should Too (as a Writer)

by: Heidi Suydam

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5 Reasons I Write for Newsbreak | 3 Reasons You Should Too (as a Writer)

In the spring of 2021, I applied to become a Newsbreak Contributor. At the time, I was looking for anyone that would pay anything for my work. It felt great when I received my approval notification. When I started with Newsbreak, they paid $50 per approved and published article. Things have changed, and earnings per article are no longer a consistent flat rate but are based on “performance of qualifying articles or qualifying videos.” Writers who counted on

the $50 flat rate as part of their primary source of income were outraged when the change happened. I was disappointed but decided to pick up my posting schedule anyway to see what happened.

If you aren’t familiar with Newsbreak,

it is a top-rated news app, listed as one of the seven best news apps in 2022 by Zapier.com. Zapier describes Newsbreak as the “Best news app for a well-rounded news app with no paywalls.” The Newsbreak app is free and offers valuable local and global content. It is considered “user-generated,” which is interesting for a “news” source. However, writers must go through an application process before being allowed to submit articles, and each article is subject to an editorial review. In other words, the publishing is out of the writer’s control, and articles can be rejected. Also, many professional journalists and news stations use Newsbreak to share their content. No clickbait titles or spammy content are tolerated.


 Over 45 million people across the US use Newsbreak as a news source.

I am not a professional journalist. On Newsbreak, I am a Community Pro. I write about local events and provide other helpful content for my community. Because Newsbreak is a free app and no longer pays $50 per approved article, I don’t earn a lot of money with Newsbreak. So, why do I continue to write and post on the Newsbreak App?

5 Reasons I Write for Newsbreak

Easy Way to Stay Inspired

Writing community content is an easy way to keep my brain moving. Writer’s block happens way too often. Writing for Newsbreak helps me write consistent content for Newsbreak and other platforms.  For Newsbreak, I can write straightforward content that gets my writing muscles warmed up for more creative content. Writing begets writing. It is a well-known understanding among writers writing is inspired by writing. It’s like a muscle. Without exercise, writing inspiration and ability wanes. When writing regularly, inspiration, motivation, and skill strengthen. 

Newsbreak helps me exercise writing with endless topics and a straightforward style while offering a service to my community!

Paid Content

The content is paid. Even though I no longer receive $50 per approved and published article, I get paid based on my article performance. I hear a viral piece can pay well. Nashville-centered community content is not likely to go viral, and I am ok with that. I like getting paid for the content I produce, and it's a little motivation to keep writing and posting. 

Consistent posting on Newsbreak is paying off in other ways (keep reading!).

Growing An Audience

When I started posting regularly (about 2-3 times per week) on Newsbreak, I had under 100 followers. About three weeks later, I am over 250 followers and growing. Now almost 300! While that may not seem like much for me, it’s enormous. I am growing my following as a writer, which is more than Instagram, Facebook, or any other “free” platform has done for me. 

Writing is my dream. When I started publicly pursuing my writing dreams, my focus as a freelance writer was misplaced on social media. I thought focusing on social media would help me grow a platform. I was wrong. Newsbreak is not social media. Now I am writing for an audience craving the content I produce, and guess what? Those who find my work on Newsbreak are following me on other platforms. Newsbreak has author bios and profile pages. People who like your content are inclined to see what else you produce. Growing my online audience is an effortless byproduct of becoming a Newsbreak Community Writer.

Support Local Businesses

I love supporting local businesses. As a Community Pro with Newsbreak, I have an opportunity to help local businesses promote what they do. When a new business opens, has a community event, or has anything interesting to share, I can write about it to help them get the word out. Currently, one of my weekly posts receives over 24K views, with 85% of my audience coming from Nashville. My articles are an excellent way for local businesses and community organizations to share what they are doing. In light of the big hit local businesses have experienced since 2020, I love being able to do something valuable to help. It’s free for them and provides current, relevant content for me.

Feeling Connected to My Community

Writing stories about my community helps me feel more connected. Researching local events, new openings, community concerns, holidays, and other community-related topics keeps me informed and helps others who care about the same things I do. I am a bit of an introvert who desires connection. Writing about local happenings is the perfect thing for me to do to stay connected and for inspiration! As a result, I am encouraged to get out there and do things I would never have considered if I didn’t learn about them through writing about them.

Are you a freelance writer? If so, you should write for Newsbreak!

I consider myself a new “ish” writer, but the truth is, I am not new to this.  I am new to writing with any form of growing readership or consistent pay. As a writer, I was focused on the wrong things for a long time. I thought I had to grow a  large platform to be a “real” writer; the only way I knew to do that was through social media. I was wrong. 

To be a writer, you don’t have to have 10, 20, or 30 thousand followers on Instagram. You can be a writer now. The only secret is to write. Yep. That’s it. Write. Write for yourself on platforms like Medium. Apply for a job as a content writer. Write for online publications or magazines. You just need to write. Your writing will lead you to write more, earn more, and have a larger audience. The writing comes first. Not the audience.

3 Reasons You Should Write for Newsbreak

Nothing to Lose and Something to Gain

It doesn’t cost anything to apply to be a Newsbreak contributor! If approved you already have something to add to your resume. Once you start writing approved, published articles you have even more to add to your resume!

Grow Your Audience

As you consistently post valuable content, your audience will naturally grow. Of course this is not a guarantee, it is my experience. The more people are drawn to your content, the chances they will follow you on Newsbreak and other platforms increases.

Make Some Money

Newsbreak articles earn based on performance. This means consistent, quality content has earning potential. In my experience, I have not earned any significant amount of money because I write for a targeted geographical area about topics that are not likely to go viral. Earnings are not guaranteed, but the potential is there!

If you are new “ish” to freelance writing and want to add something to your portfolio, apply to become a contributor with Newsbreak! If you are an experienced writer looking for more readers and inspiration, check out writing for Newsbreak! If accepted, you can write about whatever you want, as much or as little as you want. There are editorial standards, and hitting publish does not mean automatic approval. These standards keep Newsbreak the number one intelligent news app in the US. As a writer, Newsbreak is a great way to push yourself to write quality content, grow your audience and make a little money.

Do you want to check out the app? It’s free! Download it here! To apply to be a writer with Newsbreak - check out more information and the application online. 

I do earn a small commission if you use my links.

More posts & pages you may enjoy:

• 3 Things I've Learned in 3 Months as a Content Writer
  
• Overcoming Blogger Burnout with Medium
• Blog & Biz Page
• Heidi on Medium
• Heidi on Newsbreak
  

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