So, you’ve discovered Rev the startup social media platform. You want to know if it’s worth your time as a writer. Read on for the insider perspective.
REV Founder, Rachel Jackson brought meaning to social media from Huntsville, Alabama of all places. Still, she did it with two words, “positive social” media. And now, you’ve got questions.
But is this positivity what I would find in my journey with them?
So far I would say, yes. But there’s a bunch of soul searching (businesswise esp.) you may need to work out for yourself.
Here’s some of the pros and cons I’ve discovered working for Rev on my first two weeks.
What is REV?
Jackson says, “What makes REV different from other social networks?
We believe in the power of human connection to inspire positive change. Social media was meant to be fun. To connect with friends, talk, laugh, ask questions. But all too often our feeds are full of toxicity, drama, noise and divisiveness. It’s time to REVise social and use it as a force to do good.”
Sounds promising?
My REV Inside Feel
It was all about the Fizz
Have to say that moving toward a writing opportunity felt like that fizz that hits your gums. As you wait and watch the caramel liquid elixir of life enter the frost covered glass from the bottle….
Before you take the drink….fizz….
And that sound……zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz…..a delight about to take place.
Recognition as a writer on the Rev platform felt cherry cola amazing. It wasn’t the label of writer that hit me. Rather, the value that someone said yes to the talent and skillset I could bring.
Laurie Rafferty reached out to me after I posted my November 30 days call out. Last year, I explained I learned how to create a lead generator as a 30 day challenge. What might I do this year for 30 days?
My post was caught the eye of founder, (Rachael Jackson). And then, little did I know my life was about to get busy, crazy busy.
Wanted. Not Help Wanted at REV.
Not a help wanted sign. Not a test. Nope. Not an interview. Only an invitation to write. What I saw was an opportunity to practice my interview and writing skills.
And get paid for my time (or so I thought). As my client, Landon Publishing, finished for the year, I desired to keep my interview skills sharp.
This was my chance. So I reached back out to Laurie and my trial started.
Here are the wins.
Pros
1.Lightning feedback (Laurie)
From the first email, Laurie Rafferty has been, as JJ of Good Times says, a “DYNO-mite” host for my first two weeks. I was an eager student, so I left Rafferty in catch up mode.
Rafferty expressed surprise at my initiative.
- As I made my pitch…
- Interviewed my source…
- Read all Rev-source materials…
- Even tried my way onto Asana, their content management system (CMS)…
But through it all, Rafferty has been a supportive partner.
Examples?
- She’s given me suggestions…
- Answered my questions
- Zoomed with me…
- Joked with me…
- Guided me…
- Edited my work…
And…
Reassured me of my capability as a storyteller…
There’s not more I could expect from this dedicated professional. Rafferty is a major cog behind the scenes getting stories ready with Rev voices. What I wonder….is does she sleep?
2.Well Written PDFs
The Rev training journey starts with old school reading of Rev labeled PDFs. But the pacing of the PDFs move you through every stage of the Rev media production.
You can read through all docs in the matter of one coffee break. But I’d still save them for later reference. Take advantage. Build your Rev storytelling experience foundation through the reading of these docs.
But there can be no worthwhile skill application without jumping in to create something.
3.Experience with CMS Asana
The other wonderful thing about working with Rev is you’ll spruce up that resume. Yup. You get to add you’ve worked with Asana on your up-to-date, LinkedIn profile.
There’s only one app, Asana that does the heavy project management lifting for Rev employees. That’s the beauty of Asana. No Slack groups. No Trello. This is a high five to the Rev storytelling experience.
And the software skillset of working with a CMS like Asana, is a huge plus as a writer.
4.Free training
In November 2021, Rafferty and Kelsey W designed their REV storytelling online training. This quick set of interactive activities is your springboard to REV storyteller certification.
Anyone can use these assignments to become a more equipped Rev brand storyteller. This class, as well as others to come, are the startup’s Rev University. And as of today, there are 20 plus enrollees in the program.
As REV grows, REV University is their digitized, professional development hub host. REV U is the multimedia learning platform for future project collaboration and training.
As my wife said…”They’re going to train you for free…Keep going until they ask YOU for money!!!” This free training is an easy win for all involved.
5.Fun onboarding class
“Have fun with the training,” Rafferty told me. It sounded like a fluff class. When you have to take in to get on someone’s payroll, that’s the usual outcome.
But I didn’t feel that way with this class. As an educator I developed similar learning experiences. And because of this, I absorbed every ounce of value I could squeeze out of the class.
6.Tools to make story writing easier
Another pro is the REV hotlinks of resources.
These tools include….
- Hemingway to check writing brevity and flow
- Title case correctors to make sure you know preposition status
- Free image sites to connect with your story pitches
- Image dimension checkers, and more…
7.Availability of Work
Story assignments are the upswing. Jackson secured an upcoming contract to interview military service professionals. So, the demand for quality writing and interview skills is a premium step toward steady work.
REV staff dedicate themselves to work with you on your pitches. For me, it hasn’t been a pass/fail type situation. It’s been more of a yes or maybe when it comes to pitches.
The REV storytelling guides explained, they will work with you to get a pitch set up for success. Is this something that will happen as the platform develops? Of course, only REV progress will reveal if this close attention to pitches will continue.
8.Positive Community Setting
Last, the community unity is a staple characteristic of REV.
The platform isn’t…
- Politicized
- Charged with divisive emotion.
- Toxic by any standards.
It feels like REV is a place to celebrate life. And a space to relive triumph after triumph over life’s challenges. Hope, healing, and connection summarizes the REV storytelling purpose.
This community setting also comes with much flexibility. Writers can change deadlines as their lives meet with sudden, unforeseen challenges. “Oh no! That doesn’t work with my schedule now.
No sweat. Deadlines change with the click of a computer mouse.
And then, everyone on Asana is now on the same deadline expectations. That makes Asana a flexible tool that allows for a smoother work and life balance.
Plus, in this setting life work balance carves out a space for writers to thrive and grow.
Cons
1.Unpaid Trial Story
One of the first cons, I discovered working with REV was compensation. Although I spent hours…
- On my pitch…
- Scheduling my interview…
- Interviewing my hero…
- Writing and revising….
I wasn’t paid a penny for that work.
Rafferty gave extensive feedback in my story drafts until the finished product appeared. On our Zoom call, she explained the go-between was my hands-on training.
Lack of payment felt like a deal breaker for me. I knew their literature (I read it front to back). And it did not mention an unpaid trial. At least what I remembered.
I felt that REV’s no payment policy to my trial should’ve been better communicated. That’s especially before the work started. But, again, my ambition for a successful trial could’ve short circuited this communication.
I mean I was working fast. It’s true. I took part in many storytelling activities before I touched base with Rafferty. I guess such action wasn’t the best decision. As soon as I got the okay on my pitch, I got right into research activities.
Events were in motion to….
- Use Asana to set up task deadlines
- Research free transcription software
- Consult with experts
- Research the interviewee
But in retrospect, had I known that REV would’ve strayed from their policies…I wouldn’t have created a story. There’s a big problem with people taking other’s work for free in my content writing world.
But to judge this was the motive for nonpayment in this instance…. would’ve been premature on my part.
2.Asana Description? Awkward User Friendly
The Asana system is easy to get lost in. Directions like, ”add me to your task.” These take on new ambiguity. It gets confusing when you create tasks and REV staff create tasks all on the same platform of your profile calendar.
Hours ago, I found the Asana video tutorial page. The link inside the training didn’t work. If I were to describe this CMS it feels like a huge sleeping giant. Such mammoth potential makes Asana a space where deadline-driven material can disappear.
That can be a nasty email awakening when you think you have it in the correct location.
This confusion of what staff created and what I did prompted my Zoom call with Rafferty.
The other thing Asana does? It speeds up the onboarding process. This helps so much that the support staff can’t keep tabs on it. For instance, Rafferty assigned me to writer training but the link on Asana wasn’t active.
It seemed as if the editing staff was waiting for me to act judging from the email reminders flooding my inbox. But that was another perception challenge. This is because every move in Asana generates an email in your inbox.
3.GUSTO Payment platform ambiguity
This GUSTO Payment is an interesting challenge.
GUSTO is for any company who pays employee payroll through electronic funds transfer. Yes, right to their bank account. This service is available to businesses depending on employee count.
But small businesses can use it for as little as $6 a month.
But $6 a month to a freelance writer who isn’t guaranteed any work to offset this cost isn’t an option. Yet I was in luck. After talking to Hannah at GUSTO, she let me know a special Rev invite should be in my inbox soon.
And she assured me that sign up with be at zero cost to me as an independent contractor.
4.Ambiguity in trial instruction
I misunderstood Rafferty’s use of vocabulary, and it hurt my draft quality. But that was before I discovered I wasn’t getting paid for my trial. So as Rafferty reviewed my article, I imagined my rate of reimbursement dropping to $75.
And I felt like I didn’t show what I could do to earn the top payout.
Instances included when Rafferty asked for a story not an article. I wrote the piece with nothing but a title and text void of headings and subheadings. Rafferty later told me of the REV format. She discussed the importance of those headings and subheadings.
I felt I would’ve been able to deliver to expectations if Rafferty and I were on the same page. When she explained she wanted a story not an article. Have to admit this was a bit of a shock. I thought of short stories and novels.
I had zero idea she wanted a story with blog-like headings.
I was stuck in visions of storybooks. Also, my study of their platform later felt flawed. I only concentrated on their emails. I’ll get into why later in this post.
5.REV Online Platform
The REV platform is only about 760+ strong at the moment. Most people on it, get notices via email of new content. A good number of the content that nets an email is video-related. When this video content releases, mass emails go out.
And members click on links in these emails to interact with it.
When Rafferty asked me to look at published stories on the platform as models for my story, I admit I used emails. I studied all the emails I had collected in my inbox. So you can imagine the shock I felt as Rafferty talked about not matching the Rev format.
“I did.” I thought. But the truth was I needed Rafferty to show me how to use the platform to get to the stories she wanted me to study. Hence, our Zoom call was about more than Asana navigation.
6.Rate lowest I’ve I contracted for
The REV rate is the lowest I’ve ever been paid in my writing career. But I’m sacrificing payment for practice. And where will you find your writing going to a better cause? Plus, my last interview and story were a huge reminder of why I feel confident to be on staff for REV or any publication like it.
So I have a deal with God. I’m going to take care of the production, he’s on the payroll side. Fingers crossed, my writing career will soon find consistent financing.
7.Scant Models of Desired Stories
As you move through the PDFs and training, you get an idea of what REV storytelling should look like. But if you’d search for format-aligned stories on the platform, you’d come up empty. There are few platform housed stories with REV’s desired format and content elements.
That’s because REV as a start up has over time found out what they want you to write.
REV has a storytelling standard that looks like, sounds like, and feels a certain way. So, there’s much expected, but not a large number of published samples that meet that REV-level quality. In honesty, REV founder, Jackson launched this platform only 5 years ago.
It takes time to know what you want as a start-up publisher.
8.Start Up Statistics
REV lacks the data to verify who is reading their on-line magazine and taking part in their platform. When I asked Rafferty about this data, she talked of being a start-up. So, that means REV doesn’t have readership data accessible as my previous clients did.
Sum It On Up
To say the REV storytelling experience is exciting… isn’t the full story.
It’s hopeful.
That said, there are pros and cons that you would expect with any start up platform. Can you imagine what the first LinkedIn was like? There are growing pains and wonderful growth spurts to come.
Be smart and read everything given to you with care. And practice those skills. You’re a certified REV storyteller by the end of the onboarding process. Plus, with your caring writers’ team and staff, your future looks bright.
If you enjoyed this post, share it with someone whose received an invite to join the REV writer team. Especially if they have questions or suspicions.
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