The Knoji Disappointment

I have been a Knoji writer since July 2012. I was very impressed with the site on my first few months there. It took me quite sometime to get the hang of it and level up to Expert - around 3 weeks. But, after that, it provided me steady writing income. On my first month as Knoji Expert, I earned around $150. It was fairly decent. It was my biggest online pay. Blogsvertise paid more for its written articles (I used to write blog posts for the site) but, blog post assignments were few so I didn't earn from it as much as I earned from Knoji.

The following months were great as well. My total earnings from September-October was $255.

Then, things started to be problematic in November. Changes on payment amounts started to happen - article payments were lower and Admins don't answer writers' inquiries. I still earned decently that November but I had to exert more efforts to earn. I had to write more articles. A 400-word article used to be $4 but in November, the same article only cost $3. By December, web article assignments went down to $2. The same went for product reviews. In December, product reviews which have a maximum $20 bonus payment were lowered to $12.

While there were surprising feature additions for more income opportunities since November, such as the Paid Q & A Ambassador Program, Consumer Reports Writing and Coupon Submission, writers' complaints were nonstop. Bugs would remain unfixed for days and weeks.

Sure, I have my problems, too, with Knoji. I was very vocal about them in the Knoji forums but I stayed with Knoji because it still provided me great income. I earned $319 in December - the highest I earned from the site.

I noted the problems, anyway, many times. I posted on the forums and even sent numerous messages to the Knoji Admins. Other writers did the same.  But, it took time before Knoji Admins explained what were happening and why they made the changes.

The problems were not just the payment changes - it was the inability of Knoji Admins to provide explanations for changes and when they came, they were months or weeks late. Writers are kept guessing and wondering why payments were lowered - thinking it was because of the quality of their work - but, was just a re-structuring technique for the site when it wants to focus to a particular part of the site - it increased the  Q & A bonus and decreased the article payments when it wanted the writers to concentrate on the Q & A, for example.

Despite these problems,  I still counted on Knoji. Because despite the complaints and problems, I was earning decently. Its Coupon Codes Submission provided me steady income. Since July 2012, I already earned $476.70 through coupons I submitted to the site.

I started to be disappointed with Knoji last January. I was one of the most active in its Q & A long before it provided payments for non-company Q & As. I love answering questions I am knowledgeable with such as relationships, marriage, children, health and travels. But, I was never accepted in the Q & A Ambassador Program. I was always encouraged by other Knoji writers to keep trying but, after weeks of that, I just let it go.

There were other Knoji opportunities like Web Article assignments which I love doing. So, despite losing the Q & A income, I concentrated on writing article assignments and product reviews. I also got busy since January so the income wasn't as high as my previous income. Nonetheless, I still believed that Knoji is a great site. How can it not be? It is still a site that provides income as it promises.

Only 2 days ago, when I visited the site, that I learned recent changes and bugs. While writers are furiously pleading the Admins to explain, there are no answers.It was the same thing that happened in November before they introduced changes.There were serious problems on the site. There were bugs, product reviews which are already weeks old remain unapproved and Web Article assignments are now gone.

The bad thing is, writers do not know if these are just bugs or product reviews and web article assignments are already gone for good. The only thing they bothered to inform the writers is the discontinuation of Coupon Codes Submission through a brief note.So, from now on, Knoji writers can no longer share coupons. Fortunately, coupon codes that were submitted before the changes will remain earning commissions as long as they remain valid to be used by shoppers.

Still, the way Knoji is handling these changes are driving writers furious. Many feel disrespected, especially veteran writers who have contributed so much for the site.

I feel pissed off as well. I have written numerous articles for Knoji that helped boost its ranking and reputation. And in turn, it has rewarded me with money. I am thankful for that, though, I also think that I deserve every penny that Knoji paid me. The same goes with the other writers.

Now, this is no longer just about getting paid or having access to the Knoji earning opportunities. The issue now is Knoji's ability to take care of its writers - its writers are the reasons why it is doing so well as a consumer knowledge site.

Knoji writers deserve attention and respect from Knoji. We are being ignored for our inquiries and that should not be the case. Knoji should be more responsive otherwise, it will lose the best writers it got.

There is still this small hope in me that Knoji can fix the problems but I do hope it does soon or it will be too late. Writers are already bolting out and looking to other sites because the income has been very unpromising (no product reviews and no article assignments) and most of all, Knoji does not bother and refuse to explain what is happening.

It will be a waste, really, if Knoji does not act fast. Its reputation is at stake.