This is the age of the blog. Thousands of writers scribe millions of articles about myriad topics through platforms such as WordPress, which powers up to one fifth of sites on the web. The advent of the blog has been a godsend to any freelance writer, who may be making a modest living as a ghost writer or guest blogger. WordPress effectively helped to break down the communications barrier, allowing writers with specialized knowledge to write, and if necessary upload, quality blogs directly into a publisher’s CMS. Unfortunately the spinning wheels of 21st century technology suddenly slowed when it came to processing payments, often internationally, to authors.
What Ebyline Offers WordPress Publishers
Enter Ebyline Payments for WordPress, a tool devised specifically to facilitate payments to any publication who wants to pay contributors to their WordPress blog.
Allen Narcisse, the COO and co-founder of Ebyline, sums up his newly launched product in a nutshell.
“We created the Ebyline Payments plugin to make compensating contributors as easy as editing and publishing their blog posts in WordPress”
Features of this flexible and integrated resource include:
- Facilitating payments to any freelance writer directly through WordPress
- Tracking payment history
- Displaying individual payment status for each post
- Ensuring encrypted payment information is 100% secure
- Auto-generating 1099s to keep you tax compliant
- Keeping accurate payment records in one easy-to-access place
Want to Get Started Right Away?
See the video below for an easy, detailed overview of how to set up and use Ebyline payments.
How to Install and Use Ebyline Payments for WordPress Plugin
Ebyline Payments is simple to install and easy to operate from inside the WordPress dashboard. To install the plugin, go to the WordPress.org plugin directory or upload the files to your server. Once you have activated Ebyline Payments for WordPress, click on the sidebar tab labeled “Ebyline”. If you have an existing WordPress account you can log in as usual, otherwise choose “Create Account” and fill in the required information as a publisher.
When you need to make a payment, authorized Admin users can find the post that relates to the payment, enter the agreed fee, if it is not already showing, and press Save. Select “Pay Now” to log in to the Ebyline Platform, check the amount and name of the freelance writer is correct, and click “Pay Now”.
Payment will be sent to the blog author or service provider and your records will be updated with payment details, all at the click of a button.
Cost of Using Ebyline Payments for WordPress
Ebyline charges a transaction fee of 8% to cover the processing costs of making the payments, and all tax reporting. Each freelance writer, will receive the full amount due, without any deductions.
Although some publishers may initially feel that the fee is high, it provides seamless, accurate records for accounting and tax purposes. As well as saving valuable admin time, the system ensures that publishers are always fully compliant with payment reporting and issuing 1099s which are accurate and timely. The fee also covers all processing costs, meaning that publishers know exactly what their costs will be, with no add-ons or hidden extras.
The Journey
Ebyline is far more than a glorified accounts management system. Founded in 2009, as the first online platform to connect publishers with experienced vetted journalists and content providers, Ebyline has more than proved its worth in the online publishing market. Finding the correct freelance writer can be difficult and time-consuming, especially if you are maintaining a blog on a niche subject. Ebyline’s virtual newsroom quickly garnered the trust of many high-profile media clients including Fox Sports, Los Angeles Times and other leading companies in the publishing and media world.
With the recent launch in October 2013 of its new Ebyline Payments for WordPress plugin, Ebyline now completes its fully comprehensive service by offering an integrated way for a publisher to pay their freelancer from right inside the WordPress Admin software.
Ebyline Payments for WordPress simplifies the process of tracking jobs with freelance contributors from pitch to payment. For WordPress admins, this means that managing multiple projects and authors is easy, and payment can be scheduled within the WordPress dashboard. Nothing gets forgotten, overlooked or miscalculated.
Ebyline makes it easy to multitask and keep track of each project online, monitoring messages, tracking revisions and monitoring delivery to keep everything on schedule. The new plugin means that once your chosen writer has uploaded their content to WordPress and you have approved it, you can use the integrated Ebyline system to make the payment, through the secure system.
Ebyline Payments for WordPress keeps a record of all payments to each freelance writer or ghost writer and generates a 1099 for each contractor. It also reports payments to contributors every 20 days, in accordance with the State of California New Hire Reporting Guidelines. All the paperwork is US tax compliant, saving publishers time, stress and potential headaches further down the road.
