How It Works

How can you get paid for what you create? There are several ways that what you produce can also earn you money:

Content Requests

When SEED posts an assignment or suggested topic and you make a submission, you can get paid in one of two ways if AOL accepts your Content.

  • 1. AOL acquires an Exclusive License to your work for publication on one of our network sites or a third party site and pays the price listed with the request you responded to.
  • 2. AOL acquires a Limited Exclusive License to your work for publication on one of our network sites and pays you a Calculated Earnings share based on the profit it generates.
  • NOTE: AOL will not accept content that does not meet our Publishing Guidelines and / or quality standards.

Each day when you log onto SEED, you can see if what you’ve sent in has been reviewed, and see a rolling total of the Calculated Earnings your work generates when it appears on our network.

Getting Paid

You can set up how you want to be paid (PayPal, check, or direct deposit) through your SEED Dashboard.

When the Calculated Earnings share you’ve earned exceeds a certain amount, a “Pay Me Now” button appears automatically on your SEED Dashboard. All you have to do is click it, and your payment is processed.

Program Payment Terms Details

Amount of Payments. You will be paid the following amounts depending on (a) whether Your Content has been previously published, (b) You have submitted Your Content in response to an AOL suggested topic or Your own topic, (c) what type of License AOL has acquired from You, and (d) where Your Content is published. The chart below reflects the amounts You will earn depending on those four factors:

SEED Topic
Exclusive License AOL Offer Price
Limited Exclusive License 75%
Non-Exclusive License* Available only if previously published 25%

*Please note that SEED will not accept previously published Content or any other Non-Exclusive License Content at launch, but will in the future. The submission screens will describe all available options.

All percentages above are of Calculated Earnings generated by Your Content on the page(s) where it is displayed in its entirety. ”Calculated Earnings" means earnings, as may be reasonably calculated by AOL in accordance with its standard methodologies and protocols, that are directly attributable to Your Content on the page(s) where Your Content is displayed in its entirety, less thirty percent (30%) for AOL’s expenses. AOL’s calculation shall control with respect to the amounts due under this Agreement.

Getting Paid.

On your SEED Dashboard, You must set up payment and tax information to collect any share of Calculated Earnings Your Content has earned.

Once per month, SEED will calculate whether the Calculated Earnings share You have earned exceeds the minimum payment threshold for Your preferred payment method ($10 for PayPal/EFT, $25 for checks) and, if so, a “Pay Me Now” button will appear automatically on Your Dashboard. All You have to do is click it, and Your payment will be processed.1

In the event AOL detects fraudulent activity with respect to Your Content (e.g., clicks on, or page views generated by, Your Content resulting from fraudulent acts such as click spam, automated robots, macro programs, and Internet agents), AOL shall have the right to place a hold on Your payments until AOL has the opportunity to investigate and resolve such issues to AOL’s reasonable satisfaction. AOL shall not be obligated to pay, and You shall not earn, any amounts generated by fraudulent activity. In addition, if AOL believes that You are responsible for the fraudulent activity or there are repeated instances of fraudulent activity with respect to Your Content, AOL may terminate Your continued participation in the Program.

You must click the “Pay Me Now” button to request payment within one year after Your share of Calculated Earnings is earned. If we pay You by check, You must cash it within one year of the date of the check.

1Note: Calculated Earnings share calculations will typically lag 2 days, as AOL calculates the Calculated Earnings share generated from Your Content. Calculated Earnings share amounts displayed on SEED and/or Your Dashboard are subject to final accounting by AOL. Depending on the method of payment, You may not actually receive payment until ten (10) business days after You click the “Pay Me Now” button.