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Scam Alert To All Writer's

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by Wordsmith, Nov 24, 2008.

  1. jadeballe

    jadeballe Peon

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    #41

    I totally agree with you Matt. The problem is that in the current environment it is nearly impossible to get a writer from overseas to form a solidarity with US writers! I am actively seeking new "lance" writing sites that seek and sell content from US providers only, as I see this as the only way to justify my rates.

    Recently I was told by a "lance" project poster that I was "greedy" for asking $25 for a 500 word high quality SEO article. He called ME greedy! I used to charge at least $40 or $50. Then he awarded the project to the cheapest provider on the list. That is when I realized that the game has definitely changed.

    I do believe in a little thing called Karma, that what goes around comes around, and at some point the "$1 per 500 high quality words" guys will get exactly what they deserve. If only they knew the long term value of getting a quality SEO product instead of crap.

    I'd like to stay in touch, if possible. I need to stay grounded with sensible writers who value their craft, like you.
     
    jadeballe, Dec 3, 2008 IP
  2. pseudonym

    pseudonym Peon

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    #42
    This is pretty sad. I hate people who cheat other's work.
     
    pseudonym, Dec 3, 2008 IP
  3. dangregory

    dangregory Peon

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    #43
    You know, it used to be so simple. I have a friend who made her career writing for magazines and newspapers where the formula was basically "Your pay rate per word goes up the more published work you have out there."

    The online writing world has changed everything. You're only worth what someone perceives you to be worth - and experienced writers are struggling because they have to haggle to get someone to pay them decent fees.

    Websites are often created on a tight budget and in volume - that's just the way it is. Within that budget there is often very little funding allocated to hiring quality writers.

    I myself sometimes publish "crap" Adsense type sites where I actually don't want good content......but I want unique content. This is where the cheap writer starts to look appealing because I actually dont' want or need someone who is really good at writing. The whole design of my site is to make the content as UNAPPEALING as possible to encourage people to click out on the ads. On Adsense sites, content isn't king - it's a distraction. You want people to click on your ads, not read your content.

    So the reason why we hire writers is changing, and often high quality writers aren't needed. Also if I'm just hiring someone to do some blog commenting for me or forum posting or whatever I don't need someone with a Master's degree in journalism.

    Dan
     
    dangregory, Dec 4, 2008 IP
  4. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #44
    Experienced writers are struggling, because they haven't learned how to adapt themselves to the market. Markets change in every industry. No one is forcing us to try to find work on freelancing sites and the like. There's plenty of high-paying writing work out there on the Web for the writers still willing to find them - it's the same old game of networking, getting the right contacts for referrals, and having a solid pitch. Those who continue to do those things well never have to set a virtual foot into the $1 per 500 word pool. Those who look at those writers as their competition will either eventually learn to adapt their outlook and targeting, or they'll fail.
     
    jhmattern, Dec 4, 2008 IP
  5. omshanti

    omshanti Well-Known Member

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    #45
    I have been wanting to get on the mark for charging $25 for 500 words for quite some time now but once I get a few thousands of $$$, I will charge higher than ever.

    I used to charge $25 for 500 words which is very usual practice.

    People don't understand that if they pay less, they receive a lesser quality of content which does not attract traffic. That's why content is king, you see! :)

    Its imperative that people look at the quality of the content rather than meaningless spammy content where no one sticks to read. The more people read, the more they are going to refer it to some other people.
     
    omshanti, Dec 26, 2008 IP
  6. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #46
    I am a relative newcomer to content writing, but managed to get even with someone who did not pay me for my work and had them published under his name on ezine. It took a couple of emails (with some proof of course) to the editors of that site to get all my articles removed. And talking of rates, one can see articles being offered for 50 cents per 500 words on gaf :mad:
     
    parsibagan, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  7. bluefox21

    bluefox21 Well-Known Member

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    #47
    I don't write anymore because of the lack of time. But i totally support this thread, i think that we shouldn't be giving scammers a place to grow up. About pricing, it would be nice to set a minimum, but it has to do more with the people who wants articles than the writers. Everyone wants "higly professional, perfect english, perfect grammar, punctuation and format" articles and pay 0.0001 per word, wich is ridiculous, but some guys do it for them, wich is as bad as the request.
     
    bluefox21, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  8. raycer43

    raycer43 Peon

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    #48
    You get what you pay for. It's that simple. There are so many absolutely horrible writers putting their work on-line that it boggles the mind. Take a good look through Ezine and you'll see what I mean. There are 1000's of published articles that are virtually illegible. A lot of these so called writers don't even seem to realize just how bad they are.

    It's not hard to find customers that are willing to pay more for quality. Webmasters need good content if they want people to spend more time on their sites and they know they have to pay for it. If you're a good writer you should easily command at least $10 for 500 words. Find 5-10 customers that are willing to pay for quality and reliability. This shouldn't be difficult. There out there, trust me. Also, always get 50% up front.

    Run your business like a business. Take it seriously. Almost any business that you can think of has the common task of making sure they get paid. Writers are not unique to this situation.
     
    raycer43, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  9. OhMamaMia

    OhMamaMia Peon

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    #49
    If I hire a freelance writer to do anything, I prefer to speak to them via chat or IM first. Just to get an idea of who they are and if they are capable of fully understanding the project. Someone turning in 50 articles that are worth junk hurts my business.

    The same goes for someone hiring me to do any sort of freelance work. I prefer to speak to them and to see for myself if they are out to scam. If I get that uneasy feeling about someone, I will simply refuse to work for them.

    Someone once offered me $1.30 for 500 word articles. I couldn't help but laugh :)
     
    OhMamaMia, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  10. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #50
    I fully agree with you raycer43. What's worse is that the articles in Ezine are checked by humans. To add insult to injury, there are clients who expect their writers to churn out a good number of topics on the same subject. Recently I refused 100 articles about "Colleges of America". He wants it "copyscape" free, but if I am to write so many articles about American colleges, I have to use their names, addresses etc., which is bound to get trapped as a duplicate.

    As far as webmasters are concerned, nowadays you'll find both typographical and grammatical errors on a majority of websites. I consider myself lucky to have found this forum at an early stage of my content writing career. :)
     
    parsibagan, Dec 27, 2008 IP
  11. gbartlet

    gbartlet Peon

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    #51
    This is so helpful. You must protect yourself as a writer. A percentage of upfront pay averts scammers.
     
    gbartlet, Dec 29, 2008 IP
  12. Neeni86

    Neeni86 Well-Known Member

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    #52

    This sounds like a good idea jb, I agree, as I have been scammed like 4 times already being fairly new on here and not realizing how many predators there are that wont pay you.
    Actually today I have started telling employers that I will do samples for them so they can see if they like my work but after the sample they must PAY me first!
    It's not a good feeling to have written articles for someone and to find your paypal account empty. I actually had to email someone today to ask them about my payment and they thought that I was being rather impatient, but I absolutley think that all writers should be paid RIGHT AFTER they have submitted work...not 1 day later, not 4 days later...bc who knows if they are just busy and then you wait too long to contact them and you never hear from them again? :rolleyes:
     
    Neeni86, Dec 29, 2008 IP
  13. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #53
    If we had unity amongst ourselves and refused to work for a particular person who has been reported by others as scamming, the problems will be resolved. Though one cannot identify a person's location by his `gmail' id, I am sure that the administrator of this forum can vies the IP location of the poster and track them down. Awaiting feedbacks on this viewpoint.
     
    parsibagan, Dec 29, 2008 IP
  14. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #54
    Under absolutely no circumstance will we track down and share IPs of any user with other members here. You also may not go around posting to accuse others of being scammers - if you do start threads for that purpose, you'll receive infractions. If you had a negative experience, that doesn't necessarily make someone a scammer. They may simply have not been happy with your work. If you have a negative experience, you can share it in your deal thread here or the iTrader tied to it (if you didn't make a deal based on a thread here, you're outta luck).
     
    jhmattern, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  15. Wordsmith

    Wordsmith Peon

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    #55
    "You also may not go around posting to accuse others of being scammers - if you do start threads for that purpose, you'll receive infractions."

    I actually started this thread to warn everyone of a particular scam - I did not accuse anyone in particular. I actually thought I was helping DP members to watch out for the scam I talked about. I am still wondering why I got an infraction for it?

    JohnT
     
    Wordsmith, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  16. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #56
    You didn't get an infraction for it - if you did, you would see a red (or yellow for warnings) card in the bottom right corner of that post (only visible to you and moderators). You don't have one. You also didn't get one because you didn't start a thread to accuse a member of being a scammer. You were just describing a type of scam that occurs in the industry.

    My comments were in reference to the person posting before me, advocating exposing specific members and asking the mods to get them IP addresses to expose people. Complaints are private business between members, and the mods will in no way get involved in he said / she said disputes. We give them 2 places to air grievances. I'm just making it clear that starting a new thread to do it is not one of them.
     
    jhmattern, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  17. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #57
    @jhmattern: Sorry for any confusions that my post might have created. I guess I have been misunderstood. What I meant to state was that there are people who might use different gmail alaises to hoodwink others several times, while keeping themselves safe. Also, I did not request the IP addresses to be shared amongst other members. As far as the mention of `scamming' is concerned, it was in context of the post above mine carrying these words "I have been scammed like 4 times already". I would like to clarify that I have neither started any thread on scamming, nor do I intend to do so. I respect this forum and am proud to be a part of it. Guess it was my bad luck that I was misunderstood :/
     
    parsibagan, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  18. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #58
    That's completely fine parsibagan - I didn't assume you did create one. I just wanted to make it clear to everyone that they shouldn't do that here, since it was suggested they make reports of scammers. Not saying anyone did anything wrong yet - just trying to prevent them from it in the future. ;)
     
    jhmattern, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  19. hmansfield

    hmansfield Guest

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    #59
    This is just an idea, and may be I don't know enough about what you guys go through, but many of you have websites or blogs...why can't you just post the articles for proofreading in a flash based page, that is password protected, for your clients to review before payment ?

    That way, it can't be copied and pasted, and you can choose not to have it indexed in search engines, (besides search engines don't read it anyway because it registers as an image).

    Now your clients can review the work, or excerpts of it, and if they want it, they pay, and then you deliver. If they don't, you still retain the original work to sell to the next guy. No one else can see it, because it is password protected, and if that buyer doesn't pay, then change the password for the next buyer.

    If they are lazy or unscrupulous enough to scam you, odds are they will not take the time to manually retype the article, and it is better than just handing it over and hoping to get paid.

    Even a word press blog has an option for the site not to be indexed, and an option to password protect a post, or page.

    Sounds simple enough, ...will something like this work ?
     
    hmansfield, Dec 30, 2008 IP
  20. jhmattern

    jhmattern Illustrious Member

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    #60
    Keep in mind that a lot of writers wouldn't have a clue as to how to setup their articles on a flash page. Many aren't even sure how to setup a basic website yet. ;) For those who do have one, it also becomes an extra maintenance hassle to add them, remove them, etc. - keeping on top of what they're hosting.

    I've found that "clients" in this category (ones who want things up front and who then disappear without paying) tend to occur far more with very low-paying gigs than higher paying ones. Personally, that's never a worry. But if someone is charging $5 per article, chances are that they're writing a lot of articles to earn a decent income. That would be a lot of articles to add to the site in that way (even more if they have to add revisions), and then remove when the deal is completed. These are the same writers who really can't afford that extra time, because they have to maximize their billable work time as much as possible. Even a half an hour a day could cost them several articles' pay to have to sacrifice that time.
     
    jhmattern, Dec 30, 2008 IP