Not at all. DP isn't the only market. If people in DP only want to pay 1-3 cents per word........NO PROBLEM, pay it to someone else. Plenty of people will "work" at those rates, I'm not on that list. $100m for a pc, i'd like to know what accessories come with that? She'd wanna know how to cook and clean at the very least
Or it just means you're not looking at the right market yet. Proper targeting - Marketing101. If you advertise a price of $100 per article here, and you're a specialized writer in a complex niche, DP members are still likely to scoff at your rates. That wouldn't mean your writing isn't worth that much (or more). It just means you didn't choose the right target market to advertise to, as plenty of other website owners would be more than happy to pay your rates. There's a market for just about everything if you target well and can make a good case for the pricing. If they have decent marketing abilities, this isn't generally true either. Those who simply lower their prices are lazy - they're not willing to put in the time to properly plan a solid marketing strategy or work on finding a new, better market. The problem is that people here keep saying "the market," and that's flawed. As Matt pointed out, there are many markets out there for writers (even many markets just among the webmaster group). When we place a premium on our writing, you also have to understand that we don't need to sell as much as cheaper writers. For example, if someone charging $5 per 500 word article wanted to earn $800 in a month, they would have to sell 160 articles. My own standard rate for a 500 word article is $200. I don't therefore have to sell as much - I only have to sell 4 articles that month to reach the same goal. Even if I only sold 10 articles, I'd be better off. I certainly wouldn't lower my prices just because I didn't "sell very much." If, however, I didn't sell anything at all, the first order of business would be to look at the market and figure out what the problem is. Do the clients just not have the budget for new content? Is it my fault for slowing down my marketing efforts? There are any number of reasons why orders would slow down or stop. Only then could I decide to increase my marketing and measure the results of a new campaign, decide to look into other markets where the same (or similar) work still compensates equal to what I've determined the value to be, or adjust pricing. I'm not saying you should never lower prices, but you certainly shouldn't jump into that without addressing the larger issue first and determining if basic changes on your end (like targeting new client groups) would keep your income steady (or increase it). When you work as a freelancer in any industry, it's vital that you fully grasp the value of your work (and value does not equal price). It's your job to convey that value to members of your target market in order to justify your prices to earn the income you've determined that you need, or want, to earn. Those who can do it well will thrive, and those who can't will be the ones lowering rates (probably repeatedly during their career) trying to compete with people who were never their competition to begin with.
The article topic I'm sure is a great discussion, however, the content is a little bland. Also slang words like "sorta" which would technically be, "sort of" should never be used in a professional article unless of course using deliberate slang. Also, if your buyer is looking for a "key density ratio," I do not see it unfortunately. Ask your buyer if he is looking for a certain key density ratio and work with that. Obviously, if he is using your articles online, he'll want to have a certain ratio for SEO reasons. If your articles bring in more traffic/commissions the more he'll pay you for it! Lastly, you state that this berry is just like regular fruit. How so? What does this fruit contain that other fruits also contain? Elaborate on some of these major statements. My personal philosophy is, "back it up." I essentially mean, if you are going to make a statement, back it up with true facts and reasons. I lied, that's actually something my Grade 12 English prof. had forced on me. Good luck with future endeavours! exnihilo01
Thats write there is such stiff competition in the market that good article writers dont get paid much. And its matter of article writing which are submitted to article directories so the employer is also not concerned about the quality. he/she wants the keyword in the article from where link can be provided to the site. So market price is too low for article writers
You just have to luck out. I got lucky last February and got on with a company that pays me $20 for every 400 word article I can give them. Instead of buckling down and making a ton of cash with them, I help out this other company who doesn't pay me or anyone I hire terribly well. They pay more than 2 cents per word but compared to my other one, it's more irritation than employment sometimes. Another thing to consider is WHEN they pay you. My good company pays me monthly which is great for bills but the other one usually pays every week (even though I split the money up amongst other writers). Personally I like the weekly pay because I smoke, need gas, diapers, etc.. The best advice I can give you is to make sure your sentences flow together in a relevant way. If you jump all around or have sentences that are too short or too long, it ends up looking silly. I delete entire articles quite often when they just don't "feel" right to me. This does depend on the company/individual you are working for though so try to ask them what demographic they are shooting for. It's more fun for me to write a block of articles geared at 20 year old Internet deviants than a block of articles on quilt patterns.
It is about time someone brought up this concept in a content writing thread. So it takes a few more words they make the article more readable and interesting to the reader but that will most likely pay in the long run. I am so happy to see others agreeing. A style I like It 'flows' and leads reader to the next point. I know that the SE's could care less but if one writes for the visitor success will follow. I am not a writer but something similar to would come much closer to holding my attention.
You aren't competing with the people who charge 1/2 cent per word. That's just foolishness. Concentrate on the client base that will value decent writing and charge higher prices.
Writers who are just starting out need to judge what their content is worth based on experience and knowledge. If a guy has a Ph. D. in Physics and has never done any freelance writing, he's still worth a lot of money. A 17-year-old high school senior may be good, but he's got something to prove first. Know how to find the right clients, get experience, and slowly raise your rates. (Learning how to write fast can help you in the short run)
He may be worth a lot of money as a physicist, but he's very unlikely to be worth anything much as a writer, in my opinion. (I speak as someone who has edited quite a few PhD's for postgraduate students.) A 17-year-old who can write really well is probably worth much more (especially if she keeps quiet about her age, as one easily can).
It depends on the PhD holder's skills as a writer. Some people have tons of knowledge, but don't quite know how to put it on paper. Technical writing is hard because there aren't too many writers who are qualified on the subject. If you're good, you'll usually get paid quite well.
why are you questioning the PHD's writing skills he or she wont write the book someone else will and they'll likely make a killing more than one cent an hour i'm sure. as to the original question how much to charge? you've obviously come to the conclusion that what you do is worth more than they're paying you so charge more bump your rate to 5 cents a word
It doesn't quite work that way. Those paid the most are often paid for the knowledge they bring to the table rather than basic writing ability. That PhD would still be paid more than a lot of folks (including excellent writers who didn't have their expertise). Remember, that's what editors are for (and those who can afford to hire these folks are more likely to have those editors there to clean things up). They're paying for the authority that author gives their site or publication far more than the words on the paper.
Your writing needs work and if I had to guess I'd say it was worth $3 per 500 page article. You are on the right track but need to develop a complete thought before moving on to the next sentence.
Point well taken, thank you. (I was really thinking more of "sales copywriting" than "information copywriting" )
Well, you shall judge yourself before someone judge for you. Set your own price and let people judge whether it worth it or not If someone say yes, then you get the potential customer
yeah shes right. Its worth what someone will pay. I would try increasing your rate step by step and see what the client says. For the increase you would have to write better articles. Otherwise the client could get the same quaility from someone else.
This is ultimately correct, but also a little simplistic. In reality, it's not quite as straightforward as this might suggest. House sale asking-prices are determined by advice from professionals about the market, and that advice itself stems partly from recent comparable house sale prices in the area. In the same way, in reality what other people are selling similar work for has an inevitable effect on something's marketable value.
lol! Ok. Your article, the information is interesting, the flow might not be worth much mainly because it is a steady beat... boring. From the writer/reader point of view... It would be great for you to develop your OWN and unique way of saying things, this will make you an expert for a particular niche or population segment; for example, a fresh and "gossipy" style will work wonders for youth writings, some educational stuff (as long as it is for teens) and some blogs. Of course, you need also to be able to write in every form, tone and style, but making a trend mark will open you a wide variety of doors. Now, on marketing... Well, while it is true that you have to take into consideration how much work you have invested in any article in particular, you need to consider also if the client is worthy, if he/she is you might want to keep him/her with you. so it might be a good thing to cut some slack and even keep a low price for your articles...for a while, after, let's say 4-6 months (OF CONSTANT WORK) you can negotiate a raise. It is also important to keep yourself competitive. If online businesses are scared about the current state of the financial world outside of the interenet, it is highly unlikely that they will invest in the expansion, creation and upgrading of their online websites since it will require an amount of money taht they do not have; while this is not always the case, it happens specially in countries that are NOT the US and the UK. so, the demand for articles lowers and those writers who stay in the clouds demadning high fees will be passed by and those who charge more reasonable fees or that are even wililng to negotiate a reduction of their fees or even accept trades for payment will be sought. Is this what will happen? I have no IDEa, I think we are just seeing the iceberg come in, I have no idea how big is it.