Standard rates?

This is depend on the market. As you can see 1cents per word consider as "standard rate" in DP. However, if you go getafreelancer, the "standard rate" is lower, which is around 0.25cent per word. You can charge higher once you become popular, that's all

 

Competing on price will only go so far - especially when the competition is using a different currency

Instead, take the time to show the value of your product to your customers. Instead of being "just another writer", show them what you do that makes you special. Explain why your deliverables are worth more, and you'll soon have the higher rates you're going after.

Shooting for the "going rate" only keeps you struggling to bring in an income. Set yourself apart by promoting what makes your service unique.

- Sandi

 

As a point of reference, when I was freelancing for tech magazines in the 90s, it paid about $2 per word.

Alain.

 

Wow $2 per word, I want that

I get paid around 0.04, but it's taken me some time...

 

So after some deep soul searching, I decided that I was going to jump in the pool of freelance writing. I got a job referral from another writer and was able to charge $25.00 per article. He accepted my price. When I gave it back to him. He was pleasantly surprised that he got a great service. Told me I needed to get out there more. Just a great way to boost confidence.

You are what you say you are worth. I have to also say check other resources and don't focus on just one avenue. There are many places to be noted of.

 

good luck, man. and i suggest you look for other clients already before you jump into freelancing.

 

I could not comprehend the meaning of that line. Apart from that whatever else you have written is correct.

 

People will pay for quality. I have written a number of articles for one particular client on here at 1cent a word. Yesterday he gave me an unasked for raise on some articles I'd written for him because he was to pleased with the quality. I never work for less than 1 cent a word.

You can make a living charging 1-1.5cents a word if you have good typing and research skills. Last week I wrote 20 200 word articles at 1cent a word in a little over two hours, that's $20 an hour, not good perhaps, but well above the national minimum rate.

I suppose what I am saying is don't be too proud to offer your services at 1cent a word, and don't think that because it is a low rate you can write any old thing. If you always deliver quality you are staying true to yourself as a writer and sometimes you get recognition for it.

 

Thank you WriteOn for this good advice. I believe this rate is fairly just rate.

 

Maybe I'm gauche or tactless....but why would I be happy with "sometimes" getting recognition for quality? How would businesses survive if they charged the bare minimum to scrape by in the hopes that they "may" get bonuses for quality work or merchandise? How would they pay employees, benefits, etc?

I'm glad that you are able to offer that rate, but I can not imagine what skills enable you to write a 200 word article in 6 minutes (let me know if I did not do that math right- I'm a writer not a mathematician ) After researching a subject and thinking about how I want to approach the piece, I can certainly type out 200 words in 6 minutes or less- but that's after I've already invested time on the front end.

Beyond that- I would not want to create a factory like setting for my work environment. If you need $20 per hour to survive, that is understandable and fine- but the knowledge that I have to hurry and research and type and edit 2,000 words per hour (possibly on 10 different subjects) to get there is not going to foster a happy, healthy, creative environment.

 

Another trick that works really much better than you'd think, is charge more just because people will think it implies higher quality.

It's obviously not for all customers, but some more pretentious customers have a high opinion of themselves and when give the choice between the dirt-cheap offer and the twice-as-expensive one, they pick the more expensive one.

Of course it makes your work less likely to be selected, but since you'd make twice as much, you should compute the odds and reach your own conclusion. It can work, and if it does, it sets you on a spiral upward, which is exactly what you want, instead of being stuck at "standard rates".

 

Customers are more intelligent as you think. Of course, the bottom line is always a BIG consideration. Normally, they simply test both offers and then if the quality are both good then you know who should get the bigger order next time...

 

If given comparable samples when evaluating writers with similar experience, I can't imagine why they would choose the more expensive.

 

The key to higher rates isn't to charge them in the hopes someone will bite - it's to charge them because you're offering some kind of value those "dirt cheap" writers are not (such as expertise in the niche allowing you to offer more insight or depth than a writer unfamiliar with the niche could).

As for the $20 per hour comment, it's one we've heard repeatedly here, and one that's been explained away repeatedly as well. I'm not going to get into it in detail yet again, but suffice it to say that $20 per hour like in the example given above does not necessarily equate to better than minimum wage. Why? Because it only accounts for billable hours, which are very different in number from true working hours (the rate closer to normal hourly wages / minimum wages, although still not quite accurate). You need to account for far more than what you have there to make claims about it being better or worse than other situations.

If anyone wants to delve into it a bit more to understand the working vs billable hours issue, why you can't compare hourly freelance rates directly to hourly rates as an employee, and related issues with setting rates, I've covered it much more in depth here: Setting Freelance Writing Rates the Right Way

 

I do understand what you are saying and perhaps my comparison was wrong or too easily misunderstood, but there are plenty of writers like me who do, at times, command higher rates, but who will also take low paying jobs when the need arises. As for my typing speed, I am a Pitman trained typist and can, on occasion knock out 75 words a minute.

 

My wrists actually hurt reading "75 words per minute". Yikes !!

 

lol. great hands writeon!

That is a lightning speed!

 

This really takes the enthusiasm to zilch...
Unless you're in dire need of some bread for the kid's peanut butter sandwiches...

 

I dont see how you can quickly research a subject on multiple places online and then bang out articles in that time also taking into consideration things like keyword density among other things. Then having to go back in and recheck your words to make sure there are no spelling and grammar errors.

 

I think with the years of experience, niches that has been very familiar and all are the top factors in coming up with really good articles in a flash.