Why is it always "CHEAP ARTICLE WRITER"

I have bad experiences, many writers who claim to cheap are not actually cheap in rate but they are cheap in quality.

If you have only very little exposure you can write for your self, but if you have a large scale work like Article Directory etc. you'll have to rely on some one. At the same time I have met some very honest and hard working writers who not only complete the jobs well in time but they also cost very low...

 

From a writer's perspective, it all boils down to supply and demand. Currently, there seems to be an abundance of writers willing to supply articles for low prices... driving overall wages down.

What many buyers fail to realize is there there is a huge range of quality among the writers, so often time comapring writers is like comparing apples and oranges. Clearly, there are far fewer native English speaking writers who have even a modicum of writing ability.

Therefore, those writers can expect, and should expect, to command a greater wage. If you are a quality writer, build up your brand, reputation, and portfolio, and you will not need to compete with the $3/article types.

 

There are alot of members here on DP newbies and those old school who have been a member here since DP launched itself to the world. But time has changed and so as well the budget for those DP buyers who own small business or individuals who have no time to write that's why they outsource such task to other people who are willing to do it.

DP members are not forced to give a cheap price for a certain service and nobody forced DP buyers to give higher rates for quality service.

A business has a lot of expenses and in order to survive in the trade it needs to minimize expenses and maximize profits, this is the reason why some opt to hire cheap writers than paying good writers.

This is what is inside a DP buyer's mind, I want to have 10 articles I only have $50 in my pocket. So he search here in DP for writers or post a thread looking for such writers.

So he will have a lot of pms in his inbox and will have different rates.

1. $20
2. $30
3. $40
4. $50

Generally, he will choose the writer who wants to be paid $20 for 10 articles written. For sure, that DP buyer will ask for a sample and also the iTrader for reputation. The $30 excess would be kept in his pocket and will be used for other important matter that needs money.

As DP Service providers, I think we should take off that kind of mentality how much, how much, I should get paid by this amount and not be considered as cheap, I should get more profit etc. Instead try to analyze also what's going on with these DP buyers' businesses... All of us for sure have experienced the effects of this economic crisis and these DP buyers ain't exempted from that.

It is all up to us service providers to grab the opportunity of having work for less pay or wait for that opportunity to come when a DP buyer will offer $50 for one article which does happen once in a blue moon here at DP.

 

VA4hire: I can see where you're coming from. As a businessperson, you're looking to save as much money as you can. But there are some instances where the immediate cost isn't the only consideration you have to make, but the potential money it's going to make you in the long run. Try hiring a hack writer here at DP and let that person write a sales letter for $5. It would be very interesting to know the results.

As a provider, if having what you call the 'how-much' mentality will get me higher-paying clients and feed me and help me pay my bills, then I would gladly stick with that mentality. But I can afford that of course because I understand that there's a bigger and better-paying market out of this little world in DP. I suggest you try it out too.

And the economic crisis? I heard that's also the reason why Somali pirates are kidnapping sailors and Susan Boyle lost Britain's Got Talent. In short, it's being used as an excuse by everyone for just about anything. It's funny that you should attribute lower rates and the lack of work to the economic crisis because I'm personally getting more work nowadays (not necessarily from DP).

 

When you have a business to run, you can not philanthropically throw your product (in this case, writing) to the wind and just eagerly accept whatever someone feels like paying for it. If you are good at what you do, have some business sense, and understand how to market yourself, you don't just scrounge for pennies to compensate for your time, experience, talent, and knowledge.

Your writing, though intangible, has a value. It is up to YOU to determine that value, not your client. Your client isn't doing you a favor by hiring you, which is how you make it sound. I'm grateful to have clients, I think any intelligent business person is, but that doesn't mean they are doing me a favor by hiring me and paying my fees--they are getting something in return; something they value and something that increases the value and success of their business. If you've placed a value on your writing and are unable to get clients to pay it then you've either over-valued yourself or haven't figured out how to find your target client.

A "buyer" who has $50 in his pockets and wants the most for his money does not look for a bunch of content that's real cheap--he looks for content that is going to offer the most ROI. If he is smart, that is (I use "he" because it's easier than "he or she").

 

It seems that quality writing means cheap pricing in DP. That is why most of the writers like to place "cheap rates on their services." So, can you blame those writers placing cheap rates? Yet, they give quality services.

 

I've enjoyed reading this entire thread. It's good to see both sides of the argument. I think it comes down to the old addage, you get what you pay for. I think all buyers learn this sooner or later. Some are looking for cheap, poorly written articles and some would rather pay more for well written work. The thing I've learned is there are other avenues than just DP to find work as a writer. I can see how some get frustrated when they create a thread looking for work and it immediately gets buried under 20 "Will work for cheap" threads.

 

Isn't it ironic that probably the most important post you'll ever read at DP is the same one that will drive you away? lol At least in terms of looking for work, that is.

 

Wow... I can be away for two weeks in San Diego and people are still debating cheap articles. Cool. Wish I started the topic, but I didn't. Oh well.

I think "Will Work for Food" is on a lot of peoples minds these days. Recessions have a tendency to create a bottom feeder market scenario that normally doesn't exist when everyone is fat and sassy in the pocketbook. There will always be crappy writers, even so-called professional writers have turned in a few cheap-looking articles from what I have seen around the Internet. Sometimes when I am reading I just get bored with the redundant blah, blah, blah that you see a lot of in some of the writers techniques. I have been guilty of it myself from time to time. Probably will do it again someday. I am getting better though.

 

Please name the good writers you know, we all will be very grateful.

 

Just read the whole thread. All of the best writers have posted here. You can tell who has skill and who doesn't... Right? Just read what they wrote in this thread.

Read some of their other posts here in DP also. You'll get a good feel for their style. If they have the skills to answer threads in an intelligent way, and you would like to hire them, then send them a private message.

Send me one I am available.

 

Affordable quality is really the bottom line of this.
If you dont have enough financial savings to get a good quality writings, some of the people would go into cheap services.

You're lucky if you'd find a good quality writing in a cheap cost.

 

It depends. It is based on ethics more than anything else. A skilled professional can look at a given situation and decide that they want to help this person accomplish their goal, and for some people that is a reward in and of itself.

Lawyers do it quite a bit. It is called "pro bono" and for many it is the equivalent of tithing to a religious person. There are people out there who are very capable and will often help another in the spirit of community. To them, money is not everything. They are also aware that there was a time when someone did this same service for them and had those little "gifts" not presented themselves, they may not be who they are today. That is called gratitude. A learned trait that is not inherent in everyone.

Believe it or not there are opportunities to get quality at reasonable rates and be entirely satisfied with the result. It always comes down to the ethical versus the non-ethical business practices of the individuals you deal with. Unfortunately, a vast majority have no sense of ethics.

Just paying a higher price for something is no guarantee that you will get what you paid for either.

What a dilemma, huh? Sounds like betting on a horse race to me. You may know which horse should win statistically, but they may break a leg out of the starting gate. I always heard it was best to bet on the horse that recently took a dump, but that is probably bad advice.

 

I'm going to answer the original question. It's actually pretty straightforward.

"Why is it always CHEAP ARTICLE WRITER"

It's because the people involved in this game (at the moment, at least) are heavily weighted towards new entrants. New entrants are the equivalent of new businesses. They instinctively know that keeping costs to a minimum is crucial. Hence the need to keep a lid on the outward cash flow. This next bit might annoy those of you who charge more than a few bucks per article, but here it is anyway:-

They also instinctively know (probably because hey, let's face it, we all surf) that even mediocre content, if there's enough of it, and if it's presented right, will make money. And that their best option is probably therefore lots of cheap content rather than a couple of bits of high priced stuff. For one article to do the job of a few dozen requires a REAL quality that is actually fairly rare on the web.

probably not what you want to hear, but hey, it's only going to get MORE competitive out there. In a few years you guys will be competing against AI bots that create readable interesting new stuff for CENTS. Bookmark this thread, because although you don't believe it, it's coming.

 

Honestly, this thread goes around and around saying the same thing over and over. All your points, while totally valid and spot on, have been said before. The content for "Cents" thing is newer information, and so true it isn't funny.

The "game" is SERP. Publications that are true resources for information MUST continue to valuate their content for their audience. They BUY SERP. Through massive investment in keyword dynamics and heavy SEO strategy, that they can afford, they pay their way to the top of the search engines. Building on massive traffic and continued cash outlay, they crush competition through sheer mass.

The "little" guy cannot compete under these conditions with the rules as set forth by these larger conglomerates. Factor in shady algorithms created by greedy search engine monopolies that cater to these "higher level" clientele and you have a bomb waiting to explode!

In order to compete many feel they must cheat. It is the same system in every Capitalist environment. You are correct in saying that it is this competitive environment to place on page one of some stupid search engine that has created a monster. As long as that is the goal of every one of the billion or so sites out there, then more and more garbage will be placed in content in an attempt to beat the system. With 20 slots on a page and 10 million competitors, the stakes are high!

This thread really isn't about good writing versus bad. We all know the difference at some level, no matter what our educational background is. The issue is that content is necessary and more is better. Not every website owner is a writer, but they all need this content stuff. Without it they won't even be a pimple on a horses rear-end. They get what they can afford or steal what they can't. But like heroin, every addict does whatever they need to do in order to get a fix!

 

I think this topic has been thrashed out enough already...

 

Ya think?

Only the best minds that inhabit this domain have been here ten or twenty times.

The point is moot. Quality versus Quantity is the only reasonable explanation. You buy what you can afford and get as much as you can buy. It's like comparing Kraft macaroni and cheese to the generic brand. I hate generic macaroni and cheese, but if all I have is $5.99 for a weeks worth of groceries.... Guess what?

I would rather sell an article for $20.00 than $1.00. But if the customer has $1.00 and I need some macaroni and cheese... Guess what?

Great writers will find customers. So will the cheap ones. Water seeks its own level. Basic physics.

 

Well I hope it is same in all the DP services like cheap seo services, etc..

 

That gives me an idea... Hmmmmmm...

 

Quite frankly, I find it funny that this thread has been constantly updated for such a long time. It's really very simple economics.

Webmasters are constantly looking for writers, right? Let's assume that the demand is currently at 1k articles per month overall. How much is the supply? 5 times that. When supply equals demand times 5, the prices are BOUND to drop.

You can claim that your content is of higher quality and thus ask for higher prices, but the truth of the matter is that you will only be targeting those very few selected webmasters who are asking for that. It would be much easier to just spend your time and skills more wisely, by writing a crappy article every 20 minutes with no time spent on research and then go ahead and sell it for that $2-3 that buyers are willing to pay. I can guarantee that in the long run, you will make much more out of it. Do the math.

It sucks, I know, but sometimes facing the reality and dealing with it is much better than trying to avoid it.

My 2 cents...