Question For All Knowledgeable Article Writers

Good evening all


My question, I feel, is a simple one. I would like to know what those of this section of the board would feel is a fair rate for a certain article. The scenario is below....


If someone had an unique handwritten article for sale, for a keyword that the author KNEW for 100% certainty was unsaturated and profitable- what would be a fair price?

This should get anywhere from $5-$15 easily daily from Adsense clicks (if not more).


I was thinking .10 cents a word (so a 500 word article would be $50).

 

I'd say you're definitely in the ball park with your figure but much depends on the way you market the piece. Experience tells me that only a very small percentage of IM specialists will pay top dollar for an article of that sort of quality. Unsurprisingly, they're probably the ones who make more money than those who use $1 articles on their sites.

Adsense isn't a speciality of mine and there are others who will give you better advice on this subject than I can, but the method you use to sell your article will definitely have a direct sway on how much you can actually earn from it. If it's a truly great piece, consider selling for usage instead of full rights unless someone is prepared to make you a really good offer on owning the article.

 

It depends entirely on who you're selling it to. Professionals can charge up to $1.00 per word (and even more). To a new writer, $.10 per word isn't awful, but they could still do better. If you want to target any random webmaster, you'll probably get talked down even more. Either you know how to effectively target higher paying markets (and your work is really worth that much) or you don't. That's what determines how much you get paid -- what markets you target.

 

Thank you two for your candid and thorough answers!


@jhmattern: I may concede a little, but I simply refuse to even start a pattern of low balling myself- matter of factly, I may now go up on price.


If you don't mind me asking, who are your average article purchasers?

 

If you know that it will make that much in Adsense revenue daily, why not create a blog in the niche and put it on your own blog? I'm a big believer in the time value of money so I'd always prefer money upfront to uncertain (and small) residuals but at $5-$15 a day, even if you sell the article for $100, it won't take you long to exceed your sale price with Adsense revenue so it might make more sense to do so.

 

It's dependent upon the quality. Handwritten alone does not guarantree quality. That price would be fine for hobbyist "average" writers, but for a professional copywriter, expect to pay sufficiently more.

 

$50 seems like quite a lot to me, and I doubt that you're going to find someone willing to pay that much. In reality, if you really think your work is that profitable, you're much better off putting it up yourself and profiting directly.

You're just going to struggle to convince someone that the work will be so profitable.

 

$50 is actually very low in professional writing markets, and there are a lot of clients willing to pay that much, and more, if you're worth it.

Webmasters and small business owners make up the bulk of my clients. People have this misconception that these these folks can't afford professional writers at professional rates. That isn't true. Those writers just haven't gone about finding them in the right ways. Some of my favorite clients to work with are middlemen clients (think SEO firms, design companies, Internet marketing agencies, etc.). These kinds of clients are great because they tend to order more regularly than others and they tend to order much more at once than others -- they're buying for all of their own clients (they essentially find the client group and bring them to your door).

 

Ask yourself, who is most likely to profit from the article (Leave Adsense out of it) and then target them.

Let's say I'm in the business of selling aquariums (And have a related website), and you have an article offering excellent information on the various types of aquariums (And you have 3 years experience in maintaining aquariums to boot), I'd buy the article for 100$ even. On the other hand, if I have no interest in aquariums, but run a blog about aquariums to make some bucks off Adsense, I'd probably not buy the article even if it was priced at $25.

 

Thank you all for your replies.

I also make music (hobby), and I see that the article writing industry has become the same way. So many people offering their services at "*expletive* prices", thus causing an overall lowering of fair price value for BOTH parties!

It's definitely a buyer's market and not a seller's market. The same thing that causes housing bubbles

*sigh*

 

I don't think it's such a buyer's market like you think. In my opinion, if you aren't pricing your rates efficiently, then that's your problem. What I mean by this is that your rates should reflect your quality and value to your clients. If they are too high, or too low, then that's something you need to work on.

Also, remember there are many different levels of freelance writing. From people on here bidding at $5 for 500 words, to freelancers working for weekly magazines and newspapers earning hundreds for each article. If you want to take on those jobs, you go and get a qualification and build up your portfolio showing you are worth that amount.

You can't just expect to get paid a large amount for your work if you've got nothing to prove to your clients that you are worth it. If you're just going to throw a few .docs their way and say "here are some samples" then you're never going to be able to command a high price. Try taking things more professionally if you're looking to charge higher prices. Put your portfolio into a PDF, with your CV and a cover letter. Make it neat, professional, and appealing. Then it's down to you to make sure that all the work in the portfolio is your very best.

There are plenty of people out there willing to pay large amounts for great content, it's just a matter of finding them and proving that you are worth that much.

Also, remember, the people hiring through DP are, in general, chumps. They don't care about quality, they just want to spam article directories and make a few $$ on adsense. There are plenty of people willing to do that work for them, so just let them have that part of the marketplace, and put yourself on a higher level.

If you really did "everything" that you could to find clients online, you'd find a bunch to work with. It's just a matter of doing "everything" rather than just checking on elance and DP. If you can prove, for example, that one of your articles earned $50, then you just say to someone - here's your ROI, now we'll set up a profit margin so that I get paid $30 for every article. Once you've set it up and your client is making money, you'll have work for months, if not years, just from that single client.

 

I guess that it is too much... 30$ will be enough for 500 words... but, that is my personal opinion... you can ask whatever you can

 

Really? I still get offers almost daily (and my rates aren't exactly low). I get to be incredibly picky about what gigs I take. Many of my colleagues are in similar boats. It's not a buyer's market. If anything, it seems they're struggling to find truly qualified writers (I get constant requests for specialist referrals, and I pass along good gigs to other writers because of it -- the clients aren't able to find these folks on their own for some reason). If you can fill a need, build your network so you get referrals, and build your visibility so clients can find you then you'll never even have to think about low-priced writers again. They're not what most clients are looking for. The question is, "are you looking for the right clients?"

Remember, while cheap webmasters are looking for extremely low-priced content to try to turn over a few bucks, there are a LOT of more serious business ventures that aren't looking to directly profit. They spend good money on content because it adds other value like authority status within their industry (why it pays to specialize).

 

I really hate to say this because I always think it sounds so trite, but it really isn't a buyer's market if you know where to look. It can take a while but if you have a well-defined idea of who your target client is (you know, the one who will appreciate what you've got, pay you what you want and know how to make money from your writing) and you locate them through marketing and networking, then you will find it is a seller's market.

Of course, like monty2002 said, you do have to be able to prove that you are worth what you are charging--even when you do find your market. That doesn't mean flawless grammar and spelling (it does help, but an editor can always be used for that) it means ideas, authority, originality and a mastery over the subject.

 

I'm a copywriter and clients will pay good money if you are an experienced and GOOD writer. However, content/article writing and copywriting are completely different.

 

Absolutely. If you're selling poor to mediocre "articles" that often do more harm than good, there is definitely a buyer's market. If I needed $5 crap articles, I'd be set for life looking around the industry at the moment.

Fortunately, however, for those of us that operate at the opposite end of the writing spectrum, successful webmasters and businesses quickly realize that there might be some use for negligible writing, but there is a huge payoff (not just in financial terms) of working with a professional for most projects.

Like others here, I've been approached countless times by clients looking for someone who can 1) actually write at the level they are seeking and 2) understand the nature of their business and 3) operate like a professional. Apparently there aren't many of us out there. If you're at that level, market yourself accordingly, there is plenty of work.

Incidentally, I'm having a hard time understanding how a buyer's market causes housing bubbles. We're in a buyer's market now - plenty of available homes to choose from, low prices, huge incentives, low interest rates. I doubt anyone would call this a housing bubble.

 

Hi,


I guess it would be better to say, that these conditions open the way for bubbles. Many of the things you listed creates the door to much speculating, predatory lending practices, adjusted rates, and an utopian atmosphere of anyone can get a house (though I wish all could). Manyy of the foreclosures the housing market is going through is due to these practices.


However, whether the market is a buyer's or seller's market, it constantly seeks to balance itself.

 

This is what I'm now seeking.


I may give away a few samples.

 

Thank you forump. I may use $30 as an introductory price.

The thing is, I spoke to someone about an article for $20 (introductory price), and the person thought it would be 10 articles, not one


needless to say, that deal did not go down,lol.

 

Great post!


Thank you