After a couple of PM's questioning my prices as a professional writer / copywriter, it does make me wonder what some people expect when it comes to fees for writing. For example, I have a constant stream of work at $40 for a 500 word article, which is actually much lower than my normal rates away from the DP boards, but then I have PM's saying I should be charging like $4-$5 max... How does that work!? A 500 word article I write takes more than a few minutes and can easily run into an hour or two if it is an SEO one or review. A 1,200 word article can take up to 3 hours. Why someone thinks I should work for $4-$5 per hour amazes me! Do others think that $40 (about £27 pounds) is excessive for a professional service? My normal hourly rate is £45 per hour (about $65). I discount my prices in order to be more competitive here. How do other professional writers manage here? Cheers, Andy
I agree, many buyers expect the world for $ 0.50. On the other hand $ 40 for 500 words can be adequate, but so can the $ 5 I charge for regular 500 words article writing(Note the regular) When you write up a real review, research a subject, etc.... You are obviously correct in charging that $ 40, in fact you would be quite cheap, compared to some. On the other hand many articles are not bought for that purpose, but only require an article to be unique(read pass Copyscape). Though some research is still required, an article like that would take about 30 minutes to complete, and be high quality for its purpose. So it is IMO not a matter of charging, or over charging, but what type of buyer you are dealing with and the purpose of the article. On these forums many buy articles for purposes like submitting them to article directories, post them on their blogs, etc... and in that regard, my regular article will do nicely, after all the buyer needs to make money with the stuff also. On the other hand a well known news site might require in depth stories on a certain subject, and that would be where you come in, with all the in depth research that comes with it. All just my opinion of course
I think you are spot on with the different levels of writing and who your customer is - it was more the point that I was being questioned about why charge $40 when they could get it done cheaper - just got my back up a little hehe!
Hehe, believe it or not even with my rates, some will try to get me to do the work for less(Yes they claim 1 cent per word is expensive lol ) The one that told you he (or she?) could get it done cheaper was probably looking for me and a regular article
I don't think there are many writers around DP who charge anywhere near professional rates. In fact, only a very small percentage of my business comes from this site and I don't discount my rates. As far as managing at the expected rate level, I don't advertise my services in big threads. I might throw a special offer in BST every now and then, but it's usually for link sales or discounted ($50-75) press release. Normally, potential clients at this rate range work through the "silent" market. They read through your responses and check professional sites and samples through sig links and blog postings. Then they contact you through PM or through your professional site. The best way to make that work is to be active in the forum and demonstrating what you know and what you specialize in. Those who find a need for what you do will likely find you through sheer exposure.
I think you hit the nail on the head with that statement. My best customers did not come from making deals in threads but from buyers noticing me in those threads.
I wouldn't worry about anyone asking for the $4-5. You have to decide what you are worth, and accept that amount only. Remember that its your time being spent for their benifit, not vice versa. Someone looking for a $4 article are the same ones who expect to make 5 figures a month starting today! And to run their entire business on autopilot! For Free! They want the world handed to them. Don't worry. They give up and chase another dream eventually.
Good post Joe 128139 also internetauthor who is talented with a variety of writing skills. Depending upon on who her client is and needs. She sets the price, yet may adjust it only when it leads to lots of other work. SHE LIKES HER WORK! Writing just for the sake of money is a hard route. In my messages to iNet SEO, I know he has also obtained that level. So to answer the original post, I do not advertise. That does not mean I do not get offers. If and when I do, the forum members that I respect and know their talents, would get the business. iNet SEO, you are in a different goldmine, you just have not yet utilized the potential of, where even your standard rate is low. You know how to reach me DP style. For others, please join DP to learn, gain skills, and then you will find more people chasing you. Any true pros (look at iNet SEO example in the op) that need connections, I can provide info to.
To be blunt and to the point, for the most part, I don't mess with this board. There are to many idiots here. Period. However, I have had several serious posters who have a brain contact me, which was nice. Try using this boards "services" section, and point out your stipulations in your thread.
@Kraven It takes you 30 minutes and make you $5? That's only $10 per hour, way below your any good/professional rate. Why are people looking for $1 articles? Because it's the cheapest way to get copyscaped articles for their Adsense-Site-Spam. They should be making $4-$5 Adsense per article; so they won't pay you more than $1. Previously said by JH: Whenever there are suckers, there are people who wants to profits on them.
Some good sense in here guys and does put everything into perspective a little more. Thanks all for your input
Wow, $40 :O. I should charge more! . I think I'm worth it lol. Cept, can you pass the people on who want a $5 article writer to me? Many people here think even $5 is too much and that's my standard rate, for rewritten posts anyway, of any length. And I'm born and bred in the UK (and I do know I used "and" at the start of a sentence ), so 100% native English writer. That said, I have noticed the rates going up a bit lately. Before you could get a 500 word article for $2, now it's $5, on average anyway.
Sure you Can. So can anyone else. It is not hard. If your client were a business person selling a product, write a quality 500 word article, properly worded. One of the search terms was only searched 1,000 times monthly, and ranked #1 in Google. That would mean 343 monthly readers, or 4,116 yearly. 10% then visit the website. 400 visitors at $2 each = $800.00 first year. Now that article will appear 5 years. That certainly is worth more than $5.00. The people I tutor are learning that------so learn how you can-----hope that helps brighten your day--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I think that there are different kind of prices. Some people write simple and not so well researched articles for $1-2, but other research and write good articles for $3-4. Some kids want to make fast money and they put a lot of work, sometime an hour or two and make $1-2.
From other forums I visit, 'standard $5 articles' are 'basic training'. We show those leads to new writers who are learning to develop their skills and get paid to do so. (Before the Internet, a person may have written one or two articles for free for the newspaper in order to get a few clips.) From that, they get faster, better. They learn how to write a $5 article in 5 minutes. They can research on topics they are interested in, only taking what articles they are interested in. This way, they become experts. After that, they'll move up the chain. They may apply at Demand Studios, Break Studios, Internet Brands, Wise Geek and others. $8 to $20 an article. Similar writing, except slightly more research, as you need to pull additional facts from true resources. That's 'apprenticeship' training. The next step is finding your own clients. Those who are willing to pay $40 an up an article expect you to know what you are doing, and can write an article well enough to warrant a place with online magazines or other areas. It's just a step. You're past basic training, so you don't need or want to start charging $5 for articles. While it would be 'fast' work, as $5 articles only warrant about 5 minutes of my time, I'm not interested as I would rather write a $40 article in a half hour than write a $5 in five minutes. It's a lot less typing.