Once upon a time in Galaxy not that far away(In fact it was next door) There were three writers, freelancing online. One was from India, and sold his work at $1 for every hundred words he wrote, while the other who hailed from the United States sold off his work for $2 per hundred written words. The last was a Dutchman, and while he started off selling his work at $1 per hundred words, had learned a lot since then and was now selling articles at a $ 50 minimum. All three of them frequented an online forum, that contained two popular writing sections, one for discussion and one for sales. On there the three would argue back and forth over writing, but most of the time the discussion went on the topic of rates. The bloke from India boasted: “In my country living conditions are so much cheaper, I don’t need to ask more for my work, I can live comfortably from what I earn with my writing, and even save some for a rainy day, and the best part is there is no short supply of clients for my type of writing. I work cheap so lots will buyâ€. That usually triggered a response from the US writer, stating: “It is your kind who are wrecking the market for all of us.â€, which always invited the reply â€This is called competing and it seems you can’t. If you can’t take the heat, you should stay out of the Kitchen.â€. Several of these remarks went back and forth, time and time again, and nothing really changed, as both went on as they were doing. The third writer, followed the bickering and one day added to it “You both need to clean up your act, improve your skills and bring your writing and prices to a higher level, or you may be sorry further down the road.â€. Both laughed and told the Dutch guy there would always be a market for their services, and that would be the end of that discussion. Months went by and all three went on with their business, when one day a new player arrived at the scene, replying to every “Want To Buy†thread in the BST area of the forum, offering prices as low as $0.50 for a unique 500 words article of a decent quality. Buyers that purchased from this guy, made statements that the articles, though not high profile, where of decent quality, often above that of the writers who sold their work at $1 per hundred words. This triggered a chain reaction as the word about this new player began to spread, and to make matters worse, he seemed to be able to handle any order, no matter how many articles were required, and how short the deadline was, he delivered and always at the same quality. Later on the writers learned that this guy used a new type of spinner, one that was able to produce decent unique content, which resulted in articles that took mere minutes to create, at prices no human writer could compete with. The US writer, quit writing as nobody wanted to buy his articles anymore at his rates, while the Indian writer’s income was cut down dramatically because he had lowered his rates to a mere$ 0.15 per hundred words, and could only receive a decent rate when writing in his native language for local clients, of which there were much less. The Dutch bloke, he laughed, as his business went on, stronger than ever before, because instead of being just a mere writer, he had mastered the skills of Search Engine Optimizing, and could produce articles that landed on the first page of Google at will. This kept his articles in high demand, while all the other low end writers, crumbled and stopped their writing services completely. The moral to this story is; to always strive to improve your skills and services as a writer. Be able to look beyond and anticipate the future. Only those who plan ahead, and manage to stay at least one step ahead of technological developments have the flexibility to react to change in a fashion that is effective. Those that are stuck in their routines, will always perish somewhere down the road. So heed these words of warning, before it is too late. Change is coming.
brought tears to my eyes...though that could've been the steaming cup of coffee spilling on my hand, chuckling reading the post above. nevertheless, a very appropriate cautionary tale. some may continue to dismiss this as far fetched. but when the day arrives, don't say the dutchman didn't warn you.
For now. At some point air travel fell into the category of dreams, and look where we are now. It will happen, and I think sooner rather then later.
definitely sooner. Here's something created by click one button, not by typing:- We think that we are oversized because of our way of life, our eating, and our shortage of movement, and though all these things play a role, at last the answer to how to shed pounds in days is in the last place we look. Many of us think that the solution to shedding weight isn't eating food we like or exercising till our heart feels like it'll explode. The mind plays a giant role in our journey and we do not actually ‘think about it’ much when we’re trying to shed kilos. Actually , the mind is the main factor in whether you may lose pounds in weeks or lose pounds in days. It is not in our body, it is in our mind. Whey protein is maybe the most vital supplement you can take if you'd like to lose pounds in a fast, advantageous way. Jogging or bicycling ) is ok, but your focus should be on doing ‘bursts’ of intense exercise as strength coaching and HIIT-style cardiovascular exercise. Omega-3 fats ( e.g. Fish oil ) and a fine quality multivitamin are also proved ’shortcut’ additions for quicker, more fit weight reduction. If you'd like to find out more about losing kilos fast and in a good way, be certain to visit the link below...[snip] while it may not be Pulitzer prize stuff, it will bazooka the 'chipati writers'.
I agree. Making keyword rich articles is important while still keeping sharp content that makes people want to buy the product and understand it as well. Many times I read some hyped text where they try to hide what the product or service actually is instead of saying that it is the nanny show, replica rolex or whatever the product is. Eventually, i get so confused of all the "wrappings" about what the product or service actually is so I leave the website. Lesson learned is that telling people/visitors qucikly and directly that: A) This is the product B) This is what the product does C) This is why you should buy the product That way a lot of lost potential customers can be avoided due to lack of understanding. A good way to improve your skills is by reading 30 minutes a day in any field that interest you copywriting or what you want to improve in. That translates into 1 book per month and 12 books per year which again is about 60 books in 5 years. If you do take a speed reading course then you can likely read 1 book per week which is 250 books read in just 5 years. That again will improve your skills dramatically.
I think this illustrates my point perfectly. All it takes is one guy with enough articles to spin, to set this in motion. A little automation and there will be hell to pay, for all the penny writers.
luther, my ebook library stands around 300,000 titles. discounting the top end buyer, can you imagine the kind of materials i could churn out with a software like contentboss if i were so inclined?
The easiest way to fail as an independent business owner is to not diversify your skill set. Especially in a marketplace where the barrier to entry is so low. Someone can always, and will always, come along and undercut a person selling the same thing they are. By branching out you're creating your own niche where you can undercut multiple industries to make up the cost by supplementing income.
It is difficult with just having writing skills. Writers need more skills to survive. Although writers do edit and proofread their work but it won't be a waste to sharpen those skills and perhaps add a few more skills to the list. Otherwise, it is back to office hour full time job and bye bye freelancing industry.
I don't think it will destroy the freelance industry, just change it. You will have the spinners, with automated tools, churning out the run of the mill type stuff The gifted writers who write for magazines, produce sales copy, write (e)books. The SEO writers who have mastered the art of SEO and can guarantee top spots. Those now writing for $0.70/100 will have disappeared or evolved.
Hi, You know I am a fan of your writing But, I think that evaluation solely based on pennies per word is misplaced. For example, I can write approx 4000 words per hour on a topic that I know so well that I need ABSOLUTELY ZERO research. If I know the topic pretty well, but need to read up a little, that drops to 1500 words. And if I have some familiarity, but need to research a lot, it goes down to 500 words. If the first type paid me 0.5 cent a word, and the last 4 cents a word, my hourly earning would be the same! So, my advice to writers is: sure go ahead and get the best possible prices you can. But, also try and specialize in a theme. That would be yet another way to increase your earning. On my part (as a buyer), I have stopped hiring the services of broad-spectrum writers. Either their price or quality does not appeal to me.