I too can't believe there can be people writing for such low rates. I've been writing for 6 months and now in the worst possible case I make 3 cents/word. I'm really convinced that those who are truly motivated to write for money will find the right jobs for them. Look at Linux.com, they pay up to $300 for a 800-1500 words article. The good gigs are out there, if you can write well there's nothing stopping you from earning good money.
Oh same goes for other crafts. I have a photographer friend who's really good and they only want to pay him with free hotel accommodations. He felt insulted. It's really hard to find someone who'd be willing to pay good money because most people think that it's *that* easy to produce articles.
I think this thread should be a reminder to everybody not to undervalue themselves. Work out your overheads and from there decide on your going rate, because remember if you're good then you should be able to find people willing to pay you appropriately otherwise you just aren't looking in the right places.
As someone who has a history in writing articles online, but is just getting started here at DP, I find this article very inspriring. Derek
Hi I am a good article writer and have got some good paying clients but I also have taken jobs that pay peanuts heck it's better then nothing I am new to DP but I have been writing for many years so how would you suggest a new member to dp with no itrader not many posts that can type at around 60wpm get a decent writing gig I have looked on GAF the best I have found is elance rentacoder looks ok but it is annoying to use it always crashes everytime I use it after a few times and there system is confusing I also design websites create tube promo videos with watermarks etc but my passion is writing my niche is realestate people seem to pay well for these but I did get someone asking for $1 an article the other day which is in my opinion a slap in the face for the work that needs to be done.
Actually, making peanuts can be worse than "nothing." That's the point. Your time is a finite resource. Once you choose to undervalue it and sell it off for slave wages, you will never be able to invest that same time in finding better gigs or targeting better markets. It's very often worth more in the long run to reject the low-paying gig in favor on non-paying marketing or networking efforts. Once you've chosen to spend your time on a lousy gig, that time is gone forever. It sounds like your biggest problem is that you're "looking" for work rather than working to make clients start looking for you. Showcase your real estate writing ability, network, and spend some time on marketing to get your name and samples "out there" (whether those samples be your own blog, guest articles published elsewhere, etc.).
Thanks jen for the tips and your right if I take the lower paying gigs then I am devaluing my abilities I do have a few published articles so getting my own site up would be the best option for article writing from now on I think I will be giving the lower paying jobs a miss and get more credible well paying jobs that are actually worth the effort I put in thanks again for bringing me back to reality
Well, here I am, trying to find "real" writing jobs at DP and I actually went back on the trend of decreasing prices over a period of time. I increased my prices from a penny a word to something more "respectable", all thanks to some wonderful ideas here, in this forum. The only problem I faced, as Jenn puts it, is that I lost my business, and instead of a 200% increase, it was just a meagre increase of 20% because I had lost my clients. I don't regret it though, because the opportunity cost that I have added by tebling my rates is more than a superficial 20% increase. I save more time now, write less and STILL earn 20% more than what I did as a rookie, so I would rather project the 20% as 50%!! Regards, Jeewant
I think the problem is that some writers don't understand the term 'freelancer' and take it a bit seriously. J/k
I'm pretty new to freelance writing as a distinct genre, I'm a web designer and incorporate my writing into my web designs. In comparison with the low pay that is being discussed in this thread, this is far more profitable than freelance writing. But I'm aware that the low pay that is being discussed in this thread isn't typical of of the kind of money that freelance writers can make.
I've had to pretty much settle now on offering my writing services at $0.01 a word. When offering them for $0.02 a word I got no clients, but at $0.01 a word i've started to get a few. If you're offering your services at $0.05 a word or so, you would probably spend more time on here looking for clients than actually writing. Hopefully though in the future, all writers will raise their prices and it'll leave the potential clients no option but to order articles at a slightly higher price, or write it themselves.
Well those charging $.05 per word (and much more) aren't here actively "looking" for clients. You shouldn't be relying on DP as a sole client source, and certainly shouldn't only be focusing on looking at the public job ads. If you can't find clients at $.02 per word, chances are that it has nothing to do with a lack of clients, but a misguided method of trying to find them. Tweaking your marketing strategies is much more effective than lowering your rates. And as a matter of fact, today's post on my freelance writing blog actually explains why no writer should be competing based on price like that. Why Marketing Freelance Writing Services on Price is a Big No-No
Loving the image of the granny! I'll give it a read now... Fair points you've listed in your blog post, and I agree with pretty much most of it. However, you're in a different situation to me. I write for clients for around 5-6 hours a week, just for a little plus of money in which I would probably earn about $50 (I'm still in full time education you see). I also realise I don't have too much confidence in my writing to be able to charge $0.04+ per word, though all reviews seem to be quite positive.
Well then you need to start by working on your confidence. It's actually a common problem among writers when they're new. But it's something that can be fixed. Whether you're working part-time or full-time really doesn't matter very much when it comes to your rates. Look at it this way - if you ever decide to become a full-time writer, could you make the transition with your current part-time rates? If not, then you need to re-think how they're set. At the same time, even if you know you're never going to go full-time, think about the here and now - would you rather earn spending money at $10 / hr cramming multiple articles into an hour's work or $50 / hr for those fewer hours your working, meaning less work (read: less stress) and more money? I remember what it was like in college (that's where I started freelancing btw), and more money plus more free time is always the way to go.