Hello everyone, I am not into copywriting except for writing assignments in my university but still i wanna know that why is copywriting so much low paying? Like for ths complete effort they just pay $0.01 per word or sometimes $2 to $3 for 400 to 500 words article .. Is it Ok with you guys who do copywriting stuff for working such low rates? I am sorry mods if this thing is already discussed in this section.Please let me know the thread url if anyone of you know it .. Thanks in aDVance
copywriting is not cheap in the real world. its cheap on forums like this because people who can't write their own content are either too broke to pay what its worth or too cheap. they get what they pay for though since the content they buy really is neither distinctive nor engaging. You can hold out for better dollars from site admins that really want the kind of content that drives people to their site. That content is either very entertaining in style and content or provocative and unique. If you have those skills then you are better putting up a blog and adding your own content. advertising over time will pay you far more than the pittance wanna be popular web site admins here will ever pay. Lets face it judging by the prices being offered here on DP many are either below the poverty line or are able to pay more but are just too cheap. They think their pennies are worth far more of your time than they would ever request for their own time.
IMHO people charging $01.01 per word are not qualified/professional or even semi-professional writers. They are just looking to get some quick money. If you believe your work is worth more, then do not undersell yourself. Having said that, it is sometimes necessary to drop your prices in the beginning to you build up some loyal customers In the end, webmasters get what they pay for. If they want quality content they will have to pay that little bit extra for it.
The sort of people who you see charging 1c per word are usually amateurs from countries where English is not the native or primary language spoken, so a lot of the time these '$1 per 100 word' articles will be low quality. Just look at some of the replies you get in the Content Creation section, and that'll summarise a lot of the writer's ability. This isn't to say that you can't get good money online though, I've noticed a trend of a few native English speakers raising their prices to $0.02 to $0.04 per word. Still not as much as they deserve if they're a really good writer, but if the fluent writers start to seperate themselves from the poor ones, then there should be an average raise in pay soon
You are talking about article writing. Writing sales copy [Copywriting] pays better, though usually not close to offline rates. Competition, ignorance, low budgets and so on. Why bother about low rates? Market yourself well and charge what you deem reasonable. It's been said a million times here by the experts , the low payers shouldn't be/aren't your target market if you are worth/charge more. Focus on the people that will pay your rates, whatever they are. Ignore the rest.
See, I have told this a number of times and I am telling it again. The OP belongs to Pakistan, and bro, me being an Indian, I know a single Dollar is of a much more worth in our countries than it is in the developed world. The fluids of a free marketplace have led to a decrease in price, where average writers like me (http://forums.digitalpoint.com/showthread.php?t=868440) can make enough money to live life king size selling at $1/100 words. SO why bother raising prices when you can get a steady amount of work at that rate? Personally, I charge anywhere around $1-$3 per 100 words, and I am pretty satisfied with that as long as I am getting regular work. I accept that it is harsh on other writers to offer low rates, especially when you can literally 'survive' on those rates, but then, this is the charm of a free market. Regards, Jeewant
Jeewant I don't believe in what you said that a single dollar is 0f a much more worth in our countries thn any other 0ne ..You see now a days people don't look for country or person they just look for quality and if you have good quality then you urself can work on high rates or something much more suitable thn this .. PEople here learn proper accent of british as well as american english from Berlitz and they charge like $15 for jus 300 words article .. this is i am talking the minimum so i don't agree that we are not well developed or someone who must get paid as low as others want ..
I am not saying that getting paid towards the higher cadre of writers is bad, obviously, you should try and maximize your earnings. Having said that, if you stick to $50/100 words, which is the average international wage for writers, you might end up getting some orders if you are good, but will the number of orders be regular? What is the fun in doing 2 such articles a month when you could have earned 10 times the money by dropping your rates. It is far better in our countries man. Consider this 1 Happy meal @ Mc.Donald's in India= INR 20 $1 = 45 INR So, in short, you get two meals for a buck here man! This is what I meant by the 'fluids' of a free market. You know what, the concept on money and currency is just as tantalizing as the wind. Initially, people used to barter services(pre-historic). Then they realized that not everyone could barter a service in return of another good. For example, if you needed shoes, and the shoe seller was not interested in the goods you were willing to barter with him. This meant that you would never get your hands (rather feet) on a pair of shoes. Such incidents led to the invention of currency, which was "the universal barter of a service or a good" Now, services in the US are far more expensive than they are in India or Pakistan, and therefore, by the principle concepts of money, currency and its need, whatever we get seems penny to them, but it is far more valuable to us than you think bro!
Dear Friends, There is an excellent article dealing with the rates and other important questions of writing. I'd draw the attention of all writers to Jennifer Mattern's thoughts about the writing which is to be found here: allfreelancewriting.com Article title is: How to get high paying freelance writing jobs. Please read it and you will be get great answers to your questions. Hope it helps. Sandor
I do not think writing should be paid for based on the location of the writer. If you write well-researched articles that appeal to the reader in good English, you deserve to be paid more, whether you are in India or the US or Russia. I am in Singapore, and resent the insinuation by a few of my UK-based clients that I should drop prices. Times are hard right now, and they are hard for everyone. While I'm happy to cut a break for my long-standing clients, I will definitely not do so for new ones. In my opinion, only low quality, un-targeted writing is low-paying.
Hi damyanting, I agree with you on what you pointed out and favour your position. It is not possible to formulate the essence better at this. Many successes, Sandor
My location allows me to appreciate what some writers here are alluding to when it comes to dollar worth in different countries. However, after a few writing gigs, which I really appreciated, I know I am worth more than the cheap cents per word writers. I found out you will make more money if you write your own articles rather than giving well researched articles to someone to go and place it in an article directory. I say giving because at 1 ct a word, you are giving away your skills for free. If you value yourself, your location is not important. If you also value your health, writing more than 5 articles a day is totally unhealthy. What happens when you fall sick? I went through that, came back and got my previous clients to increase their rates. Guess what, they were more than happy to do that. Why? Because my work is damn good. Ipso facto I will charge more. If you think you are cheap, then continue writing cheap material.
I agree Emassa.. increasing rates is good, and necessary. But rather than crying over the low rates, which have been discussed so many times, why don't we just change it for good? I got a writing gig at $5/100 words and the guy gave me a week. After a week, when I turned-around his work, this was his review- " Your articles were damn good, but Jeewant, I have people writing at 1/10th the rate, and I just need the articles for the sake of putting some content on my website, I dont care if its quality or pathetic"... so, I decided to do the "real" gigs once in a while and focus on better volumes to get a steady income flow from then on!
I'm wondering why people are still yapping about price, and completely ignoring the far more important concept of value. Value doesn't change with geography people. You decide which market to target. You either market yourself effectively at the goal rates you've set for yourself, or you don't and the cheaper gigs might start looking more appealing. But if you're offering a certain level of value to clients in that target market, that's what your rates should be based on - not where you live. The clients offering most "real gigs" aren't in the same market as those who would ever say they don't care if it's pathetic - if you're coming across both, the problem is in your targeting... not the inability to get more of those better gigs you want, doing what smart service providers have always done - earn as much as you can for as little time as you can, as time is a finite resource that you can never get back once spent.
I share the same sentiments with many fellow DP'ers who have posted here, and I would like to state that even though there are many who offer "cheap rates", good writers(price no bar) are never out of work. Just look into the Content Creation forum, there is a myriad number of writers available, whose services are dirt cheap to say the least. Having used many of them, I observed that they must think twice before writing another article. Being a writer myself, I have tried to raise my rates, and got a few clients who were happy to pay the price. But then again, they came back after a few articles saying that they have found other writers who charge lesser rates. I don't understand how exactly are we supposed to "target" our services. It's only the content creation forum where we can post threads offering our services, but with so many writers flooding that forum, and with extremely cheap rates, there is no other option but to offer discounts, lower rates etc. Any light thrown in this direction would be a great help.. How to look for DP'ers for whom money is not an issue.
If the only place you're looking for clients is the content creation forum of DP, that's your first problem. DP is just a supplementary source. It should be a portion of a larger marketing effort; not a sole source of clients. At the same time, constantly advertising the same things over and over here every week or so comes across as spammy rather than professional (and you're technically not allowed to unless the previous deal actually expired and you've gotten the thread closed). You need to think about the image you want to portray, and then start portraying it. A good place to start is setting up a professional website, and linking to it from your signature. If you're choosing to charge rates in the same range as the poorer quality writers out there, then sadly, you're condemning yourself to competing with them. If you have the credentials and the portfolio to position yourself on a different level, then you won't have to give those folks another thought (well - if you know how to leverage them that is). 1. Get a professional website. 2. Specialize. 3. Showcase your knowledge in your specialty through blogging, forum posting, guest articles on higher profile sites, etc. 4. Network heavily with other writers (both those in direct competition and those in very different specialties). 5. Network heavily with members of your prospective client market. 6. If you insist on looking for advertised gigs (many of the best gigs are never advertised; hence the importance of networking), look in many places rather than just one. 7. Invest some of your "downtime" into creating your own sites, blogs, or informational products. Not only can they serve as portfolio pieces, but they can also bring in direct income, better position you as an expert in your specialty area, and attract new clients.
Some real good advice there. Am already thinking about creating my own blog. Thanks! Would it also help if I make my own CV...?? Read some pieces here and there about Writers CV.. Not sure if I can publish articles(as samples, on the CV) that I have already sold.. can I ? So I guess I'll have to write new one's and make sure they are good enough so as to market my skills. Nonetheless, thanks for the help.
I'm not Jenn, but then again you don't need experts to answer every question. Yeah. No, unless the buyers give permission.