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Quality articles for peanuts? are they serious?

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by JulieDavies, Oct 23, 2010.

  1. #1
    Looking through the various freelance websites, I am amazed at the work being offered, there are clients out there looking for high quality articles for $1 per 400-500 words? I fail to see how anyone can work for such a low price, or how any client can offer such a low price to begin with and expect quality in return? I have spent many years writing quality content for various clients, and I find it insulting, or is it just me?
     
    JulieDavies, Oct 23, 2010 IP
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  2. smallbusinessguy

    smallbusinessguy Peon

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    #2
    You bet people will be ready to work for such amounts. The reasons is that in underdeveloped countries a dollar can mean a days existence or even pushed to two days. All it takes them is around 1 hour max to write that article. If they can spend 8 hours writing they would make 8$ a day which would result in 240$ a month. This is close to what a IT professional is paid in his starting stages in India.
     
    smallbusinessguy, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  3. sagarrai000

    sagarrai000 Peon

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    #3
    yes your absolutely right...let me add my point too.

    i too has much experience with freelancers ,many more writers are very much ready to write the articles for very less price.Because that much competition is there in all over the web, the people who nominate them self's they really don't know about internet world.They are dedicated for simply sitting and writing.
     
    sagarrai000, Oct 24, 2010 IP
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  4. blaine78

    blaine78 Active Member

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    #4
    This is one of the reasons why I took a long break from content writing and turned my attention to other things. I'm actually disgusted by what people are offering and yet expect high quality stuff. However, I blame those desperate writers who sell themselves short by accepting these ridiculous offers. These kinds of offers would not be so common if there were not writers jumping at them.

    It is just too challenging to sit down and write a good 400/500 article and then turn around and accept peanuts for it. I'm sorry.
     
    blaine78, Oct 24, 2010 IP
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  5. Mystique

    Mystique Well-Known Member

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    #5
    Working for peanuts is a topic we have discussed previously and it's certainly an insult for a serious writer, while it's at a time the basis of a vicious circle.

    Peanut writers accept any assignment regardless how demanding it is, but usually returning crap articles for such a low payment. Potential clients are then educated to offer little money, expecting great quality, but complaining afterwards for the low quality content they get, and still refusing to pay more for a quality writer in the believe all writers are just the same.

    There are clients who are willing to pay for quality content though, problem is get yourself hired through the right gigs that pay what your work is worth.
     
    Last edited: Oct 24, 2010
    Mystique, Oct 24, 2010 IP
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  6. Rubbish

    Rubbish Well-Known Member

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    #6
    Cheaper writer goes with poor/ bad quality articles and this is a fact. I'm agree with this live by one dollar per day but also reflects the quality of the products you will receive.
     
    Rubbish, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  7. ChristineR

    ChristineR Peon

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    #7
    Looking for articles? First do a search for "free articles". There are countless thousands of free plr articles available online. Check for language (heaps are written by people who don't have english as their first language) and good content... and then set about rewriting. I also found some good quality packs of niche articles at TheArticleCollectiondotcom
     
    ChristineR, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  8. premiumwriting

    premiumwriting Peon

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    #8
    Yes, some writers will work for peanuts. They typically suck. When it comes to writing, you get what you pay for. The buyers who want to pay $1 per article are going to be forced to accept lower quality, which actually hurts them in the long run. An information-poor article written in broken English does absolutely nothing to help build a brand online.
     
    premiumwriting, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  9. smallbusinessguy

    smallbusinessguy Peon

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    #9
    Just had a quick look at the DP marketplace. I just cant believe it. The SEO industry is getting destroyed!!!
     
    smallbusinessguy, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  10. boomer_mitra

    boomer_mitra Active Member

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    #10
    you must be thinking that most of the clients offer such low price and demand high quality contents from the poor fellows. But the real fact is the guys from under developing countries usually offer their service for peanuts on different forums just to show their friends and families that money can come from internet. lol
     
    boomer_mitra, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  11. smallbusinessguy

    smallbusinessguy Peon

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    #11
    That's true. But once people mature as an online writer, they charge more. I am thinking about launching a content writing service, but I will never compete with cheap rates. Will see what DP forum has in store for me
     
    smallbusinessguy, Oct 24, 2010 IP
  12. premiumwriting

    premiumwriting Peon

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    #12
    Folks, seriously, stop panicking over the low-rate writers. Nike doesn't go out of business just because you can buy cheap Nike knock offs on a street corner. The exact same rules apply to this business. Build a reputation, build a brand, build a client base, deliver great results, and you'll be fine. If someone pays some guy in Bangladesh $2 per article instead of coming to me, that's their loss - they will end up with content that sucks, and won't make anywhere near as much money in the long run as they could have had they used me.
     
    premiumwriting, Oct 24, 2010 IP
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  13. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #13
    Sorry friend, but you are way off mark. even an Indian peon gets the sum mentioned above. Nowadays, you cannot survive for a complete day on a single dollar... even in India. Where does the question of underdeveloped countries arise? Search a few online sites like this one and you will find that even citizens of developed and overdeveloped (yes, extreme freedom with credit cards et al led to the global financial crisis circa 2008) undertake and deliver work for a single dollar.

    This has nothing to do with the country. It is the undercutting mentality at play.
     
    parsibagan, Oct 25, 2010 IP
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  14. digitalbet

    digitalbet Peon

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    #14
    Till now i didn't had very much success with cheap Indian IT products. Not sure for article writing, but believe it's the same.
    I tried to have work with some cheap Indian programmers and that didn't go well.
    They are telling you they can do anything in price and time, and when time comes, it shows they are not eligible to do what they are telling you they can.
    Just want to say, we can't expect to get some work done right for that much low price. Just waste of time, but don't say all of them are terrible, maybe there is some of them with good work, but need to have luck to find them
     
    digitalbet, Nov 7, 2010 IP
  15. parsibagan

    parsibagan Active Member

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    #15
    Rest assured that there are some decent article writers out there. :)
     
    parsibagan, Nov 8, 2010 IP
  16. digitalbet

    digitalbet Peon

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    #16
    agree! It's sure that not all are bad from India off course. Just a lot of cheap and less quality work from India are giving a bad picture of Indian services unfortunately.
     
    digitalbet, Nov 8, 2010 IP
  17. coolcrystal

    coolcrystal Member

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    #17
    Yeah some people provide good articles with low costs. :)
     
    coolcrystal, Nov 16, 2010 IP
  18. alexurotaru

    alexurotaru Active Member

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    #18
    My approach is a quite different because when I choose to hire someone , I usually think about the long term strategy. By offering small projects with a an over-the - market fee , I have the change to be absolutely flooded with prospects. And let me tell you ... you start to see patterns really quickly in terms of past performance , overall skill and flexibility simply by taking a look at their samples and previous work experience. There's no better overall indicator then their past performance.

    Think about top companies recruit their entry-level personal? How are they making sure that have the best chances to attract long term applicants who will add many times fold the money they are spending by investing in them?

    I usually end up with terrific writers/workers with almost half the price. After a while , when the time comes to upgrade their pay level , everyone will be happy based on performance and skill level expectations....
     
    alexurotaru, Nov 16, 2010 IP
  19. netyourown

    netyourown Greenhorn

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    #19
    A few months ago I put myself up for hire in one of the freelance sites, and since I have a business background and am a native English speaker, there was no problem getting work offered. The generic prices from many being touted was $1:50 per 400 word original articles and Oh! a raise to $2.25 when you had proved yourself. Given I needed some income I kept plugging away, but the expectation was about 50+ articles minimum a day and they had to be completed within a 24hrs timeframe, unfortunately for me in Aus. they kept getting the time zone wrong so I got a 7hrs per night if I was lucky to get them done. If you don't complete you don't get paid. Much as I needed the money I couldn't keep up that pace 7 days a week. The irony is I love writing as a rule but that just became slave labour.
     
    netyourown, Nov 16, 2010 IP
  20. contentboss

    contentboss Peon

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    #20
    It is possible depending on the scenario. For example, there are 'article wizard' tools that basically allows you to stitch together snippets of text. If you then spin it with a quality spinner (eg contentboss :) you effectively have a unique article at least as far as the client is concerned and it will have taken no more than 3 minutes to create. That's an effective $20 an hour.

    So it really depends on the discernment of the client.
     
    contentboss, Nov 16, 2010 IP