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Content writing is about to lose its value

Discussion in 'Copywriting' started by HomeDesigner, Jun 9, 2013.

  1. TextServices

    TextServices Active Member

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    #41
    Content writing is not going to lose value. There are well paying buyers out there. A lot of the perception that there are very few buyers who will pay well is due to the fact that the cheap asses have flooded the forums and resources like oDesk. These places are just one section of a very large market. There are so many ways for a skilled writer to earn money online and offline. One just has to break out of the forum and oDesk bubble.

    It's a tough go in the beginning when you're trying to establish yourself and get the income flowing. It takes time. There's no shortcut. Sure, take some cheap jobs to build a portfolio and get a little cash flowing, but don't think you are going to earn a full-time wage from these low paying buyers. You shouldn't look to this market for full-time income. Use this market for quick cash.

    - Build a professional website. It's a valuable and necessary tool.
    - Build a blog or several blogs. Monetize them. The money from Adsense and selling ad space adds up. The more established the blog becomes, the more you earn. Blog daily.
    - Guest post. (people do follow links in bylines)
    - Contact companies directly and professionals directly. SEO, website designers, marketers, professionals in a niche specific field... People who have websites with blogs, almost always need content. I've earned some well paying clients this way. Some of them I have been working with for years. If there website content doesn't need an overhaul and their blog is in good health, they may hire you for other projects they need a writer for. You never know until you make the effort to contact them and let them know you are a writer looking for work.

    - Join affiliate programs and use your writing skills to your advantage in marketing products and services.
    - Build a social media presence.
    - Use resources such as LinkedIn.
    - If you are skilled in a trade, have knowledge in a particular field or hobby, are a parent, good at a particular sport,... participate in forums, groups, social media - places where these people gather. Become a part of the community. Advertise that you offer writing services. A lot of these people have websites and blogs or are in need of content for marketing and they will pay for it. Some people want to start a site or blog and hold off because they are not good at writing. Not everyone knows about DP, oDesk and the likes or they have not had a good experience with the resource, so they won't use it. Some people are intimidated by joining oDesk, elance, even DP and WF because these places are out of their comfort zone. They prefer places / online communities with people that share their interests.

    People hire a writer or writers because they are not skilled in writing the content themselves, their time is better spent on other tasks, or they simply do not have the time. A skilled writer will always be in demand. It takes time to get the word out and build an online presence. The first year is brutal. The key is to build multiple sources of income and market yourself daily. The effort will pay off. Your work gets out there. The well paying buyers will take notice.

    - Never ever appear as though you need the money. Buyers will walk all over you and it's hard to get them to pay well when they know you're hungry and/or just starting out.

    - Don't be arrogant. Be confident. There is a huge difference.

    - Don't mention you are just starting out. Wait for them to ask. A lot won't ask. Let the quality of your work and your professionalism interest them and ultimately order from you.
     
    TextServices, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  2. Spoiltdiva

    Spoiltdiva Acclaimed Member

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    #42
    That's the ticket right there. Too many novice writers lack the confidence to assert themselves and take the message to the people, who can make a difference in their writing careers.
     
    Spoiltdiva, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  3. oo87

    oo87 Well-Known Member

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    #43
    This has been happening for years, but I haven't seen proof of the market collapsing. There are clients who are looking for cheap as dirt rates, but they end up having to accept badly written content. Most aren't willing to do that, and so pay standard rates for the particular content they are asking for.

    As for good writers who charge cheaper rates, that happens. It is just the learning curve many of us (myself included) went through in the very beginning as they built some experience and credentials. Think of it as an internship: plenty of places have them, but they don't provide all of their work to their interns.

    There is no reason to panic. We are all still making a living, and if you are struggling to find clients it might just be time to check out some new places for fresh opportunities.
     
    oo87, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  4. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #44
    The only thing I have found with some clients is that they can be very demanding, I have had one recently who asked me to do something which I hadn't done before (I told him this) so I had to do some research about it, I also had my kids off school for the holiday (which I also told him). The project took longer than expected and he got quite grumpy and hasn't paid me for the work once completed. I am not sure if this is standard practice and if I should be slightly annoyed. the work wasn't paying great but then again I am kinda used to that :)
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  5. oo87

    oo87 Well-Known Member

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    #45

    Some clients aren't good. Push him to pay, make sure the content hasn't been used somewhere, all the standard stuff. Then drop him as a client. There is no need to work with someone who is unprofessional and demanding.
     
    oo87, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  6. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #46
    I don't think I could work with him again anyway, some of the emails he sent me were quite 'short' basically accusing me of stalling and not doing the work. I wouldn't mind but I always keep my clients informed if I am out of the 'office' for a day etc. Still, I guess it's a learning curve :)
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  7. TextServices

    TextServices Active Member

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    #47
    If he accepted the work, then he owes you the money for it. Some clients are total jerks and will delay paying you simply because the project went longer than expected and the client had to wait. However, do not let the client slip on paying you. Don't contact him 10 times a day every day, but don't let it go a week or more without contacting him.
     
    TextServices, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  8. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #48
    He hasn't contacted me at all, even after I sent him an invoice. I thought I would get an email saying he wouldn't pay it but I have heard absolutely nothing.
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  9. Senobia

    Senobia Notable Member

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    #49
    How is this fair to anyone, but low grade writers who can't command a decent wage on their own?


    Then don't accept it. Nobody is forcing you to accept any rate you're not happy with. YOU set your rate, not the buyers.


    No! People in their right minds slave away for HALF A CENT PER WORD all the time! /end sarcasm

    This is the kind of mindset that allows people to be taken advantage of. No amount of 'charge more, charge more, you're worth it' is going to change their minds.


    Then STOP accepting the crap jobs! OMG HOW many times does it have to be said? So long as you keep accepting them, they are going to keep coming. If you don't like the offers in one market, CHANGE YOUR MARKET. Move on. Look elsewhere. Market YOURSELF to potential clients.

    Good LORD, DP is not the Be All End All of content writing jobs, people.
     
    Last edited by a moderator: Jun 10, 2013
    Senobia, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  10. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #51
    I meant that it would even the playing field, it also might mean that the decent writers would then get a little more work at a decent price, it is all well and good saying to set your own prices, and I agree with this but some people take the view that some work is better than no work. Writing seems to be largely based on reputation which is difficult to get without work, should people be forced to take low paying jobs just because they are new to it and need to get their reputation increased?
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  11. Senobia

    Senobia Notable Member

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    #51
    Why is landing decent paying gigs 'extra tough' for you? Because you're a single mother of three?

    So am I.

    Therefore your logic does not compute for me.


    You have two choices.

    1. Refrain from being part of the supply by demanding a decent wage.
    2. Suck it up, continue to belly slide along the bottom and quit whining about it.
     
    Senobia, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  12. Senobia

    Senobia Notable Member

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    #52

    It's based on skill. Not who you know, but what you know. You don't have to hold a claim to a SINGLE published, purchased piece. You can write whatever you want, whenever you want and put together a portfolio at the time of YOUR choosing - and every one of them is a sample. If you have samples to provide people that demonstrate what you can do, therein lies your merit.
     
    Senobia, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  13. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #53
    I do have a small portfolio on my site, this is within my niche and I do direct people there. The content is not to everybody's taste but I feel it does show my writing skills and is something I am working on improving and expanding. I am also working on another site to show the other side of what I do and maybe that will help too.
    I have actually stopped looking for work here as it is just not working out for me and this is the first time I have been on DP for a while due to other commitments.
    I intend to take on board your comments and re-evaluate my advertising strategy and see what happens. :D
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  14. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #54
    @Senobia, I am interested to hear how you managed when you were fresh to the writing market?
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  15. Senobia

    Senobia Notable Member

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    #55

    I started writing for magazines. I had no clips. No experience. No formal training. I just started applying to calls for content when I would see them. I got far more rejections than I did acceptances, but in the end it evened out. I did that for a while, but the pitch and query process burned me out within a couple of years.

    So I went into business for myself, so to speak - landing my own clients. I did this the same way I tell everybody else to do it - I wrote, wrote and wrote some more. I called it a portfolio and I put it on a website. I would show people my 'portfolio' when I would apply to ads as a resume' of sorts. There were a lot of times in the beginning that I had NO IDEA what the client meant by what he was asking. So I faked it. *laughs* And quickly researched what he was talking about online and followed that example. Press releases are an example of this. I had never in my life written one and didn't know if I could. But I did. And I got $50 for my first one. Was this too much? Was it enough? Hell, I don't know. I pulled the price out of my arse on the spot and they paid it. *laughs*

    Nobody has to know you've never been paid a dime to write in your life. They want to see what you CAN do, not what you've been paid to do in the past.

    Save the negotiations and deals for later. Use them for regular clients you know will be back or for promos to attract new business from time to time. If you don't value your craft, your talent and your time - nobody else will.
     
    Senobia, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  16. Emma Pollard

    Emma Pollard Active Member

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    #56
    Maybe I need to work on my confidence too then. I know what you mean about the research for doing stuff you don't know as I have done this myself :)
     
    Emma Pollard, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  17. HomeDesigner

    HomeDesigner Well-Known Member

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    #57
    I couldn't agree more with what you are saying, Whether you are a good writer or not, you will come across some bad times when no client will contact you.
    what I was trying to explain in a previous comment is, I'd rather charge a reasonable yet decent amount for my articles, spend as much time as it's requires to do some researches and read about related articles to what I'm writing about, Add the my personal touch and style and come up with a master piece, than writing a normal article or blog post which has no taste, but full of keywords to attract search engines attention as my first concern, though I believe most blog owners would go for the second option, that's why writing is not my 1st source of income, but I enjoy the process of clean writing.

    Most of clients think that they own you once they hire you, first they seem to be a cute cat with glossy and burnished eyes since they are into your writing style, once the deal is done, expect a tiger to show up out of nowhere, therefore, a writer should get used to it ( as you stated ) and consider it as an education for himself, you had no idea about that kind of thing he asked you for, but now you do, consider yourself paid already, the article, information and researches are there, someone will think of grabbing them someday for sure.

    This seems to be a good plan to start with, a good presence will grab attention and attract clients, If you market yourself Daily and keep on the hard work and dedication, you will not fail, or you may partially fail but the failure will not be as hard as if you didn't try at all, the effort always pays off.
    You should have mentioned that any writer should deliver what he was paid for, because the trick of making an outstanding and notable piece of article fir a cheap price to make the client come back doesn't really work often.
    Again, I say that the quality of any work will speak on your behalf.
    What I do understand from this is that you are a pure example of a strong will, motivation and dedication, rejection in the very beginning of one's career is unbearable, but you continued not giving a damn about it, an honest salute from my side, English is my third language and it's kind of hard to put it better than this, but i guess I made my appreciation crystal clear. I would recommend you if I had the chance to.


    Thanx everyone !
    Give more importance to your online presence since it matters nowadays.
     
    HomeDesigner, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  18. Alyssa Lochmore

    Alyssa Lochmore Member

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    #58
    I think the amount of research required plus the time it takes to write an article are the two main factors affecting price. Usually writers charge less money per word for articles that require very little research and only take maybe a half hour to write. The articles that require hours of research of course cost more.
     
    Alyssa Lochmore, Jun 10, 2013 IP
  19. Thriftypreneur

    Thriftypreneur Member

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    #59
    If you look on the ground you're going to find dirt. Look to the trees and you'll find the fruit.

    If you wanna get paid a real wage for your writing abilities, you'll NEVER (ok, maybe not never, but rarely) find high paying clients on fiverr, textbroker, or some other random place that is swamped with people selling 500 words for $1.

    If you wanna get paid, you need to look toward the trees. Legitimate, successful website/blog owners are ALWAYS in need of more content. It's something they literally can never have enough of. The one complaint I hear, time and time again, is that it's so hard to find high-quality writers. And this complaint is coming from people who don't care to pay $30, $50 or more for a 1000 word article. They simply want the content.

    The people you want as your clients don't have time to write their own content because their time is worth more than the cash they're paying you to write it. Why do you think they would have the same amount of time to hunt and find YOU on some random forum or job site that is flooded with low-quality writers?
    TextServices said it well, you need to go find these people. Pitch them, offer a free article, whatever - the person who takes the most action is the one who will reap the rewards. You only need a handful of premium clients before the referral business will start to overwhelm you. Quality writers are in the highest demand they've ever been in - especially since Google is cracking the whip on low-grade content.

    In closing, stop looking on the ground and expecting to find unspoiled fruit! Take action, climb those trees and get the ripe stuff.

    Good luck.
     
    Thriftypreneur, Jun 10, 2013 IP
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  20. oo87

    oo87 Well-Known Member

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    #60
    A quick note to add to what Thriftypreneur said (great advice, by the way!). When you find a good client paying a decent rate, stick with them. Then ask if they can recommend you to others in their network that might need content written.

    Almost all of my work is now referral based, and it also adds a certain amount of security, since you already know the person who referred them. It is a simple way of getting new clients in the same pay bracket.
     
    oo87, Jun 11, 2013 IP