I'm kind of tickled by the influx of posts on the CC forum from buyers who state things like "I know it's a low rate so only apply if you agree to it. Don't spam my thread with comments about it." Has anyone else noticed this and should we hope this is the beginning of a revolution for the rest of us?
Why not be indifferent? What bothers you? Everyone is free to price himself, so the buyers are. Just move on to the next thread or leave this place.
Why should I leave this place? Does the competition bother you? Fret not, omarabid! I can almost promise you we are not after the same clients..and never will be.
@Senobia - yes, you are right. I have noticed an increase in buyers getting defensive over the paltry amounts they are offering. As far as I know this is mainly due to three things: - A thread by Kraven2 named "The return of Slavery". It was a scorcher on the copywriting subforum. Then some person went and created a follow-up thread in BST calling for vote on whether DP should impose a minimum amount per word. Several people voted, most of them writers, though I am sure that thread was noticed and read by many buyers. This was a major point in shaking the roots of BST penny pushers. - I noticed that increasingly more and more writers were objecting openly to the $0.15 per 100 words pay being offered all around on BST. The buyers obviously were not really pleased LOL - Dyadvisor's crusade against these people who were ready to hire for pennies and against writers who were happy to work for those morsels. A revolution never comes in a day. But these continuous happenings have made an impact in due course of time and I am sure that effects are becoming more visible now.
This is great news. DP has always been a cesspool of low pay, and hopefully we will see the end of it soon.
This statement is common. Almost all buyers on freelancing sites such as Freelancer.com would use such a statement. It is not a surprise to see more than 10 users applying for such a job. Although everyone is free to put a price, the price has to be reasonable.
Nope. I am afraid that it will always be like this. On such boards, that is. Can't fault the owners, though. They have to keep advertising in mind. It's business.
When there is much crap, browsing for the right job will be more expensive than the job itself; thus leave the place. It's no longer a fit. If you have find some kind of algorithm to take it into profitability, let us know.
Thanks mate, there are many optimists in this forum and I am sure that, with their concerted effort, we shall soon see a new dawn. However, there is one foul mouth pessimist, whose sole task is damaging the constructive efforts of the optimists. I am surprised by his continuous use of vulgar terms. He has even gone to the extent of maligning the integrity of citizens of an entire country. I strongly doubt that he has problems with his bowel movements and that he urgently needs colon cleansing because his feces, instead of being naturally flushed out of his body through the rectum, comes out of his mouth. It could also be due to acid reflux. @Omarbid: I am not referring to you mate.
No, this is simply not correct! I had an argument with a buyer who was trying to pay lower rates, well let's just say a slightly heated discussion, and the end result was that he ended up giving me my rate. If there is a problem with a "place" and you see potential to change certain aspects of it, I believe in sticking around and trying.
This time it was a slightly heated discussion. The next I don't know. It may take a year for the buyer to answer your PMs. For me, not really worth the trouble.
There seems to be two kinds of writers on the Internet. First, there are people who speak very good English and have proper grammar who write high quality articles. Then there are writers from places like India, Malaysia, and Bangladesh who don't have very good English and often times are just spinning articles with software. Sometimes buyers aren't looking for high quality articles. If you don't like a buyer's asking price, don't bid on their job. I've found that many people are willing to pay more once they realize what $1.00 per 500 word article gets them.
Sigh! Not again! I agree with you that there are many Indians who do not possess a proper grasp over the Queen's English, but that does not imply that all of them are the same. You mentioned that there are people who speak very good English and have proper grammar. However, you did not mention their country of origin as you did while mentioning about writers from places like Bangladesh, India, and Malaysia. Do people have proper grammar? Ok! I assume that you were implying. Still, possessing good oratory skills in any language does not mean that the person concerned also has good writing skills.
I really wish I could agree with you, but my experiences in this business don't allow for that to happen. When I first started hiring writers, I took applications from all countries because I wanted to give everyone a chance. I really thought that there could be some people from the aforementioned countries who can write well in English. After awhile, I learned that I'm better off only taking applications from places like the United States, UK, Canada, etc. I don't know how many writers from India I've interviewed and tried to work with, but all of them have failed to provide me with quality work. There have probably been around 50 people from those countries that I've worked with, and I would say that is a pretty good sample size.
I've found that the employers putting little value on having good content on their B2B/B2C websites almost always never make a successful business. The rule seems to be, "Think cheap and you attract cheap customers." I used to not like it, as I thought it devalued the time and thought that I put into creating excellent content that converts leads into customers. But now that I've found clients that pay me big bucks for my copywriting (and in return the content I give them makes them money), I like having the cheap writers/employers around. It keeps them busy while I make better money.