Since AC is paying about $2-3 per article (400+ words) with a not so great acceptance rate and eHow pays per 1k pageviews. Would $1.00 to $2.00 be a competitive rate for 200 words or less How To Articles? More or Less and why?
I know a lot of people that pay for articles in the Internet Marketing Niche and they pay about $3 per article. A buddy of mine bought an article pack of 25 niche specific articles for $50 but he got break for buying so many. Have you thought about creating multiple articles and selling them as a bundle? Also I would check the article section of this forum. You may find more people who have more to offer about selling articles.
If this is true, why don't you go through Demand Studios to write for eHow and get $7.50 - $15 per article?
I think you're going to have a hard time hiring any writer if you're paying $1 per article. I don't think there's any standard market rate for articles.
Many writers have no idea what to charge and what is fair. The absolute best thing to do is try and find similar articles in your specific area and compare. If an article in your same field is only getting enough exposure to warrant selling for $3, which is absurd if you ask me, then you may have to chomp the bit and take it. However, you are the one in control, if you think its worth $20 and is unique content, then someone will eventually see it the same way and purchase it. Be patient, none of us were a success overnight.
The best way to know you're current rate is to look at how many articles you've written before. If you're just starting and haven't written more than 10 articles, then just do some for associatedcontent. Do 10 to 20 and get paid "something." Then, you're a paid writer on the internet (as opposed to a forum dweller or non-paid writer). After that, you've probably done enough to qualify for $3 to $5 dollar articles. Sites like textbroker pay better than asscontent. They'll rate your writing and give you tips to improve as you go along. Do enough of those until you're at least a level 4 writer (out of a possible 5). Finally, go for demandstudios, elance, ifreelance, etc. Go for $7 to $15 per article. Legal, financial, marketing, and a few other areas tend to pay better. Stay away from creative writing and fluffy/feely stuff if you want to see the $$$. Remember to improve your writing speed as you go. You want to get to a point where cranking out a 400 to 500-word article can be done in 15 minutes for subjects you know well. Hope those tips help.
*sigh* writing, plumbing, being a mechanic it's all the same. People this is a BUSINESS, which means minimum rates should be calculated. Simple cost + 30% profit = minimum rate for whatever you do. It is NOT rocket science.