In this thread is the worst copywriting job in the world

That's not true in the slightest, and I'm not sure where you got that idea. I run SixFigureWriters.com along with the help of a few other writers here, so I post the markets myself. I very often post online markets there, on our myspace blog, and in my freelance writing forum. WritersMarket.com also has a completely separate section on online consumer markets and online trade markets. Most writers market listings I come across regularly offer both print and online markets. You just have to look. There are also quite a few online markets that do pay print magazine rates (entrepreneur.com jumps to mind - I believe they're in the $1 / word range - there are lots of others if you just look through the listings - in our case the minimum rate we post now is $.05 / word, although we try to post higher ones the vast majority of the time).

DP isn't tailored to writers seeking online writing gigs in the slightest. Sites like these are geared towards the buyer, not the seller, especially when it comes to the going rates. The demand is out there for higher paying online writing work. You just have to find it. The good gigs are rarely advertised. You need to query, and you need to network to find out about them. A few months back, simple networking led to a $2000 gig popping out 10 articles that took no more than 30 minutes each to write - $400 / hr... not bad work. A lot of Web writers just assume everything paying decent rates is "above them," so they don't try. If you don't try and get some queries out, you'll never break in... that's really all there is to it. A lot of us are out there already doing the hard part for you. We're telling you exactly where to query and who to contact when we can (heck, I even post niches by request if people actually ask me to - if there's a niche you'd like covered Monday, let me know). Just query, query, query.

Just to give you a jumpstart, here are a few of our specific online market postings recently from SixFigureWriters, our forum at AllFreelancing (markets are only available to users with 20 posts), and our Myspace blog:

Labmice.net - starting at $.25 / word for articles 1000-1500 words
TechLearning.com - $400 + / article
CertCities.com - $200-300 / feature; $75 / review
ComputerUser.com - $500+ for most features
IntelligentEnterprise.com - averages $500 / feature for first-time authors with the site

Those are all tech-based markets I believe. There are tons out there in every niche. Heck, you can make more than the $.01-.03 (if that) that people tend to pick up in forums like this (not that you can't find better gigs if you look harder), by simply posting to sites like www.associatedcontent.com, or revenue-sharing sites like www.suite101.com or blog networks like www.creativeweblogging.com (think I have that url right).

 

I got that idea from looking at SixFigureWriters. The last two entries for freelance writers markets were for Technology and Childrens markets, correct? I looked at the entries and followed the links and I only saw one that offered online publishing component to their print magazine. Ergo, I assumed that it seemed that the majority were print oriented.

Well, this is what I was asking.

But there's not a website that caters solely to jobs for online writers, like say blogs hiring or people looking for content for their websites. That's what I was thinking of specifically. I think it's great that there are other markets out there paying higher rates for both online and print publications and thank you for mentioning a couple.

I understand, but I also see a lot of general advice and not too much specific advice. That is hard for a new writer to use to their advantage, no matter how many times you like to say that you're out there doing "the hard part" for people like me. Saying you got a job that paid $400/hr is great, but it's not like there's a specific website that you can point to and say "Go there, that's where the higher paying jobs are posted". Networking is vital to all professions and it sounds like higher paying jobs won't drop in your lap even if you're talented and on time

I think the problem I'm having is that there's not enough specifics being presented and at times it seems like there's a group hanging behind the high paying job and they won't mention details. I've seen a lot of posts from writers, some of whom appear in this thread, talking about how low paying jobs are beneath them but I also don't see those same writers offering new writers specific examples of where to go. You have now, and that's very kind and decent of you to do so.

 

We've done that too. Higher paying jobs are posted on sites like www.journalismjobs.com and www.mediabistro.com. There are definitely sites catering to online writers. I believe Problogger lists paid blogging gigs for example. You just have to look. Everything isn't going to be handed to you as a writer. It wasn't for anyone before you, and won't be for anyone after you. Even with sites catering to certain crowds, no job site is going to list every opportunity. You need to know your niche, and you need to know what kinds of jobs suit your needs. For example, we only post within a certain rate range. You can look in webmaster communities or any freelance job marketplace if you want lower-paying gigs.

Several of us have repeatedly told writers here and elsewhere exactly where to go for higher paying gigs. If you hang out at our forum, I've even practically given an example roadmap of exactly how I bypassed ever taking a low-paying per-piece writing gig where I lose all my rights (like what you'll often find in places like freelance marketplaces), all by a really simple writing/networking move, which in turn even helped me learn a lot about earning from my own sites. We're not going to take the time to keep repeating all of that though when it's already out there... it takes a lot of time to do that, and we're often too busy writing. The best things you can do if you want to succeed as a writer are the following:

1. Learn how to crunch the numbers properly to determine how much you really need to charge.

2. Network! Network! Network!

3. Learn how to write query letters.

4. Search the sites I mentioned above and otherwise look for writers markets.

5. Send them off. As you get good portfolio pieces, create an online and offline collection of your clips.

 

Well, I picked up an excellent copywriter from GetAFreelancer - 45 250-300 word pieces for $225 so it just goes to show that you can find quality at a cheap price.

I don't know if she was trying to build up a portfolio of work or what...but as a buyer I want the maximum quality for the lowest possible price and see nothing wrong in trying to get it.

Must agree that pennies per article is just ridiculous, however.

 

It doesn't sound like you hired a copywriter at all, but rather a "content writer" from your description of the project. There's a big pricing difference on those two fronts in most cases.

 

Um, I do know the difference although admittedly my description does make it sound like she was writing content.

Anyway, it was a bargain and I'm very happy.

 

Chant - it sounds like you want everything to be handed to you without having to work for it. That's not the way it works in the writing field, or any field for that matter. All of us at Six Figure Writers, the forum and our Myspace page do our best to guide writers into obtaining those high paying jobs.

However, we can only hand-hold so much before you have to step up to the plate and do some work yourself. We can give you the starting point; now, take the initiative and strive to be the best writer you can be. Target publications or online markets in your niche, network with other writers and research markets online to find something suitable for you.

 

I honestly do not like how some people on the net is making the business of writing/copywriting feel like it is a worthless mockery, when it is essentially the ESSENCE of a website. Fools.

 

i Would charge let me say 5000$ atleast for the same .

 

If that's what I am coming across as let me clear things up and say that is not what I intended. I've done countless queries and submissions to find the next freelance writing job and I know firsthand how hard it can be. Instead, I am just asking questions and expressing my experience as to what I have found online. For example, when I visited SixFigureWriters.com, I looked at the page and found two entries for freelance writing. I clicked on each of the entries and I skimmed over the information found on each of the respective websites, and I caught one that mentioned online job possibilities. I was merely saying what my experience was and also asking if there were writing websites that specialized in listing online writing assignments. Jen mentioned Problogger which is a site that I have never heard of before, so I've already been given an answer and something to look into for my question. My experience has been that I prefer the online writing more than print jobs, which is why I was specifying my questions to that area.

I definitely don't need any hand-holding. I know very well how much work any freelancer has to put in to look for that next job and I have the utmost respect for anyone that steps forward and shares information trying to help someone else make some money/put some food on their table.

I hope that clears some things up, and maybe it also helps put into perspective to our possible future employers that a freelance writer deserves to be paid fairly. We're all trying to make livings doing what we love to do.

 

Thank you for the clarification, Chant. I admire people like you who realize writing takes hard work and dedication - and that no amount of hand holding will substitute for talent and effort.

 

I wrote on getafreelancer for a while. But I was quick to opt out when I realised the general scenario.

Getafreelancer is notoriously famous for posting cheaply paid jobs. Rather than writing articles at such low rates for someone else, you can as well write it for yourself free of cost.

The funny thing is the buyers want original and good-quality content and complete rights to the articles for the meager payment they give. They dont even provide a testimonial for your website because they are themselves outsourcing the work given to them by somebody else to you.

 

hahah I agree. people will not really want to pay more than 10$ for a good article, so you are better off writing articles with quality content only for yourself. With a good article you can generate a sale or two or a few leads a day for really just taking the time to write something worth reading.

 

Just a proof of the tendency writers' work to be devalued.

As most of the visitors here have already mentioned, the only way to prevent this troubling tendency of spreading out, is keeping an adequate rate of one's own quality content and not selling it short...

 

Unfortunately that's because writers allow that work to be devalued. Those that stand strong with their rates tend to do quite well once they figure out their system. And hey, I'd much rather write one article for $1000 than have to take the time to write 1000 articles to make the same amount with a GAF-style client. More free time, more time to work on building and monetizing my own sites, and less to stress over. If other writers want to slave away that way, more power to them, but you certainly don't have to. And it's nice to see more writers over here talking about rates, maintaining them, and finding decent clients finally.

 

Hey Jenn, just wanted to give you a public thumbs up for suggesting the Problogger website to me. That website has a lot of good information about working and writing for blogs. Thank you!

 

People who really want to learn more on writing should stick to Jenn and talented writers joined together for the six-figure challenge.

 

Do you mean all the others are talking trash and can be ignored?

 

I don't think he means that at all, but rather was issuing a nice plug for the project some of us are working on to help writers struggling with these very issues.

Feel free to join us on AllFreelancing.com, our writer forum/playground.

Rebecca

 

Yap, I know. I was just kidding.