What's The Difference Between a $5 Article And A $50 Article

Someone needs to pull the short bus over and let this guy off.

Nigel

 

You bother about my co-called spam... but you don't bother about fraud. You don't want other to know that this man cheats. Why so?
As I understood - you're the second account of coreygeer? You're defending him too good.

 

Never spoken to the fellow and beat him here by 6 years... anyhooo..... hope you enjoyed your stay.

Nigel

 

Wonderful post! I have a month to go being a "desperate" writer willing to write 450+ words for $8 or less, then I will definitely be done with not valuing myself. Right now, I admit to being desperate, as I need a lot of money in a little time, and I need it paid daily. After this is over, I'll be able to work harder at getting better clients.

 

Excellent post Corey!
It's funny how many people think that a $5 article is going to be anything but junk.

 

Surely you jest!

Please stop, it's no longer funny.

Even the most ignorant of buyers understand the concept of quality.

Let me try to rephrase the original question (I can't believe that I am actually having this conversation with a writer).
What is the difference between a $5 and a $50 website designer?
What is the difference between a $5 and a $50 backlink?
What is the difference between a $5 and a $50 web hosting?

 

Although I feel you're just banging your head against a brick wall, I do applaud the effort.

 

You're not 'having' any kind of conversation with me. What you're having is a dry run of several failed attempts at cleverness and wit.

The difference between a $5 anything and a $205 anything remains the same -

B U Y E R P E R C E P T I O N

Every heard the saying, "One man's trash is another man's treasure"?

Meditate on that a bit before you post on this subject again.

 

Oh, I think I've succeeded fabulously, considering you couldn't even rebut any of the instances I provided.
Your argument is juvenile - you know it, I know it, and everyone reading knows it.
The question now is, do you have the courage to admit you were wrong and were rash in your initial post, or will you continue down this path of silliness?

 

You are the one who is coming across as a forum troll. Your questions were answered. It is all about ones perception. The buyers perception. You asked:

The difference is whether or not, as the buyer, I feel confident that I made the right decision to purchase a design from a particular designer, bought a backlink from the right site, or purchased the right hosting plan from the right company. That I truly did get a good deal for my money. That my money was well spent.

It's all about perception and personal preference. What I think about the product, service, and even the individual or company I choose to buy from. Price alone doesn't determine whether or not I purchase a product or service. It's the overall package and whether or not I feel that my money is well spent.

 

Do you even understand the meaning of a troll, and by extension, a forum troll?
I'll gladly explain it to you, if you do do not have access to either a dictionary or an internet connection. Just ask nicely.

Show me where she answered.

So in your mind, perception is greater than mastery of craft, originality, research, track record, conversion rates, ToT, and a plethora of other factors?
Answer plainly, so we may all determine your mental process.
That aside, when you buy a design, a backlink or a hosting plan, it is guided by a multitude of factors - not perception.
Do you even see how you are contradicting your own words?

You don't even understand the core of the discussion. lol.
You are confusing buying decision with pricing.
When people post in the BST, they are not basing their $5 on perception.

Do not try to justify market abuse and opportunism in DP with this crap about perception.
There is a reason why some webmasters are paying their writers $100 for a 500 word article.
There is a reason why the copywriter for the second highest selling product on CB earned a five figure compensation.
There is a reason why syndicated writers earn in excess of seven figure annual income.
Understand those reasons first before making another set of ridiculous arguments.[/quote]

 

The issue really has to do with the flawed perception of many clients. They have poor reading and comprehension skills. If you go to BST (services/content creation), you'll quickly notice writers selling their services at next to nothing prices. Their thread posts are full of grammatical and spelling errors. The clients come on and write that they have sent them a PM.
Clearly these perspective clients don't know the difference between poorly or well written content. To these clients there is no difference between a $5 versus a $50 article. Of course they don't receive the desired results from said article, and can't understand why.

The people I work with/for are educated and sophisticated. They proof.read everything and have a high standard, and are willing to ask/pay big $$$.
The equation is simple enough:
Good writers=good clients.
Bad writers=bad clients.

 

Of course you do - you can't see anything beyond that inflated sense of self-importance you're dragging around.

I didn't have to. The premise remains the same, regardless of what the product for sale is. If a buyer does not perceive it to be of value to them, they are not going to buy it - REGARDLESS of price.

Well, yes - I suppose it might be...but that's only because I had to dumb it down to a juvenile level for you to understand it.

With courage, I admit that I was not rash in my initial post where I realized you were a dumbass, but decided to respond anyway.

The probability of my continuing down this path of busting your balls is directly proportional to how keen you are on continuing to post in a tone and manner which calls for it.

 

Apparently a lengthy argument has ensued here.

Everyone as their own points they've made in here.

Yes, obviously clients who know their own worth will charge more and I think many of us know what you're getting for $1 per article or hell, even $10 per article. However, as said, a lot of clients who want to pay those rates aren't going to value a $50 article any higher than a $5 article while they expect the exact same quality to be handed to them.

Some people are cheap and some people just aren't going to pay a higher price no matter what you say.

So why do some writers charge higher rates?

You're going to have terrible writers and foreigners who barely speak 3 words of English who apply for $50 per article jobs, a higher price doesn't always mean someone's good at what they do. Hell, my last landlord charged $50-100 per T-shirt she made in her store when you could just buy the same thing from Walmart for $5 and she thought the stuff she was making was absolutely amazing.

Some writers charge higher rates so they don't spend all day cranking away words just to make a living. It's far better to spend hours on one article than to spend 10 minutes per $5 article just quickly typing away to get your quick payment.

Some clients think that SEO or filler content should only cost $5 and some clients think that they should only have to pay $25 for sales pages. I'm done trying to educate or convince anyone that they're wasting their time/money. It's far better to just let those people be and to let them go about their business with how they choose to do business. If they manage to turn $5 content into a profitable empire, then good for them. Will they? More than likely not...

Truthfully, the cheap clients will more than likely end up quitting IM altogether and cursing the cheap writers they hired for getting them penalized in Google. They come around, they ask for a couple of articles or some even ask for bulk work done at a ridiculously cheap rate. They have stupid high standards and they end up hiring a couple of people for their content needs. In the end, their demands usually aren't met because the cheap clients usually have super high standards and they'll wonder why their content they bought for cheap isn't raking in the visitors.

I've tried to educate client on why trying to write for the sole purpose of ranking high is bad and why you should shy away from cheap pricing structures but you know what, I'd rather they learn their own lesson.

 

So in other words, name calling, personal insults, more posturing - but not a single rebuttal to any of the points I've raised. lol.
Here's the simple truth: quality commensurate with price. Not "perception," as you so spectacularly proclaimed.

You realize this now, but are just too invested, too proud and lack the courage to admit it.
How wonderful it would be if pricing is all a matter of perception.
I, and I suspect many others, wouldn't have wasted years of our lives perfecting our craft.

 

Interesting topic. I am struggling with finding new clients too, but have enough alternate options to shun all the cheapskates. I am thinking of building my own website, and start writing for myself.

 

You make some interesting points, but that is not true, at least not completely true. Even I thought the same previously, but this study changed my own perceptions about it to some extent.

Let me quote a few paragraphs from the study:

So, it can summarised that you are both right and wrong at the same time. Right how? Buyers do go for perceived value rather than price. Wrong how? Because the perceived value is not fixed and can change with the agent providing it and a host of other factors.

If I have understood this wrong, please explain it to me.

Thanks

Edit: I linked the study, but it seems to have vanished after posting. Here it is: http://firstmonday.org/ojs/index.php/fm/article/view/866/775

 

Price is but one factor in determining the value of something. Those who define the value of their own work or the work of other's based solely on price are unlikely to be able to build a sustainable business.

 

"If you pay peanuts, you get monkeys"!

As usual, the old saying applies. If I was in your position I would do what you recommend – up your prices, and find some other work to cover you while you're building up a client base who appreciates your skills.

You need to value your own skills and work to hone them to maintain your dignity. And increase your income – which is only right. There are enough content buyers out there who appreciate what is good and what is rubbish. Some of them will get to like you, trust you and use you regularly.

From the buyer's perspective it's often a question of: "I pay $.01 per word and often get rubbish: I pay $.05 a word and often get rubbish." So some people say why not continue to pay one centre word.

The truth is that if you pay $.05 a word (or $.04 a word) you are 50 times more likely to get a decent article. Yes, you will also get some garbage – but that's why you have to do your due diligence.

As with all outsourcers it requires a lot of searching to find the needle in the haystack. But once you do you have found someone you can make part of your team – hopefully for the long term.

It must be very annoying having buyers putting you in the same category as people writing rubbish. But then if you turn the tables it means that you have to search through a lot of buyers before you find the ones who will appreciate your skills. They are out there!

Rob

 

Robert, you sound like a self-esteem coach and you put the right energy behind those words. I have a couple of perfect clients against a multitude of monkey-hunters. The first step is to learn how to say no to cheap offers. That alone saves time and money one can invest in search for perfect clients. Writing is art, and art needs inspiration. I want to enjoy my work.

I am grateful for this thread, Corey. You pushed me towards what I aspire for.