It's not that I took something personally. You talked about "high end" as though it were in some way negative, and I was simply explaining why many of the pros here ignore cheap clients - there's more to it than the money. "Cheap content" on DP most often involves one of two things: 1. The SE spam variety of SEO content (written solely for search engines and not really for readers), or 2. Rewritten work (which is often a copyright violation). Maybe I'm misunderstanding you again, but your post also seems to imply that it's alright to accept "cheap" gigs solely because the client's goal is to fill the website with a good amount of content. In reality, clients are out there happy to pay much more than those "cheap" rates you see publicly advertised here, with that very same motivation. It isn't only about professional copy versus general content writing. Content writing of the variety you're mentioning comes in a wide range of pay ranges, and like in any other field you'll find professionals and amateurs, often earning drastically different rates. Any hobby writer can earn a few bucks and call themselves a professional. That word alone means very little. Some might say it applies to anyone making money, some may say you have to be earning a living at it, and I know others who won't refer to anyone as a professional without a professional degree - legal, medical, etc. in regulated fields. In freelance writing, the ones who get the higher paying gigs are generally the ones who are better at marketing their services. If someone wants to call themselves a professional while accepting $10 per hour, more power to them. If they want to refer to themselves as one at $100+ more hour, hey, great for them too. If you think your time is worth $x, then strive to earn $x. The problem that many of the higher paid writers here work to rectify though is the fact that too many new writers don't feel they're earning what they're worth, but they're lied to about supposed overall market standards that truly do not exist. Since we're sharing general feelings though, here are mine: If you're happy earning less than you could be for the same work, by all means, stick with it. That's great for you. But it seems silly to me to talk about the supposed egos of those earning more than you, especially when most of the people here sharing those experiences are actually quite successful at what they do. There's no need to criticize people who have a lot to offer to help you improve. I'm far from the highest paid writer, even of those I know here on DP. When those doing better than I am have something to say about how they do it, I listen. That's the only way you learn and grow.
The introduction of ego into this thread is interesting and curious. I am the first to admit that I took on some really cheap work when I first started out, as I was trying to find myself. But even the cheap work I took was something that I wanted to do. Like travel writing--I had never done that before and thought it would be fun, even if I did 50% of it for free. It had a value to me beyond the money. I'm less likely to do something like that now--not because I'm less altruistic than ever, but because writing is my family's sole source of income so there is more risk riding on the choices that I make. Now, even when I was writing whatever for whomever for however much, there were still certain assignments I would not go near with a ten foot pole. One of those gigs would be anything for .005 per word meant to be nonsensical keyword stuffage. It was certainly not from an ego standpoint--I ain't no artist of words and I don't have any aspirations to write the next, great American novel. I do, however, need to enjoy what I'm writing--even now as a full timer. There has to be some sort of intrinsic value that I personally can find in what I write. I get that from finance articles, health articles, girlie crap, all kinds of stuff. I don't get that from sales letters and, quite frankly, I don't think I am very good at them as a result. So, I do what I want for who I want because someday, I'll be dead--and that's not just my ego talking It's so late I forgot to make my point--so I suspect that most writers who choose certain jobs over others do so for the same reasons. I don't think they have a prestige meter that they measure every potential gig with to determine whether or not they should take it. That being said, I can't imagine it would be good for a high visibility copywriter to be associated with a get rich quick scheme e-book by a wanna be salesman paying .05 per word. So there is, as Jenn mentioned, a PR consideration to protect a writer's bottom line. Again, not about padding the ego but about making sure they continue to attract the clients that pay their rates.
And Y.L. it sounds like you're going about it in a good way - finding a balance between what you need and want to earn and what you enjoy doing. Hopefully more writers will follow suit and the ones we do try to help here can stop feeling like they have to compete for dirt cheap content writing gigs they only take on b/c they believe it's a form of paying their dues when it's really not. And hopefully they'll move on to the things they know and enjoy that can pay the bills (or earn them whatever side money they're shooting for) as well.
I am a buyer. I definitely will and do pay more for quality work. But sometime I just need some “copyscape pass†content for various purposes. So I use both - cheap and quality - depending on what I am doing. Hope this helps. Best Wishes, jhfiredog
Everything involves ego in some fashion. Either a lack of confidence, or too much of a good thing. Our ego is what drives us to succeed, it is also what will defeat us at the peak of our potential. There is nothing wrong with ego. And J.H and Y.L... I am not in any way referring to you two, you should know that. . Since you are probably not mind readers, I will make that perfectly clear. To be thorough with my statement from the earlier thread, it is without a doubt different to write and perfect great copy and it is a totally different thing to provide usable, but less detailed, content. The one thing that is clear to me is not everyone aspires to the same goals or standards. And that is not a crime, that is what I am suggesting. You two women are the Creme' de la Creme' and cream always rises to the top! That is a given. What I am trying not to do is discourage the new or less capable writer from experimenting in the field and taking on these smaller clients for the sake of gaining experience and reputation. There is also a vast market for generalized content on hundreds of thousands of websites all around the world! That does not make the smaller fee they receive any less valid than the fees you demand, and are entitled to, for your work. That is what I am trying to introduce into the conversation. I am like that, I love the underdog! This is just the way I am, and it is one of things I admire most about myself.
cheap means affordable it is always depends on the writer if the content is high quality. You can try to ask a sample or a demo if you want just to be sure the quality..
That's what I call a great use of the English language I have been looking for someone like you to provide me with some quality articles! I have only bought a couple of articles in the past and found myself starring at a 500 word article full of grammatical and syntax errors. Obviously, sometimes, paying that $3 to save some time might be worth it, but I have found the exact opposite to be true in several instances. That $3 will get you a bad article to work on. The time needed to make that article rise up to your standards is sometimes more than the time it would take you to write that same article from scratch. Anyways, please PM me your rates and your areas of expertise if interested. Note: I am not asking for any other writers to pm me except from jhmattern! Please don't start offering me your services - I am only interested on jhmattern at this point. Thanks
I suppose that's where we differ. You want to encourage them to be open to the low rates as an entryway, while I try to help them realize they can enter on a more livable wage (as I've seen countless writers start out low with the expectation of raising rates later, only to find that truly significant changes are difficult or impossible, and generally mean starting over completely within a new target market - I work to help them find that target market up front rather than settling for less than they could be earning). I don't think either of us wants to discourage new writers from giving it a try if writing is what they want to do. Rather, I think you might be more focused on helping them find those quicker initial gigs just to have something under their belt, while I prefer emphasizing the importance of planning a freelance career much as you would any other kind of startup, so you maximize the return on those initial efforts (by targeting the right people, offering the right services, etc. based around what you need and want to earn, what you want to write, and what you're capable of providing).
I disagree. While many people can afford cheap writers, that does not make cheap and affordable the same thing. Cheap--in any industry infers low quality work or products for pennies. Affordable is generally more expensive than cheap but infers a certain level of quality that even small budgets can afford. Maybe this is more an issue of semantics, but I have always believed them to be wholly different.
Maybe I deviate from the nature of the current aspect we're discussing right now, but in my experience, buyers who advertise about hiring CHEAP article writers, are not really that interested in quality. All they want is grammatically correct, copyscape pass material they can put up on their sites so they get indexed well on Google. Another aspect is that many site owners already have their own writers who they pay very handsomely indeed. The writers they hire "cheap" here are just so they can build backlinks by buying blog posts on other peoples' sites. Secondly, I've seen that the better clients usually never advertise their needs in the BST forums. The good writers do advertise, but rarely. One finds that buyers with a huge iTrader are usually the ones who will offer you dirt cheap prices for your writing. Next thing you know, they'll be offering to paypal you some peanuts for your work. The better buyers usually keep a low profile, have usually low iTraders and they will contact you directly in case they require your services. You won't even find them leaving posts like "Ordering 5 more articles, good writer, prompt delivery" in the writers' threads. Maybe I digress, but that's the opinion I form of the whole matter.
I suppose they beleive by advertsing their business as cheap, they will revieve more business. I will never ever brand my works or services with the word. I take pride in my article writing works!!
I guess many people know what they are doing. But my two cents and price in a free market is usually driven by demand and supply. If there are enough expensive writers and only so many buyers, the price would fall like <insert idiom>. And if they were enough buyers and only so many cheap writers, the price would come up greatly. Writers are of many kinds, Those who can write fiction on-fiction books.. They usually won't free lance Those who can really write interesting views and have interesting opinions .. They usually have Extemely popular and profitable blogs. Those of the journalists types who make a living writing for news paper et al.. They freelance but not on DP If some one was really good in writing, he/she would be doing either of the above.. or maybe write for techcrunch or mashable or DLM. But yes, I would readily pay $50 for an article that have the potential to get digg frontpage. Or a review that several persons would genuinely bookmark.. Rest are all the same.. give or take a few grammatical errors .. It would be surprising to know that many Indians Go to England to teach English, so whats the beef about "Native Speaker" anyway? And many booker prize winners grew up and write from Mumbai and Kolkata.
Quite a few writers here do those things. It has nothing at all to do with whether or not they spend any time networking and meeting clients on DP. I've been paid more for Web content from DP webmasters who don't advertise publicly than from writing for large corporate clients. We also have people who do well here who are published authors (and yes, many of them do freelance). Assuming those who are "really good in writing" don't take work through DP is entirely wrong. They're just the ones who know how to use the platform effectively in conjunction with their other marketing and networking efforts, rather than spending all of their time trolling the BST sections.
Not everyone fits into a little box. So you can list 3-4 things a "real" writer should be doing, but it doesn't work that way. I like mixing it up myself. At some point money just doesn't motivate you enough. BTW, there's a market for "cheap" (quality and price). Just look at all the people who flock to the $1 stores and swap meets (flea market). In fact, $1 was too much evidently, so a string of 99-cent stores have emerged.
Personally, I don't understand why any serious writer would demean themselves to writing a 500 word article - even though that's not very many words - for $5 or $10, let alone a buck or two. How can you get motivated enough to do that? How is it worth it? As a writer, all you have is your words. That is your craft. That is your power. Why sell yourself short? Go to your local daily and find work and get paid for doing real work. Something that matters to someone and that you can feel good about. Not only that, they pay real wage. Get a good assignment and they'll pay you $50. Do a good job and you might get a position. Trust me, the work is there. These paper are cutting jobs like crazy and replacing them with people that will work for cheap wages. Paying someone $50 a day is a lot cheaper than paying a salary, benefits, etc.
No doubt people posting here have no money to pay expensive writers. That's why the first statement has to be "cheap writers"... Sure everybody would like to choose based on quality, but it is sometimes out of question, that is why they are here. People here are starting their business, once they are able to afford, they will move to the next level.
There are plenty of people here who can afford to pay "expensive" writers, and they do every day. They're just smart enough not to advertise publicly here, to avoid being bombarded with PMs from unqualified writers. As for dailies, it's definitely an option. But you can earn $50 or even much more per article writing for the Web as well. The jobs are out there for those willing to work for them.