When I first started freelance writing a couple of years ago, I didn't know I could get paid more than a few bucks per article. Sadly, as much as I loved writing, those gigs made me hate it. I would spend hours churning 5-10 articles just to make $30-$100. My dream job had become a nightmare! When I learned there was a better way, I stopped. Now, that's my advice to all writers who feel stuck with low paying gigs. Stop taking them. Stop applying for them. If you frequent a job market where only low paying gigs are posted, stop looking there. Do you scrounge through the trash for your meals? Decide what services you're going to provide and set a rate for them. As it's been repeated in this thread, market yourself on your services. Sell your strengths and more importantly, sell your benefit. Obviously, if price isn't your advantage, it doesn't make sense to market on price. If you don't offer a quick turnaround, don't make that your selling point. When I decided to increase my rates, I let all my current clients know I was raising my rates and they could extend their contracts with the new rate or hire another writer. One stayed, the others left. That was fine with me. It freed up my time to find new clients who would pay my rates. Jenn (jhmattern) has given some great advice throughout this thread (and many others) about getting better paying gigs. In fact, she played a huge part in helping me get out of that penny per word trap. Print these steps, hang them up in your work area, and work them every single day. Don't make excuses; just do it.
Jenn (jhmattern) has stated very salient and tangible ways of going about your writing. In fact most posters here have pointed you in the right direction. May I suggest: Look for OFFLINE clients. Brick and mortar - established businesses. Cold call. And yes, cold calling is brutal, however being poor is much worse. Visit real businesses; start establishing relationships. Speak with business owners. Now I don't know which part of the world you're in, however, whatever customs/norms/social mores are standard to your region - you'll know. Another often overlooked asset is your family/connections. Any members of your family business owners? Accountants? Lawyers? (People of influence?) One of the ways writers - make themselves subject to the whims of their 'masters' is that they don't get the message out to people who can best use their services. In other words they hide (for some strange reason) what they do. When asked, "SO - what do you do for a living - the answer (in a wee, tiny voice) - I'm a writer - like they're ashamed of writing- maybe it's more from being ashamed that they aren't making more money! When I consult with business owners and professionals - there seems to be a gap where they know they have the skills and the ability to say, "Hey world - this skill can benefit you - this way." Further, "The reason why this skill is necessary for your business right now is that _____________" and fill in the blank. This doesn't require anything more than your ability to accept that you can have better. To Your Success
This sums it up right here. .01 a word is ridiculous, but it can garner quick cash. The only problem is the requesters want good, high quality, keyword rich content most of the time. Sorry, a 500 word article at a penny is not worth the time. Granted, I understand some people are in dire straits and if writing 5 articles fills up your gas tank then go for it. However, if you are serious about writing and pride yourself on your work, then sell it at your price and be patient...if you can.
This is a bit off the track...but...I'm a big believerin the 'Law of Attraction'. I think in any business, if you go out with the mind set that you must compete on price, then you're probably in for an on going struggle. You must have massive self belief in what you can do and in what you are offering. If you offer a great service with a lot of extras or bonuses, extras that don't cost you very much but have a high perceived value to the customer, then you can and should charge what you want. A great marketing tactic is to charge more than everyone else. It gets people talking about you. They want to know why you are so expensive, "What's so good about this guy?" Also if you make yourself 'hard to get', it makes you kind of exclusive. People want you more. Put them on a waiting list (even if youre not too busy), it's called positioning. You might be getting less work, but you'll be earning more per project. Just something to think about. Really though, know your worth and you will attract the people that are willing to pay for you
I personally have used a ton of copy writers for simple work at pennies on the dollar. However never for my top rated sites. The reason behind this is simple. A personal charging .01 cents a word is probably not a very good writer, and not to knock people from other countries, but my quantity work is almost always bought up by people in India/China, etc. Recently i've stopped paying so low because the syntax on articles is horrendous. One excerpt from a recent posting for instance said "I much very like the new Motorola Razr V3i" in cases such as those which pay very little I'll sometimes spend time editing the posts, but in most cases I specifically state that the posts must be approved with proper English grammar before payments will be sent.
copywriting is not cheap actually...but sometimes copywriters make it cheap in order to get customers.. they keep on lowing and lowing the price...that's you can see 1 words for just $0.01 just my 2 cents p/s : I'm also interesting on copywriting
as least Jeewant is living the writers dream, he seems he loves what he does, has good business-ethics, and is able to support it as a living. as long as there's a niche for it, why shouldn't writers be able to fill it?
I think its low paying because there are so many writers from all over the world. webmasters want the content to be cheap so they get there content from nations who's standard of living is low. its kinda like Walmart the whole goal is the cheaper the better. I try to find people who like the paranormal and unexplained stuff, even if it cost more.