If You Can't Get Writing Jobs ... Is It Because There IS Too Much Competition

[Bev Clement]

How many times do we hear there is too much competition for writing jobs?

How many times do we hear people have to charge the lowest rate possible because of the competition?

This isn't about how much you should or shouldn't charge for writing, you and only you as a writer can make the decision. You and you alone are responsible for your business.

Here are some facts, which I gave out at the warrior event. They are slightly out of date as they came from earlier in the year.

The myth is "There is too much competition" and maybe in some areas it could be true.

There are around 8 billion websites online.

The average webmaster owns 4 sites, and each site has an average of 27 pages. (Warriors tend not to come into the average )

There are around 20,000 content writers to try and write 2.7 million new pages a month.

There are around 50,000 ebooks and 10,000 reports published online and only 11,000 ghostwriters available to write them.

Over 100,000 original products are released each year, and all need a sales page written. This doesn't include those who rework a product or buy PLR and need sales pages written.

50,000 scripts and programs are made available each year, and many don't have manuals which are user friendly. All need to be written.

It's true, there is no work for writers because of the competition. I read it on the internet so it must be true.

Just look at the stats and then say you can't get work.

Maybe, there is another reason you can't get work and it has nothing to do with the competition

[grangonzo]

There's competition for everything in life!

Just get to be one of the best and you will do well

[Steve Peters Benn]

Ah Bev!

You said what I suspect a lot of us have wanted to say!

Where there no competition, you either have got incredibly lucky, or there is no profit.

[Kelly Verge]

Bev,

They really mean that there's too much competition for the lowest-hanging fruit.

[nursewriter]

Originally Posted by Bev Clement

How many times do we hear there is too much competition for writing jobs?

How many times do we hear people have to charge the lowest rate possible because of the competition?

This isn't about how much you should or shouldn't charge for writing, you and only you as a writer can make the decision. You and you alone are responsible for your business.

Here are some facts, which I gave out at the warrior event. They are slightly out of date as they came from earlier in the year.

The myth is "There is too much competition" and maybe in some areas it could be true.

There are around 8 billion websites online.

The average webmaster owns 4 sites, and each site has an average of 27 pages. (Warriors tend not to come into the average )

There are around 20,000 content writers to try and write 2.7 million new pages a month.

There are around 50,000 ebooks and 10,000 reports published online and only 11,000 ghostwriters available to write them.

Over 100,000 original products are released each year, and all need a sales page written. This doesn't include those who rework a product or buy PLR and need sales pages written.

50,000 scripts and programs are made available each year, and many don't have manuals which are user friendly. All need to be written.

It's true, there is no work for writers because of the competition. I read it on the internet so it must be true.

Just look at the stats and then say you can't get work.

Maybe, it is another reason you can't get work and nothing to do with the competition

Thank you for the timely post. You are my inspiration.


I feel that one of the reasons why some people on the Warrior forum fail to succeed is they make their world too small. What I mean is, they market only to Warriors.

There really is a whole other world out there that needs all kinds of content. It is just a matter of reaching them.

I myself have fallen into the "small world" trap. I miss the days when I could run a WSO for my writing services and pull in enough cash to pay off my bills and have a nice Christmas for my family.

But the WSO forum has changed. These days you post a WSO and it stays on page one for less than a day. Then you are underbid by people who are using writers from other countries.

It really doesn't matter how much you preach that quality writing will outrank poor writing, people will still shell out the money for $2 articles.

I know I am a good writer and I know my writing is worth a heck of a lot more than what I have been getting paid.

I just need to learn how to leave this small world of the Warriors and get my name out there.

[mr2020]

Hi Bev,

There are a million NLP and Self Help experts out there. There are a million people who know how to live off the land. There are a million people who want to have spirit be big in their online and personal lives.

There are FAR FEWER who have THAT exact combination.

Those are some of who I appeal to.

Those who can't / won't succeed, look at the large numbers. Those who succeed wildly choose / develop their markets and their marketing.

Mr Twenty Twenty
The captain of clarity.

[Bev Clement]

For those who read the title and nothing else, I am not saying personally I can't get writing work.

I know my target market and how to reach them to get writing work.

[SMS]

LOL Bev. You are so right, as usual.

Quality always wins in the end.

I haven't advertised for ages (because I've got so much on), but I still get new enquiries. And even when I subtly suggest they can get the work done far cheaper elsewhere they still insist on giving me the work.

Another thing to consider... is that as a writer you can always create work for yourself, and that is often more profitable than writing for others.

[Bev Clement]

Originally Posted by fthomas137

Bev, the world is always competitive to force us to think 3 dimensionally. Sometimes you have to think laterally to find your answer.

You are a writer. You like to write. Don't assume we all like to write or appreciate good writing.

Assume we are total dolts who need to be enlightened, in a good way of course.

Have you ever thought of putting out a 'free WSO' on the 'Art of Writing'? Just make sure you have links to a website that you own that offers writing services within it!

Hmmmmmmm. The rest is up to you!

Frank

Frank,

I don't assume everybody likes to write, or people appreciate good writing.

I am saying for those who are being told the only way to sell their services is to reduce their prices because there it too much competition, it isn't true.

There is more work around than the current writers can handle, it just needs people to know how to market and where to look

[Bev Clement]

Originally Posted by SMS

LOL Bev. You are so right, as usual.

Quality always wins in the end.

I haven't advertised for ages (because I've got so much on), but I still get new enquiries. And even when I subtly suggest they can get the work done far cheaper elsewhere they still insist on giving me the work.

Another thing to consider... is that as a writer you can always create work for yourself, and that is often more profitable than writing for others.

Yes, a writer can always find work even if it for themselves.

[Sansfaim]

Hi Lucinda,

Don't leave yet.

I need you.

Sandy

[Steve Faber]

There are a ton of newly ex-print media writers out there all of a sudden. This can add to the competition. However, there are also many companies that are cutting back on their staff, including their technical writers and marketing communications personnel. Most of these companies are now using free lancers, and many more magazines and newspapers are using them now too. That says nothing of the growth in online publications, blogs and the things Bev mentioned.

So, with any change comes opportunity. It is up to the warrior to find and exploit it.

[Frank Donovan]

Hi Bev

I agree with the gist of your OP, but I'd be interested in knowing the source of your statistics; specifically "20,000" content writers and "11,000" ghostwriters.

There are over 18,000 writers listed on elance alone.

That's not to say that these numbers are any way a problem. If you don't understand your market, there's always too much competition



Frank

[Bev Clement]

Frank, if you notice I didn't include article writers in the figures, and many on Elance are listed as article writers

[Sirago]

There's definitely competition but if you REALLY want to get into it, give it away for free at first. Build a monster thread with good feedback and people will flock to you.

[HeySal]

I'd like to qualify a few issues here.

It's not a lack of writing jobs I see online, but rather a lack of reality about a fair price for work. Writers are often expected to write for slave wages or the work is farmed out to writers who will actually write for wages from which nobody in the US could make a living wage.

The market for writers offline is much different from the one online. Online I am being offered about a third of what I could once make outside of requests from a few clients that have used my services for years. I just made 14 times (yes 1,400%)more selling a report offline then I could have online. And it was cash in hand....do we need to be overt about those implications?

There just seem to be many website owners who either don't understand the importance of quality or just don't care as long as the clicks are coming in. I signed up with elance and was horrified to see the prices they were asking for writing -- and many of them expect the writer to do their own research as well. (not to mention they want you to pay to be allowed a reasonable amount of contacts, then also charge a percent). With the voova everyone is getting over outsourcing, people are starting to feel that EVERYONE in the market is willing to write for prices lower than they could make working at fast food companies. Some even buy automatic software to rewrite the work of others (not saying this is a good idea or produces anything palatable, but but they are being used).

Another trick they have learned is to buy the cheap poorly written piece of garbage then hire an "editor" to fix it.......and I've found too often that means a total rewrite so indepth that I might have just as well started from scratch.

BUT - here's the good news for anyone who is actually qualified to write decently. Markets correct themselves sooner or later and this one is just starting to flow in the right direction again. Ezinearticles.com is cracking down on crap. No longer will the two dollar article have free reign in that market. Being an industry leader, this will force other submission sites to follow suit or to just peter out silently.

As a qualified writer I am starting to turn back articles for edit that are so screwed up that they need whole rewrites and letting the clients know that the work is not of a sufficient quality that a mere edit will suffice for fixing and that articles needing this kind of attention will cost them more. I know a few other writers getting keen on this scam and are falling in line with returning material that is nothing but scrap handed for "edit" to save money.

With FTC rulings, and crackdowns on high rankings for trash sites, everyone is going to be needing higher levels of quality before too long to be able to compete or even stay afloat online. I don't think the .5cent a word article offer is going to survive too much longer.

If people who are writing quality continue to refuse crap offers, and sites like Ezinearticles.com continue to crack down on crap writing, it won't be too awfully long before the market corrects itself again and the only people who will be complaining about writing for a living at any level will be the ones that need a reality check about being qualified for the position in the first place.

[Microbusiness Media]

It seems like there would be a need for content writers to specialize in niche markets. For example:

Article writers for:

Attorneys sites
Accountant sites
Retail Sites
Local Business sites
Wedding Sites

These markets would probably pay better than Internet Marketers who usually want everything done fairly cheap.

Ive tried some of the cheap article writers and I always end up rewriting the content to my own standards. I agree with HeySal, I think that people are starting to realize its better to pay more for higher quality articles.

[SellDGuide]

Writers are available and there is competition too, but mostly it's the cost that's not good enough for an experienced writer.

[Ralf Skirr]

Originally Posted by HeySal

It's not a lack of writing jobs I see online, but rather a lack of reality about a fair price for work. Writers are often expected to write for slave wages or the work is farmed out to writers who will actually write for wages from which nobody in the US could make a living wage.

The market for writers offline is much different from the one online.

That's very true, and I believe there's a simple reason for this.
We see it here in this very forum and at Digitalpoint as well.

Online everybody can just jump in thinking he's starting a business without investing.
- We see people asking for a huge list of testimonials and seasoned warrior reviews for 7 dollar products that come with a money back guarantee.
- We see people asking for free review copies or money back guarantees (!) for 99 Cent products.
- We see people complaining when an article writer wants $8 for an article.
- We see people buying software for 9.95 and expecting free personal installation support and life time updates.

In all fairness it must be said that we did feed these unrealistic expectations to these people ourselves.
Didn't we (=the IM niche) tell them they can make easy money on a shoestring budget=
Don't we throw FREE products at them every day?
Don't we offer our software with lifetime free upgrades? (even if it would never be profitable for a real software business like Adobe and Microsoft)

No wonder they expect to get a free ride on everything.

Now here's the difference to working for offline businesses:

People you meet offline who will give you work ALREADY own a real business. They know what it means to deliver a service or create a product. They know that time and expertise is needed that one can not get for free. That is very different from the mass of opportunity seekers who have no intend to establish a solid business.

Just my 2 cents...

Ralf Skirr

[Steven Wagenheim]

Brilliant...absolutely brilliant.

As a famous writer once said, "Put that in your pipe and smoke it!"

If I listened to all the "too much competition" BS, I'd be broke right now.

[ericthered]

Thats too funny Ms. Clement . . .I saw it on the (teevee) internet , it Must be true . .
Eric

[mmurtha]

Hey Bev,

If You Can't Get Writing Jobs ... Is It Because There IS Too Much Competition

It's not the competition at all. It's all about mindset, quality and exposure in the end. Some can say it is about pricing too, but I don't believe so because most good marketers can sell at any price if the quality is good, and the price range somewhat matches that quality of information or whatever.

To me, competition is everywhere and in everything we do whether we are competing or someone else is competing with us, or for our _________ (fill in the blank). This is where the right mindset comes is or is important - if you are confident in your work and basically who you are, then the competion will not matter in the end.


Mary

[John Coutts]

When I became fed up with writing projects that offered $5 to $10 at best per article, I changed my thinking. I asked myself, "Who has the money to pay a starving, but good, writer?"

I decided it was not the average webmaster who is also close to starving most of the time. I therefore tried the SEO companies and the web design companies who have clients with deep pockets. I also quadrupled my charges and figured I had nothing to lose. Luckily, I was right. At $20, $25, $30 or more an article, they often don't even blink an eyelid. And there's plenty of work there for any good writer.

Willie Sutton was a bank robber in the 1930s. He stole over $2 million in his time - a lot in those days. When he was finally caught, a policeman asked him why he robbed banks. Sutton famously replied, "Because that's where the money is." He even wrote a book later entitled, "Where the Money Was."

Take Sutton's advice and go where the money is if you're tired of having to write articles for $2 a time, because of the "competition".

John.

[BigRedNotebook]

Oh, there's competition out there. It will crush crappy providers, just as it should.

If someone is crying about the competition, it generally means they're losing to it.

I stay busy. Ad Astra Traffic is getting busier. Why? If you're kicking the competition in the ass, everything works out fine.

Great post, Bev.

[CherylJohnson]

I don't know about all that competition stuff...

I focus on providing value and separating myself from the masses and I seem to do ok.

Though, I have to admit that the most of my income comes from Backpage posting, when I do have articles to write...that provides more "interesting" income as the backpage stuff is kind of boring.