Would you buy $10 articles from a newbie?

14 replies
I'm helping my best friend get started in writing now that I'm happy with how my own business is going. I've given her lots of advice, but despite writing for Constant Content (the site I made my first big sales on), she hasn't made her first sale yet.

I saw someone say here on WF that they put an ad in their sig offering articles for $5, and they had $100 by the end of the day. The thing is, while I believe in starting a bit lower than an established writer, I still don't want to encourage her to work for peanuts. $10 an article was always my minimum, and I believe she could make the same.

I'd like to run an experiment today, getting her to post and see if she can make $100 in a day from $10 articles. She'd like to make some money just to prove that it's possible, and I feel like that might be what's holding her back -- the whole "I've never made money so I might never" worry. If I can help her get through this, she might start selling more.

But it's been a while since I was a complete newbie, so I'm not sure if this is viable. Would you take up on an offer in a newbie's signature for $10 articles (400-500 words)? If not, do you have any suggestions for how I can help my friend get started instead?

I really want to help her out too, now that I've stumbled on success, but I know I can't eliminate the whole learning curve for her or give her an easy shortcut to success. I just want to make it as easy as I can for her.

Thanks so much.
#$10 #articles #buy #newbie
  • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
    If the newbie has decent samples, I would absolutely pay that or more. I don't care how long someone has been here when it comes to pricing. My concern is if the writing is any good and if it suits my needs.

    My only thing with trying a new writer is that I wouldn't order 10 articles at first. I'd order one, see what I think of the process and the results, then work up from there. This isn't because of how long they've been a member but more if I don't see any reviews from those I trust to know what they're talking about.

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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    Thanks, Tina and Matt!

    Maybe I should get her to finish setting up a portfolio on Blogspot with samples, and then link to that from her sig. Come to think of it, I'm pretty sure that's exactly what I did before I had the money for my own domain name and Warriors for Hire thread.
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  • Profile picture of the author mainstreetcm
    I don't think it matters if they appear to be a beginner or not. If they have great writing samples I would have no problem paying the price they asked for. When it comes to writers, I only care about writing experience and the ability to meet deadlines.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    Awesome, thanks! I'm getting her to set up a Blogspot portfolio now with samples, pricing, etc. One step at a time. I think I'll be as excited as she will when she gets her first sale, haha.
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  • A good way for her to get started, is to write a high quality PLR pack of 10 articles.

    Sell the pack for a reasonable price as a WSO, and get her to also advertise her writing services directly to everyone who buys the WSO.

    That way, people see the high quality of her writing (from the PLR pack), plus she gets paid for writing samples.

    Thom
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  • Profile picture of the author Ronald Nzimora
    Yes, i would
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  • Profile picture of the author FellowWarrior
    For the love of god. Absolutely. If she can deliver at least 500 words per article and the articles make sense. There are people that could shoot a ton more money at her if she can write. Not a problem at all.
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    • Profile picture of the author ThomSmith
      Newbie or not, If the content is great I'm in. I agree with Matt and Tina.
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  • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
    What a great response from everybody, thank you!

    I've thought about the PLR suggestion, but I tried that before and I never really had success with PLR here. I'd rather she do something that directly makes money -- one article sold to one client for one lump of money -- before getting into PLR and all the different ways to make money writing.

    Alexa, I agree -- it was never "on the table" (on the computer screen, I suppose?) for me to encourage her to work for less than $10 apiece, but that's a good reminder for others, so thank you.
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  • Profile picture of the author John Durham
    I have become convinced... alot by Alexa (above) and other warriors, that selling articles for 10 bucks is truly a waste of energy... instead of feeding you ten dollars , your article can feed you for a lifetime and potentially generate thousands.

    Article writing will always be needed, and there are those who will always be willing to write...

    But you can work for a potatoe farmer... or you can work to make your own potatoe field... Im going for the latter.
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  • Profile picture of the author Orator
    It depends.

    I've made money outsourcing, and have been on the other side of that fence. People really feel more comfortable with someone they know, but everyone has to start somewhere.

    I would suggest your friend be generous with her writing samples. If she's a quality writer, then she will always have a market. Once she begins to acquire clients who know her work, she could modify her prices to a higher rate.

    Reputation's take time to build.
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      I would suggest your friend be generous with her writing samples.
      Speaking of samples, Zabrina, my advice to your friend would be to perhaps do some review articles for some members here but not for free. I tried that and I've seen others do it - mostly what you get is the freebie seekers who 9 times out of 10 don't even bother to leave a review. Or their review consists of "this was a good article".

      My suggestion would be to have her contact specific people (well known members whose posts show that they would recognize decent writing skills) to review her work OR to charge a nominal fee like $5 for an article for the first 5 who would be willing to review.

      Tina
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