[Alan Mater]

Hey everyone,

I'm curious to know what a good price would be for someone to pay to have 300 word articles written.

Right now a price is $5. Is that an average price?

I'm not the payee, but would rather be the one getting paid. That's why I'm interested.

Thanks,

Alan

[Suzanne Morrison]

Hi Alan,

$5 sounds fair to me (if I was a buyer), although I normally go for slightly longer articles.

I have seen 400-500 word articles going for around $7-10 depending on the quantity bought. Check the WSO forum as there are always people selling ghostwriter services there and many will have a link in their sig to their regular service so that they can compare prices.

Cheers,
Suzanne

[Alan Mater]

Thanks Suzanne,

Yeah, I would want longer articles as well. A guy I'm doing some work for said his brother needs 20 short 300 word articles written. He has a guy that will write them for $5 each. He asked if I would be up to it and what I would charge.

At this point I'll probably tell him to have the other guy write them as I'm busy enough as it is. I was just curious as to what others normally charge.

I will check the WSO's. Thanks.

Alan

[Alan Mater]

Hey Michael,

You have a very good point. I thought of it as well. I'm not quite sure what I'm going to do yet. I could definitely use the money, though.

[GT]

Hello:

There is such a huge gap between what is acceptable payment for Internet Marketing-related articles and what is acceptable in other writing circles.

$5 seems to be acceptable in Internet Marketing, and with all the resources and software available these days to be able to re-engineer the same article many ways, maybe $5 makes sense? (Or dollars )

My question is, what do you want to earn per hour in your Internet Marketing business?

Can you produce enough $5 articles per hour to earn your hourly target?

For example, if you can produce an article in 15 minutes (I can't), plus it takes you at the very least another 5 minutes to post or deliver that article to its intended source, that totals 20 minutes.

That means you can do three articles an hour. At $5 each, you are earning $15 per hour. If you run into challenges or delays, maybe you can only produce TWO articles per hour. Now you're earning $10 per hour.

If a person's marketing business isn't making any sales, then maybe $10 per hour isn't too bad? But wouldn't it serve that person's ultimate marketing goals to put that time into website SEO, your own article marketing, and other promotional efforts to get your average hourly sales up to $20, $40, $50 or more?

Okay, I know this is looking at the business of writing from a negative angle. The bottomline is that a marketer has to look at their abilities, interests and desired marketing niche, then choose their products and services accordingly.

Alan, in your case here, writing some articles for $5 each might not create a big upfront payday, but maybe in the long run, it can be considered part of your marketing strategy. In other words, by providing writing services, it's like getting PAID to advertise and market your other services. I can see that making sense (or dollars ).

GT

[GT]

Hello again:

A few minutes after posting an answer in this thread, I received info in my email from AWAI, American Writers and Artists, Inc., quoting recommended prices for all kinds of copywriting work.

For Articles, they say:
- Ranges by complexity of topic and client size – generally 400 to 1200 words.
Fee Range: $75-$300

That is the fee range I typically charge my local corporate clients. However, I would never expect to get that from Internet Marketers.

In the article, Finally Revealed! What You Should Charge …
By John Wood, AWAI Staff Writer, AWAI says to base your fees on such elements as:

1. Your self-marketing strategy – If you’re just starting out and looking to build up your portfolio, it makes sense to be flexible when it comes to your rates...

2. Your experience

3. The value of your services to your client

4. Long-term value of your client

5. Your client’s ability to pay

6. How long it’s going to take to complete

Of course, in John's article he elaborates on each of these points, but this gives you an idea.

My message to Internet Marketers looking to hire a writer: if you can get articles in the $5 range, go for it! It's a great deal.

GT

[Alan Mater]

Very informative and insightful posts, GT. Thanks!

Alan

[mikecowles]

Hi Alan,

I suggest $5-10 (ten max). You can find someone to do a good job on craigslist classifieds: jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, events, forums. Try to target a larger city, like LA, New York, etc.

-Mike Cowles. <><

[Stephen Meyer]

I couldn't do it for $5.00 an article. I would have to start paying someone else to do it for me. I suck at writing. As a very famous article writer once told me (Jeff Schuman) "I don't know if I should laugh or cry when a large article order comes in". Personally I would go hide in a corner, right after refunding the money.

Here is a thought, mainly for GT. What would be the difference in an article on "Paid Surveys" that cost $5.00 and one that cost $75.00? Is there enough of a difference in copy to justify the difference? What I am asking, if I paid $75.00 for an article would it, or could it, give me more credibility, exposure, etc.? Value is often more important than cost.

Steve

[Alan Mater]

At this point I'm not sure where I sit. I wouldn't mind helping my client's brother out, but 20 articles is a lot. The problem is he wants all the articles written around one keyword. I don't know what the keyword is.

I'm not great at writing, either. I have become a lot more proficient the more articles I've written. It's a toss up. $5 isn't a lot in terms of getting paid. But, there could be better possibilities in the future.

For me, editing and proofreading comes a lot easier to me, and I like doing it. Right now I only write because I have to, in terms of getting backlinks and traffic.

Thanks for your insight, everyone.

Alan

[GT]

Originally Posted by Alan Mater

At this point I'm not sure where I sit. I wouldn't mind helping my client's brother out, but 20 articles is a lot. Alan

Hi, Alan:

You're sitting in a tough position right now. Many factors to weigh before making a decision, and all important and relevant! That's all part of the business development process, though. We start out focusing on the direction we want to go, then as other opportunities develop, we weigh their value and line them up beside our primary focus to see if they are an appropriate match.

One suggestion is to offer a price of $10-15 per article and let the customer decide. Then, if they go for it, at least you are getting a fair payment for it.

Originally Posted by Stephen Meyer

...Here is a thought, mainly for GT. What would be the difference in an article on "Paid Surveys" that cost $5.00 and one that cost $75.00? Is there enough of a difference in copy to justify the difference? What I am asking, if I paid $75.00 for an article would it, or could it, give me more credibility, exposure, etc.? Value is often more important than cost.

Steve

Hi, Steve:

In Internet Marketing circles, I don't think it is necessary or worth the cost to pay more than the "going rate" which seems to be around the $5 range. This is a great example of supply and demand and how competition drives the price down.

The quality of the article may or may not be better, the more you pay for it - it depends on the talent of the writer and that writer's level of commitment to quality.

The other aspect of articles for Internet Marketing opportunities is the fact that prospects and readers are swamped with zillions of such articles continuously, daily, so even if an article was written by one of the masters, it's value and impact would be quickly passed over and forgotten.

In other words, there is no need to write a masterpiece when the bare basics will suffice ... and anyone with a little bit of writing ability, or some software to help guide them, can write at a level of quality sufficient for the purpose.

It's just that some people can do it faster than others.

As a working freelance writer (meaning, paid writer) with offline corporate clients, I sometimes get inspired to respond in these topic threads about Internet Marketing writing just to give my fellow IMers some perspective on the true deals they are getting when they purchase articles for $3 and $5. I don't have an issue with those prices because I understand the market.

However, offline in the "traditional" business market, fees of $75-$300 ... and beyond ... per article are common and acceptable. Fellow writers and writing organizations base these fees on "industry standards" that have developed over the years.

In some cases, the $300 articles may be of no better quality than the $3 articles. The difference is what the market will bear as well as the availability of "good" writers.

Offline, the competition is not so stiff. Online, in the Internet Marketing circles, "everybody" is a writer, so the competition is overwhelming.

This might be an opening for some of you confident writers: look around your community and you might find some business clients willing to pay you $100, $200 or more to write articles and newsletter content for them. The "secret" to getting paid is, first, believe you can do it and that you are worth the fee; and second, don't be timid about asking the price! In the corporate world, $100 is cheap!

If they say no, they say no. But ... if they say yes, look who's laughing all the way to the bank!

A couple of days ago a local friend noticed that my name does not appear on the articles I write for my local clients. He asked why? Don't I get any recognition?

I said, "It is my choice because they hire me to write under their name. My recognition comes when they put my name on the paycheck . That's the kind of recognition I am looking for!"

GT

[Alan Mater]

Very good points, GT. As if I expected anything less!

[GT]

Hi, Alan:

Thanks for the comment. I look at that awfully long post and have to wonder where the forum moderator is when some windbag like that doesn't know when to quit typing!

GT

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by GT

Hi, Alan:

Thanks for the comment. I look at that awfully long post and have to wonder where the forum moderator is when some windbag like that doesn't know when to quit typing!

GT

GT,

She's too busy trying to keep me in line over in another thread

[GT]

Originally Posted by Alan Mater

GT,

She's too busy trying to keep me in line over in another thread

Hi, Alan:

LOL - That's what they get for trying to educate us: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

GT

[Alan Mater]

Originally Posted by GT

Hi, Alan:

LOL - That's what they get for trying to educate us: a little knowledge is a dangerous thing!

GT

Ha... you're right about that, GT!

Alan