Where to Find Clients that Will Pay a Respectable Rate for Writing

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Hi everyone, I have been writing for clients online for about a year and a half now and I am finding it hard to find clients that will pay for quality. The only clients that I can find want to pay rates of $3-4 per article. I am often killing myself just to write 10 articles a day so that I can make a measly $30.This is because of all of the competition out there with other writers offering there services for so much cheaper.

So my question is where do you guys find the clients that will pay better rates? Even $5 is better than $3.

Thanks,
Brian
#copywriting #clients #find #pay #rate #respectable #writing
  • Anyone have any ideas?
    • [1] reply
    • Get out and network face to face. You need to create a situation
      where you're appreciated not as a low-priced commodity provider,
      but as a talent of definite and superior value. Move your position.
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • People will only do what they are allowed to get away with. If they only have to pay you a few bucks they will. If you have regular clients then tell them you need to raise your rates, if they don't like it they will go somewhere else which is fine. If you have clients that appreciate you they will pay more to keep you writing for them. It is not like you are going from $3 to $20.

    It is better to have a good relationship with a small group of clients than to have tons of cheap ones.

    Ask your clients that are satisfied with you if they will give you a testimonial and put that testimonial out there for people to see that you are valuable. There are people on here that will pay more than a few bucks for an article if they are getting more than a few bucks value out of the article.

    I looked at your link and you have no testimonials at all. If you have 30 satisfied customers from the WF with testimonials I bet you will get 30 more.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Brian,

      You should take none of what I am about to say personally. I don't know you. I have no reason to insult or disparage.

      But--what I am about to say may sting.

      ----------

      1. You've positioned yourself as a commodity. There's no differentiation. There's nothing that leads a prospect to believe they'll get better quality, service or value than 250+ other people right next to you--especially on the Warrior Forum.

      ----------

      2. Kim's right. But I'll say what she said in a different way. Until *YOU* respect and revere what you bring to the table, no one else will. A person is not paid what he's worth. That's a myth. He or she is not paid according to the value they create. That's a myth too. Everything today information-wise, is based upon perceived, intangible, personal value. (Unless you've positioned yourself as a commodity--which you have.)

      In other words, "beauty is in the eye of the beholder." And you should acknowledge your own beauty FIRST.

      You are fighting for the crumbs that fall from the table, when you should be feasting from it.

      -----------

      3. Niche yourself. Are *YOU* "relevant?"

      If you have desire to increase your compensation writing, you're better off niching yourself rather than being a generalist. Becoming an expert in a specific market.

      In today's world, it's all about immediate and obvious relevancy. Laser targeting. So specialize in business opportunity, or Internet marketing, or some other rabid market and then find those companies who promote online.

      You'll get way more than your insultingly low $3/article.

      There is an alternative strategy here.

      Find "out of the way" niches and markets. RFID systems, for instance. Companies would KILL for a compelling competent, knowledgeable writer to create articles that are worthwhile reading in that market. $10/article would be cheap money.

      Look at it this way, (and I'm choosing my words deliberately.) Many companies and marketers consider article writers the "ditch diggers" of the Internet. For someone who's obviously ambitious like you, that's a hard fact to come to terms with.

      You must differentiate yourself, you must niche yourself, and you must bring specific, RELEVANT value to the party.

      And you must market yourself.

      I'll give you a secret: Once you learn the value of what I just said, here's the opportunity.

      People... important people... companies are looking to push quality unique content onto their blogs. You niche yourself, and become an expert in let's say foreclosure real estate, and you can easily make $50-$100/blog post. $1000 a month PER CLIENT. There are some nuances here I'm not sharing, but it can be done.

      A six-figure a year article writer? Yes, it's possible. But you have to be good. And you can't be a generalist.

      -----------

      4. Lastly, treat your article writing like a business--not a job. Not a time filler. You do not want to be occupying your time writing, but researching new content, learning as well as marketing yourself. You want your finger on the pulse of the market. You want to be a human version of "Google Alerts" for the market you're focusing on.

      - Rick Duris

      PS: Years ago, I was having lunch with an editor of a magazine. She paid me a lot of money to write (feature) 2000-word articles. Personally, I wasn't doing it for the money. I was doing it to promote my business. I also had the back page which is the most coveted of magazine real estate.

      One thing she said kinda stuck with me.

      "Rick, I like your writing because you actually know what you're talking about. You live it every day and it shows in your work."

      The reason I'm saying that is because that's what folks who buy premium article content are looking for--people who KNOW what their talking about. It just ain't about BS, seo-optimized, "unique" words. It's not about "content." It's about relevant, targeted specific, unique (meaning nobody has this idea yet) intrinsic value.

      Bottom line? If you want to make more money as an article writer, raise the bar on yourself. Stop being lumped in with all the other $3/article writing ditch diggers. Respect yourself and what you bring to the table.
      • [ 19 ] Thanks
  • [DELETED]
    • [1] reply
    • Sheesh. This is EXACTLY what I'm not talking about.

      "Good rates?" Anytime somebody says "rates," they're looking for a commodity.

      An attorney for instance, or a doctor, don't have rates, do they? Plumbers, taxi cab drivers do.

      If you're good at what you do article writing-wise, you're way better than that.

      Think about it.

      - Rick Duris

      PS: Let me put it to you in two more different ways:

      1. If you have to promote yourself by saying "I charge X dollars for Y number of words," you are commoditizing yourself and your work.

      2. Look at it like this: Have you ever seen copywriters charge by number of words? Only the most clueless would.

      It's because direct response copywriters are paid for results. Not number of words or number of hours put in. The best want to be known for the money they make for a Client or their conversion rate.

      An article writer, if they raised their game, as I suggested the previous post... I guarantee them they'll at minimum double their income.
      • [ 4 ] Thanks
      • [1] reply
  • Paul Hancox book is here:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...r-writing.html

    I would also recommend getting it!

    Also Paul is a great guy!

    You might also like to check out this WSO - to make sure that you are writing articles that are worth more money:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/warrior-...make-stop.html

    I can also recommend this book/course as a complete proramme for making money from your writing by creating PLR

    PLR ATM Official Site By Tiffany Dow

    Hope these help
    • [ 4 ] Thanks
    • [2] replies
    • I just downloaded Paul's book. I bought Tiffany's PLR course earlier this year. Thanks for the info. Great stuff.
    • This WSO looks really interesting. It's closed. I sent Zeus a pm, haven't heard back. Does anyone know if this is still available somewhere?

      Thanks!
      Mary
  • You are targeting the wrong market. If you don't want to make peanuts, stop competing with all the monkeys.

    Tina
    • [ 5 ] Thanks
  • [DELETED]
  • To add to what Rick said...

    WHY should anyone pay you more than $3 if they can get articles written for $3?

    It's not a trick question.

    This is something you have to answer for yourself before you can showcase it to your clients.

    What do you do that makes you more valuable than the $3 guys? How do you make your clients more money than the $3 guys?

    I haven't seen any samples of yours, so for all I know you might be worth $3.

    So if you want more money, you have to prove you're worth it. Be damn good at what you do. Show your results. Blow your own trumpet.

    But you've gotta have a trumpet worth blowing.

    -Dan
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • Everyone on here is making excellent points. Another way to look at it:

    I don't accept less than $50 for a unique 500 word article. Why? Because I actually sat down and calculated the time it takes me to write versus what I'm earning, and unless I'm earning that amount per article - I'm actually losing money. As in I could be using my writing for my own websites/traffic to get better paying jobs.

    Of course, everyone also makes a good point in saying, you need the quality to back up asking for more money.

    So if the quality is there- before you even ask where to make more money - sit down and figure out exactly how much your time is worth. Then don't charge a penny below it- ever. Even if it means losing out on a writing job. Respect your value as a writer
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Never compromise your integrity by working for providers who clearly aren't appreciating the effort that you're putting into your articles. Producing solid content or good sales copy is a talent and you should never undervalue yourself just to keep small sums of money coming in.

    Although many of us (myself included) have made that mistake in past, it pays to pull away from the bottom rung at the earliest available opportunity and price your skills accordingly. The only way to increase your rates is to actually do it! It really is as simple as that!

    Write to your client list and tell them them your new rates. If they value your work, they'll pay you for it. If they baulk at the new prices and look elsewhere for cheap writers, so be it. At least you'll be free to chase down fresh projects or devolop a new strategy based on the things you really want to write about.

    Also, invest in your future by purchasing e-books or other literature and wade into the information like a demon. The more you know, the better equipped you'll be to move away from these ridiculously low rates. Avoid the usual routes of finding work (you'll be up against dozen of writers who are happy to work for nothing!) and contact potential clients directly. I gave this advice to a young writer last week and he targetted a series of internet marketeers who produced websites about subject matter he was already familiar with. On the first day, he secured two jobs which were paying significantly more than he'd been earning for the previous year.

    All it takes is a little thought and effort. There's plenty of good advice on this thread alone and you have nothing to lose except a handful of poorly-paid articles which aren't worth the time or effort. Good luck with your search!
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • So true,and when you are writing for such a low amount your writing tends to turn into a matter of quantity over quality.
  • Hey Rick

    You're absolutely right... and I think the problem is because article writers are NOT usually copywriters.

    As copywriters, we're still writers... but we also know how to pitch ourselves and our services. We know how to craft offers, and differentiate ourselves (or the product we're pitching) in the marketplace.

    We have to, because that's part of our "job".

    Most "article" writers don't know how to do this.

    They know how to research (aka use Google and rehash material ), and to write for search engines, and churn out articles in 12... no wait, 7 minutes...

    ... but they don't know how to make their writing stand out from the crowd, and I suspect that's often because it doesn't stand out.

    Your advice about marketing themselves is SPOT ON.

    In addition, I would add that many article writers need to learn HOW to bring more value to the table.

    As you said, "Niche yourself" is a brilliant way of doing that. It makes research so much easier, when you know a niche inside out.

    You know, I tend to find that copywriters write far more gripping and compelling articles than "article writers". I wonder why that is

    Article writers... ponder the above question... really think about it.

    Why can a COPYWRITER charge perhaps $3,000 or $30,000 for what is, in terms of SIZE, the equivalent of perhaps 10-15 of your $3 articles?

    This is not a simple question, but the many answers will point you towards ways in which you can get more for your writing.
    • [ 4 ] Thanks
  • Thanks everybody for your informative answers. I am in a position in which i have decided to go back to school (because of a lay off) so writing has been a way for me to pay the bills. Getting answers from so many experienced people that have been in the same position as I am currently is very encouraging.

    Thanks,
    Brian
  • There is some really great advice here. I would add that you can now write your own ebooks and sell them online at Amazon and your own websites.

    To me, this opens another great window of opportunity. Plus, offering free ebooks can be good advertising too. I wish you the best of luck in finding higher-paying options for your writing.
  • My first writing job paid $2500.00... because I insisted.

    Just don't give in. I know about the competition that will write for $0.01/word. I know. Don't put yourself in that category. Simple. (And be patient.)
  • A quick mention about the Paul Hancox report.

    I've purchased a copy myself and a single sentence on page ten will see this report pay for itself many times over. Although I've been making a respectable living from my writing for quite some time now, I still purchase reports regularly to gain a fresh perspective on the current marketplace.

    This is one of the best I've seen. If I can come away from a report with just one sentence of worthwhile information, I'm usually happy with my purchase. For less than a tenner, this report has given me more in a single publication than any other I've seen. Thanks to the forum for the heads-up on this one.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Nuts. Now I'm going to have to fish out a copy of my own report to see what I said on Page 10! ... but thanks, Rigmonkey. I wish every article writer on this forum would read Write To More Money... and not at all because of the ton of money that would make me (although I wouldn't turn my nose up at that).

    Edit: Aha, I see it now. Page 10. Yes, I absolutely agree
    • [1] reply
    • Hi Paul

      I've also left a testimonial on the original thread relating to the report. Please feel free to use it at any time for promotional purposes. The only other report that gave me as much information was one that I found on the DP forum a couple of years ago. I think Jen Mattern was the author and it provided some great stuff for newcomers although it focused more on content production than actual copywriting.

      However, this particular report is fantastic for both new and intermediate level writers and for less than a tenner, it's a bit of a no-brainer. To improve, it's vital to invest in literature even if it's just for the sake of not having to experience the pitfalls at a personal level.

      WTMM will be one of the first references I provide to other writers in the future.
  • This thread is a goldmine. If it were packaged as a report it could fetch great money.

    I've been searching around WF to see what you other copywriters are doing and how it's done.

    I've worked in fiction and news for decades and in print but looking at the growing blogosphere and looking at the comparative prices you pros charge my eyes are opened. Sure I make several thousand bucks writing scripts for comics, tv etc. and we get fat royalty checks. Lots of it is ghostwriting or round table writing but the IM/blog game is intriguing because one can learn a great deal regarding other subject matter one is interested in.

    Rick's posts above are powerful. Same principle he mentions is what I do in my other fields as an illustrator. Getting clients with blogs to post to was so easy I got lazy and didn't research the alternatives. Now I am. What I'm seeing is remarkable.

    Hats off to you who've made successes of yourselves and I'll be buying your guides, ebooks, and tutorials.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Yes, I learned the hard way. I use to price myself way to low because I was new and wasn't sure I was good enough.


    I even use to do resumes on Fiverr for $4. I got tired of putting all that work in for just $4 and people were getting professional resume really cheap. They were getting a great deal, while on the other hand I was left with the crumbs.


    At first I didn't mind because I didn't value my work because of low self esteem.


    But not anymore. I charge no less than $75 now for the same kind of resumes I was writing on Fiverr. People are not knocking my door down now like they was on Fiverr, but at least I have learned to value my time and my work.


    I look at it this way. I wasn't making much writing all those resumes for a few bucks on Fiverr. Now when I do get a chance to write one, I put in the same amount of time and get paid a lot better.
  • I guess all this has got to do with how you niche yourself. If you are a brand, people will pay to keep you working for them. In any case, I do not know how I do mine but I find myself writing up to 20 articles a day. If you are stuck up somewhere people and you need someone to write for you, you can reach me. Check me out on ezinearticles. Temitope Agboola is the name.
    • [1] reply
    • Just purchased Paul's e-book: Write to More Money. I have been burning the mid night candle over it. I want to make sure I understand Paul's techniques, ideas, strategies etc before I write those strong proposals.

      It is worth more than it costs!

      I wanted to know more about his copywriting program but have not yet received details about it. A reference was made to some free videos on the subject but I have not yet received them.

      Thanks Paul.
  • Say, where did you purchase Paul's book at?
  • I started off my writing business on WF by offering cheap writing gigs. But being an enterprenur myself, I understand that competiting on WF alone will not get me anywhere. So I started offering my services offline, targeting any business who need writing.

    After only a few weeks, I realize that getting $20 - $30 per article isn't what I want. This isnt the future I want. I want to be seen as an expert. I want businesses to pay $1k - $2k for a press release, an ad etc.

    So I specialize in copywriting because I know that is where the money is. Now, I rarely do article writing and even if I do, it's going to cost $65 per article.

    What is the moral of the story? I refuse to let the market dictate how I charge. I know there will always be businesses out there who are willing to pay for quality. I just need to position myself so that I am easily found.

    You must believe you are worth more than $3. You must understand the writing business as a whole. You must understand the difference between a $3 article and a $300 article and what it entails. If you don't, you will remain a commodity.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • You are right. You have to know your self-worth. You have must have confidence in your abilities to command high fees. When I'm on Elance, I only look for projects that pay $1000+. I refuse to take on assignments that are less.

      I have took start taking action and contact local businesses in my area. I have been told that by several people now, and haven't done it. This is one step I plan on taking this month.
  • I want to mention one thing that others haven't. You NEED to change your nickname in here if you want to be take seriously.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. You beat me to it.
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    Where to Find Clients that Will Pay a Respectable Rate for Writing

    Hi everyone, I have been writing for clients online for about a year and a half now and I am finding it hard to find clients that will pay for quality. The only clients that I can find want to pay rates of $3-4 per article. I am often killing myself just to write 10 articles a day so that I can make a measly $30.This is because of all of the competition out there with other writers offering there services for so much cheaper. So my question is where do you guys find the clients that will pay better rates? Even $5 is better than $3.