Where copywriters compete and hope they get paid...

It's right in there with the fiverr mentality. There are some really talented people there getting $4 for a gig when they could be getting ten or twenty times that much for the same work. I guess they don't feel they're worth more. Wouldn't catch me near a site like that.

Now whoring myself does sound like it might have some interesting possibilities.

Yep, my smackin' hand is itching. I wish the people who utilize these websites would realize that they are dragging down their respective professions by doing so. Sad part is, the person who contacted me about the site spun it like a great opportunity for copywriters to make money and build their business. More like an opportunity to demean yourself and your fellow writers, waste bucketloads of time, and make what equates to minimum wage (if you're lucky enough to be among the chosen entries).

It sounds like an enormous waste of time. I guess for someone starting out, it might an okay idea, but not if you've got, well like, I don't know . . . rent.

Hi Susan, I think it's a great site and a great method. My opinion only.

The reason is that Im a competitive copy writer too so I know why these guys do it.

I compete in a private group that I can't reveal here.

My copy goes up against 20+ other copy writers (some of them have been writing copy professionally for years, some are noobs).

If my copy gets chosen it gets blasted out to a certain number of members on a list and so does the other 2 or 3 copy versions that where good enough to get hand picked. The one that yields the best result gets blasted out to over 60K members and the winner gets between 5-10% of sales (sales can be over $30K).

The reason I do this apart from the money?

Its all circumstancial for me. I have another source of income which means this is all bonus money for me. Im relatively new to writing copy professionally. I had done work yellow pages online before and had written for friends and my own products before but nothing like this.

So the way I see it; there is no better way to train and educate myself as a copywriter than to compete, basically get in the ring and slog it off, winner takes all.

After all we all live in free competitive markets.

In copy writing the vendor wants the best writer that is going to yield the best results. And the way I see it is that if he or she sees a better writer they will give the other guy the flick.

I also know that some copywriters routinely send copy samples into vendors and ask if they can split their copy against their current one for a flat fee or for a percentage of sales. So in other words whats happening on this site is no different to what is already happening only it is all in one platform.

For me competing in my private group is awesome. Im basically getting a free education, im writing actual copy (training) without having to pay for it via books, classes or online products. I dont have to look for customers and Im competing against guys that have been doing it professionally for years which means that I am learning from my own mistakes, im learning from their mistakes and im learning from what works on all sides.

-Andrei

EDIT. This site basically stops and says "put your money where your mouth is". We all do it, we all know people that do it. We sit there and judge or critisize websites, landing pages and even products. What this site does is say if you think you can make it better put your money where your mouth is and submit something better, if you do and it is better you will get rewarded.

I remember this person that used to work for me, she used to complain about everything. That was until I told her to make it better. Not once did she ever take me up on the offer, in fact I would offer to give her time away from her work to make whatever it was she didnt like better and she never did not once.

Do you know why? Because it's easy to sit back and say "This is s**t" or "That sucks" but to actually go and and create something better is a whole other story on its own.

"With Pluralis they (copywriters) don’t need to sell themselves to potential clients or waste precious time in phone calls and meetings with clients."
Pluralis | CrunchBase Profile

My experience is the opposite. Clients/business owners/marketing managers don't have the time to hassle with sites like this. They WANT to work with a reliable copywriter they can get on the phone or meet with as needed.

Its all circumstancial for me. I have another source of income which means this is all bonus money for me.

I respect your position, Andrei, and you do have some valid points about the benefits for new direct response copywriters. But what you said above is key. You don't need to rely on this model to make consistent, steady income.

I can't imagine that most full-time copywriters have the means to gamble with their time and talent like this. The client only selects a small portion of submitted samples to be tested. So you might spend hours creating a stellar landing page that doesn't even make it to the testing stage.

Sure, if you have the time and no financial pressure bearing down on you, you have nothing to lose - and could probably learn a few pointers. Or, maybe not so much...

...Im competing against guys that have been doing it professionally for years which means that I am learning from my own mistakes, im learning from their mistakes and im learning from what works on all sides.

If these people have been writing copy professionally for years, why are they competing for paying work? I would think someone with a long track record of writing high-converting landing pages would have a solid reputation, a steady flow of eager clients, and the ability to command a handsome (and guaranteed) fee per project. So I'd have to wonder just how much you were learning from your co-participants.

I hold firmly to my conviction that crowdsourcing sites diminish perfectly respectable professions. How many other service professionals - consultants, dentists, and therapists immediately spring to mind - would be caught dead working for free in hopes they get chosen by clients and paid for their efforts?

Meh.

I think people blow these kinds of things out of proportion.

The way things are going these days, so many more people are looking to become online entrepreneurs.

More entrepreneurs = more money spent on copywriting services.

Even if a portion of the money spent on copywriting ends up going to crowdsourcing sites, there's still probably more money for professionals who offer a business relationship with their clients as well.

Complaining about this kind of thing is just silly IMO.

When we launched this new info product. We hired writers the old fashion way...we paid them for there work. We hired a bunch and A/B tested ourselves to find what worked.

The model is interesting if the base pay is fair. I'm liking iWriter that helps screen candidates based on scores for crowdsourcing. But that's not how you find a direct sales copy writer.

That's my 2 cents for 50th post