I want the honest truth.

20 replies
Would you pay this much for an article?

Here are the details:

500 word article with included title, summary and resource box. Well researched content, well written body, etc. -- Would you pay $13 for this? $15?

Content I've written for just $11 I've been told I should be charging well over $100 for. So all of this considered, what do you think?

It's a fine line to walk since the offline world is used to paying a mint for good content, while online there's definitely somewhat of a cut off limit. All feedback encouraged, thank you!


Note: I'm not trying to sell you a darn thing, and I never will in this forum, but I'm trying to do some market research for some reasons that go way beyond increasing my profit margins--so an unbiased opinion would be truly appreciated!
#honest #truth
  • Profile picture of the author jazbo
    I would say post a bit of it so we can see the quality, $100 sounds a lot, IMHO.
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    • Profile picture of the author kareen
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      Originally Posted by jazbo View Post

      I would say post a bit of it so we can see the quality, $100 sounds a lot, IMHO.
      I agree, an article, no mattter how solid, should not exceed $20 in price, especially if it is just 500 words long.
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  • Profile picture of the author Darth Executor
    Assuming it's built around profitable keyword(s), I'd easily pay 20-30 bucks for one. If it's from some long tail keyword that'll only net me about 20 bucks/month, probably not, but if it's gonna make me a solid 100 bucks/month after a bit of SEO in the long term, I see no reason not to invest a little extra in it.
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
      Originally Posted by Darth Executor View Post

      Assuming it's built around profitable keyword(s), I'd easily pay 20-30 bucks for one. If it's from some long tail keyword that'll only net me about 20 bucks/month, probably not, but if it's gonna make me a solid 100 bucks/month after a bit of SEO in the long term, I see no reason not to invest a little extra in it.
      Ok. Well this depends completely on the client and what their needs are, so that's something to note also, but good info. When you say a profitable keyword do you mean high volume, high competition and something you would try pushing up in the SERPs? Just wondering.
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      • Profile picture of the author Kay King
        I've been told I should be charging well over $100 for. So all of this considered, what do you think?
        If those telling you that are willing to pay $100, maybe they're right. If they aren't, I wouldn't take the opinion as gospel.

        I've written articles for $14 and $70 and everywhere in between - though standard is $18-$30. But - I don't start out with "what I'm worth" or "what my writing is worth". I base fees on the job that needs done, the buyer, and of course that it's worth to me to do the work.

        I think many writers worry too much about what others charge, or who works more cheaply or earns more than they do. In the end, we are all worth what someone is willing to pay. So we find those who are willing to pay what we think we're worth.

        So - if you find a buyer willing to pay you $100 for 500 words, you're worth it.

        kay
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        • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
          Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

          If those telling you that are willing to pay $100, maybe they're right. If they aren't, I wouldn't take the opinion as gospel.

          I've written articles for $14 and $70 and everywhere in between - though standard is $18-$30. But - I don't start out with "what I'm worth" or "what my writing is worth". I base fees on the job that needs done, the buyer, and of course that it's worth to me to do the work.

          I think many writers worry too much about what others charge, or who works more cheaply or earns more than they do. In the end, we are all worth what someone is willing to pay. So we find those who are willing to pay what we think we're worth.

          So - if you find a buyer willing to pay you $100 for 500 words, you're worth it.

          kay
          I appreciate that Kay, and I agree. However, my circumstances are a bit different than your standard free lance writer... for example having a staff of writers, editors, moderators, etc. I've got an "assembly line" style approach to creating high quality content, so the price would need to remain pretty consistent. I don't know if that changes your thoughts at all, but just wanted to point that out Thanks Kay
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          • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
            It's very subjective, of course, but I'm going to say to you what was recently told to me - you never ask your market what you should be charging.

            If the content is well researched and well-written, I don't see any reason for you to be charging less than $20-30 each for marketers.

            Tina
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          • Profile picture of the author Jill Carpenter
            Originally Posted by Andrew Maule View Post

            I appreciate that Kay, and I agree. However, my circumstances are a bit different than your standard free lance writer... for example having a staff of writers, editors, moderators, etc. I've got an "assembly line" style approach to creating high quality content, so the price would need to remain pretty consistent. I don't know if that changes your thoughts at all, but just wanted to point that out Thanks Kay
            Why don't you offer a "platinum" service option of some kind?

            Continue on with current rates, and test the market to see if you can jump it up a notch.
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      • Profile picture of the author Darth Executor
        Originally Posted by Andrew Maule View Post

        When you say a profitable keyword do you mean high volume, high competition and something you would try pushing up in the SERPs? Just wondering.
        I mean high net profit. That's all that really matters in the end. If testing (say, through PPC) shows me that I can get a lot of money out of a keyword (either huge conversion rates, or decent conversion rates but huge payouts on each purchase), I'll put in a lot more effort, including a higher quality article. A little extra is well worth it, evei if it's just to avoid some random google employee stumbling onto your site, deciding it doesn't deserve the top spot, and slapping it down.
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  • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
    I dunno if I would pay it to a stranger, but if any of my writer girls, told me they had to raise their price to that... for the premium content, I would pay it in a heartbeat!

    Good content isn't hard to come by, but excellent content that is going to turn bigger profits is

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    Jay
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    • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
      Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

      I dunno if I would pay it to a stranger, but if any of my writer girls, told me they had to raise their price to that... for the premium content, I would pay it in a heartbeat!

      Good content isn't hard to come by, but excellent content that is going to turn bigger profits is

      Peace

      Jay
      Jay, what about a stranger with a reputation?

      edit: a GOOD reputation
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Wagenheim
        Bev Clement has touched on this in her latest course.

        There is a market out there, people who will pay hundreds of dollars if not
        a thousand dollars or more for a magazine quality article.

        The problem with the IM niche is, and no offense to you folks looking for
        deals, is that the mindset is that of "I'm not paying more than $10 for a 500
        word article".

        And why should they?

        Each article, if they're lucky, might bring them a couple of hundred dollars in
        income, depending on the niche. So spending more than a few bucks doesn't
        make any business sense.

        You need to get out into the real world and deal with people who are
        used to paying big bucks for articles.

        It's not going to happen selling to Joe Schmoe Bum Marketer.
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      • Profile picture of the author JayXtreme
        Originally Posted by Andrew Maule View Post

        Jay, what about a stranger with a reputation?

        edit: a GOOD reputation
        If I was in the market for a writer, Andrew... and YOU told me it was gonna be $100+ per article..

        I'd probably say yes for sure, actually.

        Remember this... I only need to make $101 to make that article a profitable investment... and I can realistically make 4 x that with proper placement.

        Peace

        Jay
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        • Profile picture of the author Andy Money
          Originally Posted by Steven Wagenheim View Post

          It's not going to happen selling to Joe Schmoe Bum Marketer.
          This is what I'm trying to gauge, really. But I definitely agree (as I said in OP) that the real cash is mostly offline.

          Originally Posted by JayXtreme View Post

          If I was in the market for a writer, Andrew... and YOU told me it was gonna be $100+ per article..

          I'd probably say yes for sure, actually.

          Remember this... I only need to make $101 to make that article a profitable investment... and I can realistically make 4 x that with proper placement.

          Peace

          Jay
          Good to know Thanks Jay
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  • Profile picture of the author alwiser
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    • Profile picture of the author Tina Golden
      The max I would pay for a 500 word article is $5, provided that the quality is top notch. I usually pay less than $4 or $4.5.
      Then you are not part of his target market anyway since his rates are already more than double what you are willing to pay. You are lucky if you find top notch work at that price. I've tried a lot of cheap writers and have yet to come across high quality at that price point.

      Tina
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    • Profile picture of the author CliveG
      Originally Posted by alwiser View Post

      The max I would pay for a 500 word article is $5, provided that the quality is top notch. I usually pay less than $4 or $4.5.
      I suspect that your definition of top notch is a bit different to mine. However, for most IM purposes you do not need top notch (my definition) articles.

      I have in the past written magazine articles (on quite a technical subject) that paid almost $1,000 for a double page article (interupted by graphics provided by someone else).
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  • Profile picture of the author Shana_Adam
    No doubts that many non-im industries would pay higher rates for quality content. In this market place its a different temperament, people are constantly being bombarded with free ebooks reports, plr etc etc.

    Therefore the targeting of clients needs to be high profile clients who need quality at any cost. Nobody wants a poor quality article or blog post on their website that gets hundreds of responses and exposure.

    The way language is used plays a pivotal role in the message being broadcast. Send out crap and the response will be likewise.
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  • Profile picture of the author KenThompson
    Hi Andrew,

    Kay and Bev, in another post, are correct in what they have to
    say on this matter. The offline and successful non-IM clients are a
    different world from what we're used to seeing.

    I don't write articles for others anymore. But I've been paid from
    30 to 85 per article for offline clients. An offline newsletter, from
    a different country, contracted me to write a series of 12 articles
    at 50 per article.

    That kind of work is out there. For me, once I started getting paid
    those kinds of fees it really changed the way I perceived my value.
    It does something different and good to your head.

    PS - Sorry Andrew, yes I would pay that much depending on the
    market and quality of the writing.
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  • Profile picture of the author theemperor
    How long is a piece of string?

    Most OK article writers charge $2 for 100 words, making a 500 word article $10.
    If you want a badly written article, pay $1 per 100 words.
    If you want a really bad rehash of an exisitng article, pay $0.50 per 100 words.

    Now to charge more than $2 per 100, I think the writer would need to show specialist credentials.

    E.g. a lawyer with years of experience is going to charge a lot for their time in any instance, so a law article written by such a person will cost a lot. If the article was a niche technology area where there are only 100 experts in the world, I imagine the price would go up a lot too.

    However if the target is to post the article on Articles Base or EZA, I would not pay more than $2/100 words ever.

    If the target was an eBook, private area of a site, or for a wedding speech ... I would think of paying more.
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  • Profile picture of the author aceshigh
    It's tricky because the challenge is that a lot of people are going overseas to get that kind of work done so you got a lot of tough competition. I've gotten articles writen on mturk for dirt cheap, like 1 dollar often would easily get a 500 word article done up. The reason is in India that represents a full days wages in buying power at an entry level job. So maybe what you got to do is be the middle person. Get the word done for you on mturk for 1 buck, you just be the editor, and then you charge the 15, or whatever you're gonna charge, and make the spread.
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