Would You Pay $500 for 15,000 Words of Fresh Content?

So based on a $16 to $17 price for a typical 500 word article, that is a reasonable price in many circles. But when buying in that quantity, it seems a little on the high side to me.

But then there are more than a few that command $20 or more per 500 word article, so I would say it is not unreasonable. But much more than many are willing to pay.

I think a lot will depend on the quality of writing and the expertise in the field. If it's general knowledge type stuff the price will probably not be as much as expert knowledge.

I know some authors at constant content routinely sell their full rights articles for $40-$60 per 500 words.

It really depends. It's like saying, would you pay $15,000 for a painting?

If it was picasso, maybe, maybe not. If it was your own child's fingerpainting, maybe, maybe not.

Depends on the value, intrinsic value, and what someone is willing to pay.

I think its very expensive. You can find a lot of professional writers that doesn't charge that much. Our writers in VApilipinas has a minimum of 2 years experience in writing fresh and quality contents and only charge $30 per 5000 words.

Yeah of course if there is quality in the work then this price is nothing. All matters is the quality and that counts.

I think most of the serious marketers that need content have used outsourced writers at some point. I pay my main writer $2 for 500 words so I could have him write 15,000 words for $60. It would be acceptable for a website and with a little editing I could create an ebook with his writing.

The best writer I worked with stepped her game up. She now charges $1 per 100 words so it would cost me $150 to have her write the content. That content would not have to be edited. It would be ebook ready.

These outsourcers are the people you would be competing against and serious marketers all know about these outsourcers.

I'm not looking for writers. I was just trying to find out what people expect to pay for content on this forum. Most of the responses I've gotten so far have pretty much confirmed my suspicions, though.

$17/500 words is far, far more reasonable than $2/500 words.

NO, I definitely would not pay -
when I can get it cheaper -
and of a good quality too!

It totally depends on the purpose you're trying to serve.

I've paid $20 - at times $50 - to get content written for some clients. Those articles made multiples of what we paid back directly, and added a ton of weight to the clients' business online.

If you know what you're going to do with the content, I'd say go for it. $15~ is very, very reasonable. Then again, if this content is going to be put up on affiliate sites just for the sake of being there, you can probably get a better deal.

I've talked to a couple of writers, in India, who regularly charge in excess of $.5 per word. They have contracts with companies that manage international brands here. So, reiterating myself, it totally depends on the purpose.

If it helps me to make $500 over and over again, why not?

Well as others have said it all depends on the quality of the articles. And what results you get. Now i know you will not be able to tell what the results will be, but that is a "Risk" you will be taking. If the person is well established as a writer then you should be able to gauge the results you are may be able to get.

So it depends............................. sorry could not help further.

What you pay is what you get. Want quality content? Then no, it's not that expensive.

There is another factor I haven't seen mentioned (maybe I missed it): If it's several articles that add up to 15,000 words, that would have less value to me than one piece of writng that was 15,000 words.

With the articles, there would be a lot of overlap, and each article would be self-contained; making it an easier job.

If it were a single piece of writing, it would have to be planned, there would be much less overlap (if any), and it would have to flow in a natural and linear manner; making it the more intricate job.

This comparison assumes the writing would be of a high quality. If it wasn't, then I wouldn't pay that much. If it wasn't of usable quality, then I wouldn't pay $5 for 150,000 words.

All the best,
Michael

Are you talking about a set of articles or an ebook?

I know there are people who take twenty articles and stick them together and call it an ebook. But a quality ebook will not be written that way and won't read that way.

A good ebook and/or report will have a clear purpose and voice throughout the entire book. One principle will build upon another and lead to a clear conclusion or purpose. It's not only about proper grammar and spelling. The writer needs to know how to hold interest and write in an entertaining and informative manner.

If your writer is doing all the research for your project and writing a quality product then it's well worth that price.

Part of your decision needs to be based on your final intent. Is this a product you're planning to sell? If you sell people junk that you paid $1 per 100 words for then you'll probably never sell to them again. Or do you want people to be excited about buying your next product because your first one was so good?

Rose

It really depends on quality like others said, but my answer is no way. I pay $2 for a 500 word article and they are decent articles with proper English.

I'll pay more if I need the article for something important, but for the most part it's $2 an article and they are usually pretty good!

Personally I think that's outrageous, but that's my opinion.

No $200.00 sounds better.

It's really about the quality of writing. You really do get what you pay for in this game. For 15,000 words I would charge $600 and I have no shortage of customers even at that price. I do, however, provide quality guaranteed content. I can also turn around any 400 word article on any subject within 45 minutes.

In that case the answers will vary greatly. Some people are willing to pay for quality content but many are not. A lot don't even know the difference or simply don't care what they put their name on or sell to their customers.

The trick is to find the ones that care and build your client base with them.

I agree with Rose. Some will pay and some will not. So....the question is can you get enough customers who are willing to pay that price?

if you do the math on that then thats really expensive because the usual rate for a quality article you would buy thats 500 words is $5 per article. If you spend $500, you can get 100 articles created, which means 50,000 words of content. I'd say don't go with it because you are going to end up spending far too much.

I've seen ebooks that are little more than a series of bullet points, the barely written up notes taken from a basic guide on the subject matter. That is, some 'writer' borrows a book on IBS, for example, from the library and takes notes from it. These notes, are then turned into a 30 page 'ebook' with around 250 words per page.

This book has no 'voice' but it was never intended to. What you get is 7500 words on a subject you can use as PLR. For this, people ask around $25.

If you join a PLR membership group you may get two of these ebooks for something like $17 a month.

So if you've offering this kind of ebook then $500 is way too much.

(But bear in mind that if you charged $25 and sold 20 copies as PLR ebooks you'd get your $500).

As a guide. I write fully researched ebooks that are around 30-50K words. All these books have 'voice' and can be sold on their own as books in their own right. That is, there is a market for this book and there is a angle to the book that can be marketed.

Along with a sales letter and a bundle of articles to promote it (10, 20, 50, etc.) I'll get somewhere between $750 and $2500.

There is a market for high quality material but it's smaller than for medium quality and low quality PLR. This doesn't matter. Because if you can find one person who can make a decent profit on your $2500 ebook, he'll be a repeat customer.

Here's a tip. When it comes to market research, asking people what they'd pay won't get you very useful results.

I'd pay that if I had experience with the writer from previous experiences. I made the mistake in buying content in bulk before and never had a good experience with it. Deadlines weren't ever hit on time, the quality of the work varied tremendously, and overall it just wasn't a great experience or deal in the end.

I'd recommend testing the writer out first, and purchasing 7,500 words for $250. That allows you to review the work in bulk and allow you to provide valuable feedback. After completing that arrangement and the writer seems to work out well, I'd then have no hesitations ordering 15,000 for $500.

One of the reasons this conversation always confuses me is this:

If you're outsourcing writing it would seem that you're trying to save time. But if you spend hours and hours searching for good writers that are cheap then how much time have you saved?

And, as already mentioned, as soon as the writers realize they're undercharging most (maybe not all, buy most) will raise their prices so they're no longer working for minimum wage. So then you have to start your hours of searching all over again.

Wouldn't you save time and money by simply hiring better writers in the first place?

Weblink,
Thanks for the answer. I honestly was just curious. I'm glad you've found a writer you're happy with and provides the quality you need.

To the OP:
I still think it makes a difference in your pricing depending on whether you're speaking of articles or ebooks. Most of the answers have talked only about articles. Michael made a good point about the difference between the two.

I think it's a fair price. I would pay that to my writer, as I know she would do a great job. I would not make such offer to a person I'd found on Freelancer site.

First you have to realize, that good article isn't just a piece of content that has proper grammar and is coherent. The article needs to engage the reader, it needs to push the reader to take certain action, it needs to be SEO'd, it needs to establish authority, it needs to be creative, it needs to be researched, it needs to be factual, it needs to put to use a lot of emotional triggers etc. That's an article that makes money. Everything else is just a fluff without substance.

When it comes to cheap articles, you can get some of the above, but never all of it (and many time, you get none of it). That's when the "you get what you pay for" comes to play.

Well put it this way, I consider myself a pretty decent writer. I have three university degrees from the University of Manitoba (Canada). I would definitely take that job. It is higher than the rate I usually charge and I guarantee satisfaction with my writing. I can honestly say that after 700+ articles I have never had one sent back for spelling or grammar issues. I've been asked to modify 3-5 to add in specific quotes or features, but that's it. If anyone here is will to pay $17 per 500 words please take a look at my signature.

Honestly ... I'd be more likely to charge at least $700. And yes, I realize I probably wouldn't get many takers from this forum.

But by way of comparison, I was a "ghost blogger" last year and created posts for a blog managed by a marketing firm. Each post was about 500 words; each took me about an hour to write, choose a photo, and post. I was paid hourly, at $25 per hour. Using your specs of 15,000 words, assuming you can write about 500 words per hour, you're looking at $750 for the entire project.

Is your writing worth at least $25/hour? Mine is.

If you want to charge $500+ for this type of writing, I'd try to find a client who is willing to pay what you are worth.

I'd say that's very over priced ..

Just as an aside, I hate how any thread about article writing gets invaded by "article writers" who are more concerned about self promotion than replying to the original post and helping the OP.

Scott,

Actually, every article writer who has posted on this thread has offered the OP some helpful information. Since he is an article writer and not looking to hire someone I don't really think we'll gain anything from our "self-promotion".

I am confused about how your post helped the OP.

Scott,
I stand corrected. I read your first post yesterday and it was very helpful. I didn't reread the entire thread today to realize that was you. I apologize.

This is a tad over priced, by about 30%-40%, so no... not for what i do anyway

Like others said, if it were a specialized niche I could easily see paying someone that much.

For a general niche, I asked my sister, and she knows a lot of excellent writers who charge less than that... so she wouldn't pay it. But it doesn't mean there aren't people in other niches who would pay it.

You could also brand yourself in certain ways to dictate higher prices - maybe a 48 hour turnaround could be an option? Or designing your reports too? Or reading them aloud and doing ebooks of them as well?

Totally depends on the niche'. Your a saying in general so I would say way to much. Now if you are in a higher end niche' then maybe, but in general... you can purchase a PLR eBook and have a writer (or yourself if you are knowledgable in the area) re-write the content for pennies on the dollar.

All in all... I would say that is really steep. My 2 cents worth.