Are People Still Interested In Finding Highy Paying($50 and Above) Article Writing Job?

50 replies
It has been repeatedly stated here that high paying writing clients exist but have you been able to find yours?

It is a different thing read a practical piece but never do anything about it. Marinne, Alexa , John and all other notable expert here have, overtime, taken the pain to lay do down the principles and success road maps.

But it would be waste of their energry if goal is not achieved in your life-- Your Success.

So are people here still interested in high paying article writing clients or have moved on to other venture?
#article #find #highy #interested #job #paying$50 #people #writing
  • Profile picture of the author DanielMilstein
    Originally Posted by jideofor View Post

    It has been repeatedly stated here that high paying writing clients exist but have you been able to find yours?

    It is a different thing read a practical piece but never do anything about it. Marinne, Alexa , John and all other notable expert here have, overtime, taken the pain to lay do down the principles and success road maps.

    But it would be waste of their energry if goal is not achieved in your life-- Your Success.

    So are people here still interested in high paying article writing clients or have moved on to other venture?
    I think there is certainly demand of such high paid writes. but the ones that charge more are already busy with the load. But getting them is a difficult task. I have found some excellent writer from India and since the level of English is very high, I keep her busy with enough load so that she doesn't have to search for more work from outside
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Heron
    I really couldn't understand what you said. By high paying writing clients are you referring to buyers or sellers of written content?
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    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      But it would be waste of their energry if goal is not achieved in your life-- Your Success.
      Not really. MY success is writing for a decent amount of money - I attain it through my own efforts and if someone else doesn't reach their goal it doesn't waste my energy at all. Convoluted enough for ya?

      This looks like a thread waiting for a place to happen.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
        Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

        This looks like a thread waiting for a place to happen.
        "All things come round to him who will but wait."
        Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

        :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author cjbmeb14
    I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
    We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
      You think wrong. I have as much work as I can comfortably manage at the moment. I am fully booked three weeks in advance most of the time with fresh project inquiries arriving daily.

      I have not had to seek work for many months. Work comes to me. When I charged significantly less than I do today, it was always a struggle to find enough work to live on, and I never quite got there, to be honest.

      When I raised my charges to a much higher level, after an initial promotion period, the work started flowing and now shows no signs of stopping.

      You say you are sometimes chasing after work. That is most likely because there are more service providers at the $5 per 500 words level than there are customers creating demand.

      At higher price levels the opposite is true. There is a healthy demand for freelance writing at $7, $8, $9, $10, and higher, per 100 words, but the service provision is lower.

      John.
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      • Profile picture of the author theultimate1
        Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

        There is a healthy demand for freelance writing at $7, $8, $9, $10, and higher, per 100 words, but the service provision is lower.

        John.
        Hi John,

        First off, it feels great to know that raising prices has worked pretty well for you. That's some serious inspiration; and in some way, highly motivating too... as it tells me clearly what potentially lies ahead for me. Thanks for that

        Now, the question that I have... Where do I find clients that are willing to pay even half of what you said in the quoted part here? I mean $4 per 100 words is more than very very good, given the standards of living here in India. Also, I may be missing something here... as the usual picture is that the highly paid writers are chased by prospective clients, and not the other way around. How do I get to that level? Any advice/suggestions you have would be helpful to a lot of us here.

        Regards,
        Sooraj
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        • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
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          • Profile picture of the author TG Arunah
            Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

            For those of you interested, this is how I started getting higher paid work. I no longer use this method as I have moved on to working with clients directly. However, I believe this is the fastest way to get from $5 per 500 words to at least $25 per 500 words. This is a copy of a post I made in another thread:

            ----------------

            John.
            Hats off to you John ! It's amazing and you deserve $50 for this .. and you have given away free .. so nice of you. May I suggest you to make a pdf document and sell it at a price you desire in WF itself. It will sell like hot cake.
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            • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
              Originally Posted by TG Arunah View Post

              Hats off to you John ! It's amazing and you deserve $50 for this .. and you have given away free .. so nice of you. May I suggest you to make a pdf document and sell it at a price you desire in WF itself. It will sell like hot cake.
              It really a very simple method, and I can't take full credit for it anyway as I wasn't the first to come up with the concept.

              Others have been doing this in one form or another for years. I just wanted to show those struggling that finding higher paid writing work is not really difficult when you follow a plan.

              Just about every week someone contacts me and tells me they followed this same plan and they are now having good success with it. That's all the price I need.

              John.
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              • Profile picture of the author Simon Ashari
                Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

                It really a very simple method, and I can't take full credit for it anyway as I wasn't the first to come up with the concept.

                Others have been doing this in one form or another for years. I just wanted to show those struggling that finding higher paid writing work is not really difficult when you follow a plan.

                Just about every week someone contacts me and tells me they followed this same plan and they are now having good success with it. That's all the price I need.

                John.
                Can I ask where this thread is where you describe this method? Would love to read it.

                -Simon
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      • Profile picture of the author Patrick_Kelly
        Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

        You think wrong. I have as much work as I can comfortably manage at the moment. I am fully booked three weeks in advance most of the time with fresh project inquiries arriving daily.

        I have not had to seek work for many months. Work comes to me. When I charged significantly less than I do today, it was always a struggle to find enough work to live on, and I never quite got there, to be honest.

        When I raised my charges to a much higher level, after an initial promotion period, the work started flowing and now shows no signs of stopping.

        You say you are sometimes chasing after work. That is most likely because there are more service providers at the $5 per 500 words level than there are customers creating demand.

        At higher price levels the opposite is true. There is a healthy demand for freelance writing at $7, $8, $9, $10, and higher, per 100 words, but the service provision is lower.

        John.
        This is great to hear, John. I've been very concerned about the low rates on the internet for writers, so it is excellent to hear that quality will be able to be rewarded appropriately.
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        • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
          Originally Posted by Patrick_Kelly View Post

          This is great to hear, John. I've been very concerned about the low rates on the internet for writers, so it is excellent to hear that quality will be able to be rewarded appropriately.
          Of course, I can only speak for myself, but I strongly suspect that others who charge significantly more than the ubiquitous $5 per 500 words are also doing well and have plenty of work to keep them busy.

          It does take a bit of time to build up to that level, but it is worth doing. The work is more satisfying, and of course better paying; the clients are a much nicer bunch who don't moan and complain all the time; they never mention Copyscape, at least not to me; they pay promptly, and they happily pay all the PayPal fees too; they are much more appreciative of the work they receive, and they very rarely ever ask for revisions; they tend to become long-term clients, and they often refer me to their friends who also become regular clients - what's not to like, for goodness sakes!

          John.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
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      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      On the contrary - nothing could be further from the truth: those are typically the ones who are fully booked.

      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
      Yes; you will be, of course.

      Writers of $5 articles tend, in fact, to be regularly chasing after work, with constant advertising/promotion, while writers of $50/$100 and even $200 articles tend to be pretty fully booked up with regularly returning customers. This is normal.

      There are reasons for this.

      One of them is explained here: http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...ml#post4933938
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    • Profile picture of the author AnniePot
      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
      Actually, from my perspective, $50 per article is ridiculous. I have been a content writer for many years and I charge $200 - $225 per article, sometimes more if it involves a great deal of research.

      Over the past three years I've cut back significantly on the outside work I accept; these days, I much prefer to direct my efforts to writing for my own blogs, but I continue to write for a handful of longtime clients. And I continue to receive requests from clients I no longer write for (most of which I decline.) If I was inclined, I could return to full-time content writing for clients at the prices I've mentioned above, almost immediately.
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    • Profile picture of the author cypherslock
      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
      I charge and get $25 per 500 word article. I charge and get $200 per ebook. I want higher quality clients, not those looking for the cheapest of the cheap. I flat out refuse to compete with the $1,$2 etc article writers because that market is not my target. There is an art to writing a profit pulling, customer engaging article, just like any other copy. And while getting into IM can be done cheaply, you still will have to spend coin if you're serious.

      Could I charge more? Yup, if it was the only thing I did. But I like to diversify just a tad. I'm still a code geek at heart
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    • Profile picture of the author Karen Blundell
      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.

      and you would be wrong!

      you're looking in the wrong places for clients
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  • Profile picture of the author GeorgR.
    You would be surprised how many "serious" marketers are VERY willing to pay well for good articles.

    Maybe your problem with not being able to sell $5 "articles" is you are selling and targeting to the cheapest of the cheapest people, those, who even think that $5 is too much when they can get the same for $2 elsewhere.

    Any "serious" marketer, webmaster etc. is usually willing to pay more.

    If you want to sell Ferraris, you should not try selling them in the Ghetto...and Ferraris obviously sell, otherwise they would be already out of business, correct?
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  • Profile picture of the author jideofor
    John, thanks for stopping by. Can I PM you?

    At cjbmeb14, I will PM you and the truth is they exist. I had to follow what John and others recommended and believe it or not, I have 12 windows to walk through. The choice is mine. My only hinderance is that I am in school and I can't use what I have found but hope.fully over the holiday, I will do it.
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  • Profile picture of the author Channing
    Banned
    No, I have not been able to find mine and I have moved on to other ventures.
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  • Profile picture of the author The Copy Warriors
    I once got paid $450 for an article. I had to track down and interview people for it though.
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  • Profile picture of the author jasono
    Wow.. $50 for an article is really great. The highest price I know for an article was $25. I'm not sure what the difference are but there are even great writers that would accept low pay rates to write an article.
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  • Profile picture of the author travlinguy
    Funny Story: I once contacted a guy on this forum who said he was looking for an excellent writer and was willing to pay for just that. I showed him some samples and told him my rate was 10 cents a word. I also said I needed to be paid up front.

    He needed 500-word articles and wanted to purchase one to start to see if I was up to the task. After seeing some of the crud he's been publishing I knew I was up to the task. I asked him to send me $50 via PayPal and he sent me $5 with a note about the typo in my proposal.

    He said I obviously meant one cent per word, not 10 cents. I laughed myself silly as I refunded his money. Then he got really pissed and said there was no article on earth worth 10 cents per word. Funny, huh?

    My best article rate ever was $300 for an 800-word piece of a political nature. It was syndicated all over the mainstream press during the last national popularity contes... err, election.
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    • Profile picture of the author robestrong
      I used to do article writing for a while at what I now recognize as obscenely low rates. I always had the feeling that I was being middle-manned for a hefty profit.

      I'm sure you could easily get a $50+ writing job but what you need to get down is where you're getting your jobs. The right spot will pay premium for something the wrong spot will pay chicken squat for.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
      Originally Posted by travlinguy View Post

      My best article rate ever was $300 for an 800-word piece of a political nature. It was syndicated all over the mainstream press during the last national popularity contes... err, election.
      Ah yes, democracy means different things to different people, but who cares as long as it pays well. :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author danr62
    There are also many magazines that pay for article submissions that get published. Wouldn't it be remarkable if someone could actually get paid to write an article promoting their own business?
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    • Profile picture of the author jideofor
      Originally Posted by danr62 View Post

      There are also many magazines that pay for article submissions that get published. Wouldn't it be remarkable if someone could actually get paid to write an article promoting their own business?
      Spot on, man. I can almost certainly tell you that the place I have scouted and found opportunity is magazine.
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  • Profile picture of the author eastwest97
    I work as a technical writer in my day job and our contract writers who help with overages are paid at least $80 an hour. We have more than enough work to do as people are in need of solid quality writing whether for articles, brochures or reports.

    Granted, $80/hour is not a per word fee per se, but quality freelancers, whether writing an article or doing ghostwriting are asking for $50 to $125 an hour and more! So to answer your question, yes there are jobs out there and opportunities for that price!
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  • Profile picture of the author Oliver Hart
    Hi.

    First of all, thanks a lot to John for putting out his detailed plan for finding high-paying customers.

    The discussion about how much an article is worth having been around for a while, and the debate seems to go on forever.

    The problem, at least for me, is to define what a "high quality" article is.

    Can someone with good writing experience define to me what a high-quality article is, and maybe even link me to some samples to see?

    As stated earlier in many threads about this subject there is a difference between Mazda and Ferrari, but not only in price.

    There is a huge difference in quality, as well.

    In cars, the difference is easy to spot because you know what to look for.

    In articles, it is not that easy because there are also some personally "likes" and "dislikes" involved.

    On the other hand, do you implies that the difference is only psychological. If you pay a high price for the article, the article is high-quality, but if the price is low, the article is crap, even if the article is the same articles?

    Please up light me.

    - Oddvar.
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    • Profile picture of the author Alexa Smith
      Banned
      Originally Posted by ODA Marketing View Post

      Can someone with good writing experience define to me what a high-quality article is
      Yes - I think it's actually very easy to define, in this context, with a simple, pragmatic definition: a high quality article is one which ezine publishers and webmasters choose to syndicate just because they want to share it with their readers.

      In other words, the author attracts other people's pre-targeted traffic simply from the quality of the writing.

      However much people debate the meaning, that practicality is what it boils down to, and that's what really determines whether you can make a steady and increasing living from it, building up true residual income from an asset-based business, without needing to be in the ever-precarious position of depending on search engines for traffic.

      Originally Posted by ODA Marketing View Post

      Please up light me.
      A pleasure ...
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      • Profile picture of the author Oliver Hart
        Originally Posted by Alexa Smith View Post




        A pleasure ...
        LOL

        Thanks. Needed.
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    • Profile picture of the author deejones
      Originally Posted by ODA Marketing View Post

      On the other hand, do you implies that the difference is only psychological. If you pay a high price for the article, the article is high-quality, but if the price is low, the article is crap, even if the article is the same articles?
      I think it comes down to how much time you can really expect a person to spend writing a 500 word article for $5. How much researching, revising, and proofreading can you really expect them to do?

      Folks trying to make any kind of a living writing $5 articles have to turn out five or ten of them a day, often on lots of different topics. They can't afford to spend one or two hours on a single article, and shouldn't be expected to. And, no matter how good a writer is, it's hard to research and write a high quality article in 30 minutes.
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      • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
        Originally Posted by deejones View Post

        ... no matter how good a writer is, it's hard to research and write a high quality article in 30 minutes.
        Yes! Those who claim to be able to write high quality 500 word articles in 10 minutes are indeed missing something.
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  • Profile picture of the author davidtong
    It's amusing that there are still folks who thinks "if a cheap service is having a hard time finding clients, high priced services would be even tougher"

    On the contrary, offering premium products within a targeted niche instead of carpet bombing is the easiest and most stable way to make money rather than trying to beg for attention in a sea of cheap providers.

    In one of my offline ventures, the fact that we're 40% more expensive than 95% of our competitors made our business flourish the past half a decade while direct competitors shut down left and right within 6mos.
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  • Profile picture of the author petemcal
    Does anyone know what software John uses in his sample articles on his site to produce his analysis?

    Report1:
    Theme Score (max 100%): 100%
    Quality Theme Score (max 100%): 100%

    Report2:
    Theme Reports for top pages in Google (same as report 1 but for top 10 search result pages).

    Report3:
    Keyword map.

    Document link: http://www.writesystem.com/Themed%20...ohn_Coutts.pdf

    Thanks if anyone knows.
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    • Profile picture of the author John Coutts
      Originally Posted by petemcal View Post

      Does anyone know what software John uses in his sample articles on his site to produce his analysis?

      Report1:
      Theme Score (max 100%): 100%
      Quality Theme Score (max 100%): 100%

      Report2:
      Theme Reports for top pages in Google (same as report 1 but for top 10 search result pages).

      Report3:
      Keyword map.

      Document link: http://www.writesystem.com/Themed%20...ohn_Coutts.pdf

      Thanks if anyone knows.
      I use Web Content Studio (Web Content Studio), and that is not an affiliate link.

      The software is expensive, but very good, in fact, the best of its kind available.

      I still often theme the content I write, but increasingly I find that with writing longer pieces it isn't necessary, as the theming happens naturally.

      However, the software is great for organizing your writing. It has a number of different modes for writing/editing, researching, storing information, making notes, etc, and of course, producing various reports on content that has been written.

      John.
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      • Profile picture of the author petemcal
        Originally Posted by John Coutts View Post

        I use Web Content Studio (Web Content Studio), and that is not an affiliate link.

        The software is expensive, but very good, in fact, the best of its kind available.

        I still often theme the content I write, but increasingly I find that with writing longer pieces it isn't necessary, as the theming happens naturally.

        However, the software is great for organizing your writing. It has a number of different modes for writing/editing, researching, storing information, making notes, etc, and of course, producing various reports on content that has been written.

        John.
        Thank you very much John, the software looks extremely useful!
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  • Profile picture of the author Asante
    As a new article writer, I've benefited greatly by reading posts like this before setting my prices. Thanks for the great info everyone.
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  • Profile picture of the author Kierkegaard
    There are individuals cranking out $5-10 articles that they write themselves and companies that pay writers $1.50 per article which they sell on for $5-10.

    These articles, no offense intended, are extremely general, samey and highly unlikely to be read in full by anyone other than the person who bought it. As I said in another thread - do your research. Visit any popular forum in your niche (for buyers, not IMers) and you'll hear constant complaints about the lack of good quality information available on the topic. Instead there are scads of sites, all dominating the SERPS, offering the same old 500 word sales pitch. It's clear, even to the most naive readers that the article they're reading on dog baskets (for example) has been written soley to direct the reader to a page selling dog baskets.

    There are articles that are written to be actually read. Let's call them magazine-style articles. These articles are the most effective for someone wanting to create an authority website. The problem for the buyer (of the articles) is that they must compete with hard-copy magazines for good writers.

    Why would a writer write a 1000+ word article for $40 when s/he could write almost the same one for a trade or niche magazine for $150+ (and build up their clippings)?

    Well, there are some good reasons.
    1. Writing for magazines is a lot more work. When you add up the time spent pitching articles and chasing payments your hourly rate rapidly plummets.
    2. More and more magazines are looking for free content. This is especially true for ones attempting to increase their web presence. Very well known and respected magazines will often approach bloggers and request free articles (hope the prestige will win them over - and it often does). I'd rather be paid by someone looking to build their site's reputation than be flattered by an already successful site.
    3. Like it or not, online audiences are less demanding and off-line ones. Articles written for the web are not held to the same standard. This is due, in the most part, for the constant need for copy and the fact that most people skim-read online articles rather than sit down with a coffee and enjoy the writing. They WILL read it but the reading experience is not the same.
    $30-50 dollars for an 800-1000 word article that people will actually read is very little outlay considering that 50 such articles will cost $1500-2500.

    $1500 for a website or blog that people will actually visit and read, link to and share with their friends is extremely reasonable.

    $1500 For a site that when you link to it in the comment box of a authority site, the link is rarely ever deleted.

    $1500 For a site that people in forums across the internet readily cite whenever someone comes along asking where they can find more information.

    How much income do you think that site will bring in? What would its value be if you sold it? - more than $1500! more than $2500!

    Looking at it this way a $30-50 article doesn't seem such a high price to pay.
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    • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
      Originally Posted by cjbmeb14 View Post

      I think anyone who is charging those amounts of money for an article, must have very little work.
      We run an article writing business and only charge $5 for 500 words but even then, sometimes we are chasing after work.
      You need to step outside the box and understand what someone you charge $5 for an article does with it. Most of the people ordering articles for a penny a word have no idea how to use it properly to gain traffic, build a list, sell products, and make that $5 article make them money.

      However, those willing to pay $50 for a 500 word article know exactly what to do with is, how to syndicate it, where to submit it, and will make money with it. This is why they are willing to spend that kind of money for the articles.

      I was once a work chaser charging lower rates and though I was doing just fine because I type super fast and regularly made $25 an hour. I started to get burned out and changed the way I approached things. After a handful of my clients told me that my writing was good enough for double or triple my rate, I started charging more.

      Now, I don't have to churn out 2500 words an hour to make my money. Instead, I can make the same amount with only doing one 500 word piece.

      My advice - change your game plan and see if your writing can stand up to the higher rates.

      Originally Posted by jasono View Post

      Wow.. $50 for an article is really great. The highest price I know for an article was $25. I'm not sure what the difference are but there are even great writers that would accept low pay rates to write an article.
      The biggest difference is the revision process. If you remember we were all taught in High School to write a first draft, then a second draft, and finally a finished product. Those writing for a few cents per word barely even do a spell check. Trust me, I have fixed and edited plenty of the $3 and $5 articles.

      In addition, this price point typically provides broken English and content that simply is not interesting.

      Originally Posted by deejones View Post

      I think it comes down to how much time you can really expect a person to spend writing a 500 word article for $5. How much researching, revising, and proofreading can you really expect them to do?

      Folks trying to make any kind of a living writing $5 articles have to turn out five or ten of them a day, often on lots of different topics. They can't afford to spend one or two hours on a single article, and shouldn't be expected to. And, no matter how good a writer is, it's hard to research and write a high quality article in 30 minutes.
      EXACTLY!!!!!!!

      Originally Posted by Kierkegaard View Post

      There are individuals cranking out $5-10 articles that they write themselves and companies that pay writers $1.50 per article which they sell on for $5-10.

      These articles, no offense intended, are extremely general, samey and highly unlikely to be read in full by anyone other than the person who bought it. As I said in another thread - do your research. Visit any popular forum in your niche (for buyers, not IMers) and you'll hear constant complaints about the lack of good quality information available on the topic. Instead there are scads of sites, all dominating the SERPS, offering the same old 500 word sales pitch. It's clear, even to the most naive readers that the article they're reading on dog baskets (for example) has been written soley to direct the reader to a page selling dog baskets.

      There are articles that are written to be actually read. Let's call them magazine-style articles. These articles are the most effective for someone wanting to create an authority website. The problem for the buyer (of the articles) is that they must compete with hard-copy magazines for good writers.

      Why would a writer write a 1000+ word article for $40 when s/he could write almost the same one for a trade or niche magazine for $150+ (and build up their clippings)?

      Well, there are some good reasons.
      1. Writing for magazines is a lot more work. When you add up the time spent pitching articles and chasing payments your hourly rate rapidly plummets.
      2. More and more magazines are looking for free content. This is especially true for ones attempting to increase their web presence. Very well known and respected magazines will often approach bloggers and request free articles (hope the prestige will win them over - and it often does). I'd rather be paid by someone looking to build their site's reputation than be flattered by an already successful site.
      3. Like it or not, online audiences are less demanding and off-line ones. Articles written for the web are not held to the same standard. This is due, in the most part, for the constant need for copy and the fact that most people skim-read online articles rather than sit down with a coffee and enjoy the writing. They WILL read it but the reading experience is not the same.
      $30-50 dollars for an 800-1000 word article that people will actually read is very little outlay considering that 50 such articles will cost $1500-2500.

      $1500 for a website or blog that people will actually visit and read, link to and share with their friends is extremely reasonable.

      $1500 For a site that when you link to it in the comment box of a authority site, the link is rarely ever deleted.

      $1500 For a site that people in forums across the internet readily cite whenever someone comes along asking where they can find more information.

      How much income do you think that site will bring in? What would its value be if you sold it? - more than $1500! more than $2500!

      Looking at it this way a $30-50 article doesn't seem such a high price to pay.
      Great information! So, if your articles are so good, why are you only charging $15 for an 800 word article in your signature? Seems you are contradicting your own advice. Is this like the whole, "do as I say, not as I do" thing?

      Benjamin Ehinger
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      • Profile picture of the author Kierkegaard
        Originally Posted by Benjamin Ehinger View Post

        Great information! So, if your articles are so good, why are you only charging $15 for an 800 word article in your signature? Seems you are contradicting your own advice. Is this like the whole, "do as I say, not as I do" thing?

        Benjamin Ehinger
        That's why it says SALE I'm offering $30 articles for $15 for a limited period.

        Even good article writers find themselves looking for new clients and limited offers are one way to find them.
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  • Profile picture of the author Chris Worner
    I personally choose not to view content in terms of 'value' but rather as an investment. If your serious about creating an on-line business, do you really think it professionally prudent to bombard prospective clients with crap quality cheap 'content?'

    Remember, first impressions count.

    -Chris
    Signature

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  • Profile picture of the author Oliver Hart
    Sometimes I have to remind myself how lucky I am belonging to this community.

    Periodically, it pops up topics and discussions in this forum that are very informative and interesting in nature.

    In addition, the knowledge shared in these discussions is so valuable that I had gladly paid for it, if the knowledge had been embedded in a product.

    Thanks a lot for a very educational experience.

    - Oddvar.
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  • Profile picture of the author opatrao24
    Banned
    [DELETED]
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    • Profile picture of the author Benjamin Ehinger
      Originally Posted by Kierkegaard View Post

      That's why it says SALE I'm offering $30 articles for $15 for a limited period.

      Even good article writers find themselves looking for new clients and limited offers are one way to find them.
      Even at $30 you are only around $3 per 100 words. Don't get me wrong, that is not bad, but it just seemed a little strange that you were giving advice on higher paying gigs and selling your service for cheap.

      Originally Posted by opatrao24 View Post

      id like an article job that pays 50 dollars or more hit me up in m inbox
      If it were only that easy!

      Benjamin Ehinger
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      • Profile picture of the author Kierkegaard
        Originally Posted by Benjamin Ehinger View Post

        Even at $30 you are only around $3 per 100 words. Don't get me wrong, that is not bad, but it just seemed a little strange that you were giving advice on higher paying gigs and selling your service for cheap.
        My advice was to the buyer not the seller (the writer). But both can benefit from my advice so it's a 2-for-1 special offer

        Writers who can only write the sort of 500 word articles that are found in article directories can't really charge more than $10 per article - because they are not worth much more than that.

        Writers who can write quality magazine style articles can charge a lot more by writing for magazines...

        However! Magazines pay more for articles because a lot more work is involved (this is broken down below).

        Here's where the advice for buyers comes in -> If you want magazine style articles you must lure good writers away from the magazines that pay more. If you buy articles from these writers you can get your site going as an authority website from as little as $1500 to $2500.

        Here's some advice for writers ->
        A $450 magazine article is comparable to a $50 online magazine style article. If you can get regularly published in magazines paying between $225 and $450 an article then price your online articles at $25-50 per article.

        This is how it breaks down


        When you write for magazines you are paid by the word. If they were paid by the minute then that would be a whole different kettle of fish!

        Here are the things you don't get paid for:
        • Researching articles. Not just what to write about but who to write for.
        • Pitching your articles. Finding out editors names, the best way to contact them, what kinds of articles they normally accept/reject.
        • Chasing up editors. Have they received the article, when are they going to publish it, when are they going to pay you.
        The actual writing part comes between pitching and chasing up. This is also where the serious research comes in. Your first bit of research was mainly looking for a story, checking you can find out enough about the subject and devising a pitch to sell the idea to an editor. On top of that you need to do your research on the magazines themselves:
        • Do they publish these kinds of articles.
        • Have they already published something similar.
        • Do they theme each edition of their magazine.
        • Do they have full-time staff (who will be required to write 'filler' articles)
        • Do they get a lot of free/amateur contributors
        • What do they pay and when do they pay.
        Now, of course, all this work is actually factored into the price of the article. Adding up all the time it takes to get the tasks done you're looking at about 3 full days worth of work. So if you value yourself (realistically) at $150 a day then you should be looking at $450 per article.

        Almost all of this work is cut out when you sell articles online. You don't need to pitch articles and you won't have articles rejected because someone has just bought an article from a different writer on a very similar subject. This alone cuts 1/3 of your workload. Since you get paid in advance when writing for the online market you don't have to spend hours chasing up payments (and other negotiating - will the editor attempt to hold your article and only pay for it if s/he uses it?) This cuts out another 1/3 of the workload. Now your $450 article has been cut by 2/3s it is $150.

        On top of that the articles are often less than half the length of magazine style ones. So you can half the price $150/2= $75.

        It would be nice and neat to stop here. The effort of writing two smaller magazine articles without any of the other hassles would be around the same as writing one full-length magazine article and all the hassle of getting it printed and paid for. Both would earn you around $150 a day. However it's not that simple.

        As I mentioned in my previous post, online articles are not held to the same high standard as print articles. A good online magazine style article (as opposed to a low standard 500 word article directory style article) is much easier to write. People read them but not in the same way as they read magazine articles. For a full time writer, writing three of these articles a day would require the same about of effort and skill as one magazine article. Returning to our $150 a day target, writing three of these articles comes out at $50 an article.

        Now this is all still quite neat and tidy but the world isn't very neat and tidy. Online writing has been undervalued and competition drives down the price. Writers have to make the choice where they would rather sell their work. To make it simple we can refer to it as online and offline.

        Online: Pros
        • Earning immediately
        • Paid in advance
        • Reliable source of income
        • Majority of time working is time writing
        • Easy to get into
        Online: Cons
        • Competition drives down earnings
        • More ghostwork (no clippings)
        • Less prestigious
        Offline: Pros
        • Higher earnings (possible)
        • Increased opportunity to get into other writing work
        • More prestigious
        Offline: Cons
        • Takes a long time to get established
        • May have to wait a LONG time to be paid (I once waited a year)
        • Chance plays a large part (has the magazine spent their budget, have they already bought a similar articles, is the new editor as good as the old one)
        • A LOT of time spent working that isn't writing
        There are other variables to consider. Many magazines pay much less than $450 and some pay nothing. Some article topics are usually written by inhouse staff who are expected to write these on top of their other duties. You need to compete with amateur enthusiasts writing for free and people trying to get into journalism who will work as interns also writing for free.


        The biggest consideration is that many magazines are making the move online. National newspapers are currently making senior journos redundant and creating new jobs for interns writing online content.


        Conclusion


        Bear in mind this advice was intended for buyers rather than sellers. Now is the best time to get good writers for $30-$50 articles. The lure of the offline magazine is weakening BUT they are moving in on your territory. It won't be long before you will need to be of the same standard as them if you want to be able to compete as an authority website. For this you need good writers.
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    • Profile picture of the author TiffLee
      Originally Posted by opatrao24 View Post

      id like an article job that pays 50 dollars or more hit me up in m inbox
      ... will you also be using the same grammatical style that you use in forum posting? :rolleyes:
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  • Profile picture of the author Michael Ten
    Lolol. Yes. Message me if you would like me to provide services at or above 50$ an article. (:
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Heron
    I'll just add to this conversation as a regular purchaser of paid content.

    If I'm creating low quality sites sure enough I'll bargain around for the cheap $2/$5 articles, but when I'm creating a professional website paying $25+ per article is the norm.

    Sometimes I seek out qualified people with certain academic qualification and offer them $50 per 500 words (but that has to be very qualification and niche specific). That's not even them approaching me.

    When it gets to the level of quality required in something such as copywriting, I'm willing to pay pretty much anything for optimal conversions.

    There is a distinction with quality, and any serious customer recognizes this. That's why some writers I use regularly earn much less than others I use. They serve different purposes.
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    • Profile picture of the author oscarb
      Interesting discussion. Thanks to everyone for some great tips.

      I suppose there will always be newbie writers and itinerant hacks willing to write for pennies per word. The web's made it easier for companies to outsource content creation to the third world, where writers knock themselves out for the privilege of churning out 5 cent per 1,000-word articles for clueless wannabee marketers and SEO firms with bigger budgets than brains.

      I just saw an ad from an SEO firm looking for a writer to do 150-word keyword-based posts with anchor text. They were offering 80 cents per post. If you do the math, that works out to a princely sum of $4.80 an hour, assuming you're cranking out a post every 10 minutes with no transition time. Is it possible to do this? Not if you value quality. It's certainly no place for any serious writer to tread.

      What surprises me is the fact that few writers go where the money really is and it's not in the content mill space.

      The best gigs don't show up on craigslist.org or elance.com. They're in the back offices of companies, where marketing, media and editorial directors look to supplement their in-house writing with contracted labor.

      They're in trade publications, some of which pay $1 per word. Yes, you read that correctly. Do you know something about refrigerators? There's probably a trade pub willing to pay you $1,000 for a 1,000-word article. Of course, you take your chances with the trades, because they often rely on staff scribes or regular freelancers.

      Other opportunities can be found on selected high PR blogs, which can often pay $50 or more per post. Those gigs usually only come after you've established your own blog.

      Then, of course, there's copywriting --- which can pay very well, for writers who understand copywriting beyond the usual surface junk. It always fascinated me how copywriters could command $12,000 for a sales letter, while a nose-to-the-grindstone freelance investigative reporter at the top of her game would be fortunate to earn $900-$1,200 for a 2,000-word piece that required 20-30 hours or more of research before the writing even began. It just means that a very clear ROI trumps wonderful grammar.

      The money's out there. Alexa Smith's links in a previous post are excellent reference points for anyone seeking new routes to more cash.
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  • Profile picture of the author Alston
    I think that being paid well as a writer requires that you are able to set yourself apart from the others.

    Simply being able to write cogent grammatically correct sentences can put you a cut above the penny a word writers, but that alone won't pay your bills, at least not in the United States.


    Here are some of the things that I'm willing to pay extra for.
    • Expertise specific to my niche. If you have education or designations specific to my industry or have worked 20 years in my industry, you might be worth $25 an article.
    • Good copy writing. (Although if you can write copy well, you might just want to sell your own stuff.)
    • Good researching ability.
    • Ability to SEO an article.
    I use the services of writers and still write most of the content on my sites. I have never written for others, but if I did, I would promote my experience in insurance industry and only write about insurance.



    Even if your expertise comes from a hobby, I think you should promote that fact. This can set you apart from other writers.


    A great copy writer is a great copy writer. For the rest of us, writing in our niches might be a better way to go.
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