New Ghostwriter Wants to Learn From Your Experience

13 years ago

What is the most effective way to price my articles?

Go to oDesk, search for similar jobs. Look at the prices.

How should I market my services?

There are many ways to do it:
- Warrior Classifieds
- oDesk, Elance, etc...
- Salespage

Here's a nifty trick: offer it to a marketer with a big list for FREE (like a review copy). But in exchange, he has to promote your services to his list.

What is the best way to find and keep clients who are willing to invest in value?

If you want to keep clients, you have to underpromise and overdeliver all the time

Ask yourself this question: would I hire myself if I provide this sort of quality and price to my clients?

Hope that helps.

Thanks

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webwriter

13 years ago

I got my first gig as a ghostwriter from someone who saw my adult-education professional writing course in the local college catalog. He was writing a health-related book and wanted to market it to publishers. During the initial consultation, he ordered a query letter and a list of ten potential publishers for his book. I gave him my price for those items and then implemented the agreement, delivering the materials to him in person and receiving a check for my work. Altogether, I didn't earn a lot of money.

If I had to do it all over again, I would opt for ghostwriting for a corporate client rather than individuals. For the most part, individuals mean well, but they often take a l-o-n-g time to pay and unthinkingly present other obstacles, such as not following through and expecting you to do what they should have done for free. Also, too many of them expect discounted prices just because they are cheap and clueless.

Thanks

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Asante

13 years ago

Thank you very much for your responses, Louie and Webwriter. Very helpful indeed.

Thanks

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Asante George
Quality Content that SIZZLES!
TheArticleAuthor.com
AsanteGeorge.com

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WriterWahm

13 years ago

There is this assumption among new writers that they need to fix their prices at rock bottom then increase them with time. Don't do that. It's a trap that you may find difficult to come out of. What you need to do is write samples of different writing styles (your portfolio) and make them available on your website. If you are good and you know that you are, price your articles accordingly.

Once you get a job, like Louie has said, overdeliver. This is so so so important. And if for some reason you cannot meet your deadline, COMMUNICATE. You will find that a lot of clients are actually quite reasonable.

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SUPER Louie

13 years ago

Originally Posted by WriterWahm

There is this assumption among new writers that they need to fix their prices at rock bottom then increase them with time. Don't do that. It's a trap that you may find difficult to come out of. What you need to do is write samples of different writing styles (your portfolio) and make them available on your website. If you are good and you know that you are, price your articles accordingly.

Once you get a job, like Louie has said, overdeliver. This is so so so important. And if for some reason you cannot meet your deadline, COMMUNICATE. You will find that a lot of clients are actually quite reasonable.

True enough.

Low prices attract Tire Kickers

I wrote a short guide about a pricing strategy similar to your discussion a while back:
2 Easy Ways to Increase Your Profits Quick

Thanks

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YasirYar

13 years ago

Writing is actually not a profession but a passion. If you have i in you you can hit it big time. If you want to market your services your blog is the best place to start. This will bring in real traffic to you.
Secondly working alone is a BIG MISTAKE. Team up with someone who has been in this business longer than you. Sometimes it seems a bad choice, but the advantages are more than the disadvantages.

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Asante

13 years ago

WriterWahm,
Great information! I've read several posts from other veteran internet writers who say the same thing about pricing. I've written for article mills in the past, and I've found that working for peanuts does not inspire my best work

My article writer site does include a portfolio of eight articles and a link to another site with lots of samples. Right now I'm reaching out to marketers who own PLR sites. In your opinion, is that a good idea?

I like your advice to overdeliver (as Louie suggests), adhere to my deadline, and communicate with my client. Great customer service will keep customers coming back.

Thanks,

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Asante George
Quality Content that SIZZLES!
TheArticleAuthor.com
AsanteGeorge.com

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WriterWahm

13 years ago

Yes Asante, you can reach out to PLR marketers. Most write their articles themselves; I do. But personally it's because my standards are really high and the two writers I tried tanked. So I just write myself. I'm sure there are those who are willing to pay standard prices to get their PLR written.

Just a note to say that you are starting this writing thing right. Don't get discouraged; you can really make a living from writing.

All the best.

Thanks

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PM me if you want a romantic fiction ghostwriter.

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Asante

13 years ago

YasirYar, so true, writing truly is a passion. I can't stop, so it makes sense to make it a career.
Louie, "Tire Kickers" is such a funny and fitting term!
WriterWahm, I appreciate your encouragement

I've just gotten my first ghostwriting client, and I'm so excited to overdeliver on the content I create for him!
Thanks everyone!

Thanks

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Asante George
Quality Content that SIZZLES!
TheArticleAuthor.com
AsanteGeorge.com

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