$1.25 Per 500 Words? REALLY?!

The problem is that you get lots of people in poorer countries willing to work harder for the less money than you might be willing to work for.

The upside for you is that the vast majority of these people do not have English as their first language, so the quality of your writing will be a lot better than them.

However I have found writers that can do high quality correct grammar articles with research on the product for $5-$6, probably still less than what you are thinking of charging.

If you take your online skills to the offline market you can often charge a lot more for this work, up to $20-$25 easily for a 500 word well-written article.

True that. I am wondering how much quality those people expect, though. It's crazy.

I think if people are willing to charge that amount and people are willing to pay it then all good and fine

Yea, you will always be beat on price in the content writing industry.

My advice would be to focus on quality and/or certain writing styles or categories to really refine your art to one sector.

I suppose for that price you can afford to at least try these guys out first. May just try them out myself thanks for the tip.

Your targetting the wrong audience. The people who pay those amounts of money aren't looking to create a high quality user experience. They are looking for semi-ledgible, actually make that quasi-ledgible trash to clog up the internet with for backlinks.

If you want better paying clients, market yourself to those of us who practice content syndication and actually care about providing a high quality user experience. In other words, seek out clients who appreciate the value of a talented writer.

-Chris

After years of reading the theory, I'm finally getting it into my head that you don't have to price yourself low to get clients.

Don't worry about those companies charging lower-than-dirt cheap prices. You can still get tons of clients by charging higher prices-

And the quality of your clients will be higher too.

Will you lose some business to the cheaper companies? Yes, definitely.

But which would you rather do-

Make $300 by writing 10,000 words
Or make $300 by writing 30,000 words

Just play on your strengths- mention that you're a native English speaker. If you have a college degree, put that in there too.

Include testimonials from happy clients. Offer samples of your work.

Believe me, it works.

Seriously?! I just started out and I am averaging $0.80 per 100 words for a 500 word article, but that's only because I use Fiverr and they take a dollar off the top. I'd make more on Odesk or else where, but I'm still building my online portfolio so I don't expect to make much yet since I've started offering my services. And, I'm a native english speaker LOL!

You have to look at it this way. Those rates do seem low, but look at the nature of the product your employer is looking for. They don't require that you interview subjects and quote them as sources. They don't expect you to provide expert level analysis. Hell, like 60% of the time, they probably don't even care how readable the article is, as long as it has the relevant keywords for their SEO campaign.

The bottom line is that internet marketers aren't really an acceptable market for writers who insist on writing articles. You can find internet marketers who'll pay decently for press releases, squeeze pages and sales pages, but articles? If you're absolutely hall bent on the idea of writing articles, you have to pitch to real publications (i.e. trade magazines or very large blogs). Otherwise, read up on "copywriting."

I've said this on other threads, but when I started writing articles last year, the first place I went to was vWorker.com. (I looked at Elance and oDesk, but I didn't like having to pay to bid. vWorker is free for the workers all the way through the process.) I saw the same things you're talking about with the low bids, but I had no rep so I went with it. I skipped the really low-balled jobs and got some medium-range bids by asking questions and harping on the fact that I was born and raised in the US and English is my primary language.

After 5-10 jobs with perfect 10 ratings, my prices rose. When I quit writing articles (it's a pain in the @$$ writing about stuff I don't care about LOL), I was making $15 for a 1000 word article that I could write in 30 minutes. At that price, I was getting orders in batches of 10-20 articles at a time.

As with any business, don't worry about the "el-cheapos" who are undercutting you. Stick to your guns, always offer the highest quality possible, and market yourself. You'll come out ahead.

-- j

Hi,

Full-time writer here who has also handled outsourcing to writers in the past.

The main problem with people advertising writing rates like that is it's promoted and supported by many people in the IM industry "...you'll get a writer for $2 for a 500-word article".... so that's what they charge. It's like some awful self-fulfilling prophecy.

Ignore those offers - if you get into the mindset of working for pennies it's very hard to get out of it. There are plenty of better paying jobs on Elance and in other places. You can earn more than that writing on the WF - a lot more.

You won't get beat out by cheaper writers every single time - I don't. In fact I have more and more people coming to me to get me to tidy up the work done by cheaper writers. Believe me a $2 article looks and reads exactly like a $2 article - crap. Barely legible in most cases - this stuff wouldn't pass the first 3-seconds of a Google manual review process!

Get yourself set up with a writing WSO, write some samples for your portfolio (health, wealth, love, technology, real estate - those 5 should cover it) and advertise an introductory writing offer for say 400 words for $5.

That will generate some income for you and you can ask for reviews of your work too - just make sure all your writing work is presented and finished as well as it possibly can be. Most customers love the informal/coffee table style of writing - it really speaks to their readers, engages them and keeps them reading.

Now once you have some reviews set up simply increase your 400-word writing rate to say $7. And again once you have a volume of business you can quite comfortably increase it to $10 for 400-words - if your writing is good enough.

The same process applies to Elance and anywhere else that offers writing gigs - get a volume of business and increase your prices.

And remember one thing about writing - if it was so easy everyone would be doing it themselves. Writing great content is something that you're born with and also takes practice to refine so you can write as fluidly as you think. So don't ever let anyone devalue a skill that you have, they need (quite badly) and if they're not willing to pay for it....well.....after the last Panda update there'll be a lot more people looking for high quality writers ;-)

You have a valuable skill because most people hate writing - set your prices based on that :-)

PS Any typos are due to the fact I'm trying to pack for a flight right now.

I have seen people on fiverr for a dollar for some graphic design. No kidding. yes they have been from poorer regions.

There are many countries with costs of living that are absurdly low compared to more developed countries like the USA. As an example, I have a friend right now who is living in Thailand. She currently pays something like $60 a month for all of her rent and utilities where she is living. In the USA a comparable bill would be something like $600-800 a month. So her cost of living is literally around 10% of people in more developed countries.

And many of these low cost of living countries happen to have many English speakers living in them, who write as freelancers.

To them, $1.25 for a 500 word article may be a great deal.

By any chance has anyone considered the concept that a very good writer can also be a superior salesperson?

There must be something to the way I do business too – since I’ve been a professional writer since 1972. I never have a shortage of work or clients. And this is very much my business - it doesn't get treated as freelance work.

I don't "freelance" anything.

I have been reading and writing about this topic on the WF – I think I will continue with my comments …

As long as the world of the WF, Odesk, Elance, etc. are among the venues you use to establish pricing – you will remain in the lowest tier of earners.

People in the above-mentioned venues (and many others) aren’t going to value your content as much as people that are serious businesspeople – online and offline.

You see - most of the people wanting to go on-the-cheap for content won’t last in this business – they are hobbyists. This is sad but true fact.

These “marketers” can spout all the nonsense they want about third-world writers being as good as native English-speakers.

Crap – pure crap.

They have never been as good - and never will be! Those of you that know better can post all that nonsense about global economic costs of living and how this affects the pricing and value of content.

If I wanted a constant stream of cheap articles, I might be trying to convince you of these same things.

But it would be more crap.

And I base this assessment on comparing very average English writers against the very best, PUBLISHED third-world writers.

No contest – it isn’t even close. I can spot third-world writers by the second paragraph of whatever it is they think they can write.

Many here would have you believe this is the face of your competition – and that is a blatant lie.

So let me tell you what my clients say:

NO THIRD-WORLD WRITERS NEED APPLY OR MAKE A SUBMISSION OF ANY KIND!

This is their law – not mine, but I agree with it 100%. If I can spot the third-world writing - you can bet they can too. Of more value, they know the readers can spot it.

So their work is rejected immediately. Sorry, this is just the way it is in the real world.

If you have solid, unique or original writing – are you going to sell it for the same price at Wally World as you would at Neiman Marcus?

Does this necessarily mean your writing is better than that of everyone else?

Nope – it may not be. This isn't meant for those of you that treat the business of writing as a hobby - or that are just beginning your careers. You do have to have some skills.

Yet, on the other hand, your work may be obscenely good.

This single thing makes me nuts about nearly all writers that have their focus on online writing:

YOU ARE NOT IN A PRISON FOR WRITERS!

You can sell your stuff anywhere you want – based on however good your prospects think your work is – and for whatever you want to sell it for.

But you had better be good. If you are, get out of these “bargain basements” and get “real” value for your work.

Are you good – I mean really good – above and beyond what you see written elsewhere?

Prove it!

Ask for the business elsewhere – stop waiting on people here or other forums to toss you scraps.

Take your stuff and approach offliners and onliners and show them what you’ve got – on your terms and according to your pricing scale – not what everyone here tells you it is worth.

And price it freaking HIGH! You don’t know how high up is until you take it to the “wild extreme.”

You folks are making judgments based on a “flea market” mentality of pricing, as it relates to buying and selling nearly EVERYTHING having to do with online sales.

But here’s the biggest deal for you writers:

Without content, NOTHING - ZERO can happen on the internet. The most basic building blocks – the ones that last in perpetuity – are the words in articles, ebooks, copy, sales letters and a host of other products.

There is a HUGE world outside of the WF, Odesk, Elance, etc. And they pay lots and lots of money for great content.

Those of you that are writers have allowed yourself to be brainwashed into believing your good work is worth pennies instead of the dollars those same efforts can bring.

Instead of seeking what the going rates online are – take your skills elsewhere. The WF is only a microcosm of the world that buys content.

Condition yourselves to ask: how high can I price my work? Ask: how valuable is this?

- instead of –

Gee, I wonder if someone will steal this from me for $5. It is an entirely different paradigm and I encourage all of you to apply it.

I am certain there are exceptions to the sale and purchasing of services and goods in the WF, but this is the problem with this discussion.

EVERYONE is talking about EXCEPTIONS & what your content is worth to those that want to spend as little as possible – for everything!

If a third-world writer has the skills and can write better than a native English speaker – If you have the same thing made in Greenland as you do in the US – Since everyone is only paying $1 to $3 per one hundred words – I can only get 8 cents per 1000 words.

(Okay - I am exaggerating with that last one.)

How nauseating!

And this is all about EXCEPTIONS!

So let’s get back to the real world.

I am in the copy and content writing and SALES BUSINESS. My model is as much about sales as it is about writing – maybe even more so.

I write, package, re-purpose and frame my offers far differently than:

"Gee Mister - Will ya buy my article off me? Puleeaase?"

At the lowest end of my fee scale, a 400 word article STARTS at $150. I write many pieces of very rudimentary content that I regularly sell for up to $700 EACH.

A sales letter or long-form piece of sales copy starts in the upper four digits PLUS a piece of the profits – with an advance required UP-FRONT.

And I will tell you – in one beat of a heart – I am not close to being the best writer in this forum. But I will put my earnings up against any writer here.

So you folks can continue to do what you are doing – or you can realize that just being a little proactive and ignoring the “pricing beat-down” conditioning are really good things for you to do professionally.

Oh, by the way, I am booked for all of my allocated, billable writing time until August 8.

There is a big thriving world out there that wants what you have.

Write like you know you can - sell yourself and your work. People are paying for the good stuff - and it isn't going to change anytime soon.

The craziest part is that there is more than enough work for everyone - but it isn't going to come looking for you.

Man... $1.25 per 500 word article? Geesh... glad i'm not in the freelancer writing game.

The reality in how I define the "third-world" is irrelevant.

I can say that it is not subject to geography, ethnicity, religion or country of origin. Let's not be obtuse enough to think this has anything to do with the color of someone's skin or where they live in the world.

My mother was born in Monterrey, Mexico as were my father's parents. I can speak personally to the subject of the "third-world" because I've been there and seen it. My skin is a different color, so I know the obstacles others have to face.

Even though I was born and raised in the US - I spoke no English until I was five.

So my client's definition is often simply: a non-native English speaker/writer.

This is broad and completely open to interpretation. I don't pretend to be able to define it for them - this isn't my role.

So, as far as I am concerned, the third-world can exist two blocks down the street.

What matters to me is what the people that write checks with my name on them think - and what their customers and readers think.

They don't consider them for the level of work I do - so I don't allow myself to be concerned with it either.

My only consideration is to produce the best work I can. I play by their rules because it is in my best interests to do so.

My fiercest competition is exceeding my own standards - producing better work than I delivered to them previously.

I don't worry about other writers calling them and winning their business by offering $5 articles - or anything else really. Other writers that write at a high level are rarely concerned about losing clients either.

Price doesn't motivate my clients - quality work that gets results does. I leave the definitions to them.

I have found decent writers working for not much more than that. Unfortunately as another poster said, there are plenty of writer out there willing to work harder for less money.

There are good jobs out there though. I think Freelancer has been lost to areas like India and Indonesia where there are people who speak so-so English for much less than people from Australia, the US etc.

The main problem is that you are guaranteed to get a mid-low quality article, and if you are really serious in your traffic generation techniques, you shouldn't fall in that mediocrity, sooner or later it will only damage your business.

It is very tempting due to the low cost, but in that case I would prefer to spend $5 on fiverr and get someone with better reputation to make some article (still too cheap but more reliable than those persons that take the job at that price).

I think that is cheap!
I like to write, but man could I make a living off that? Probably not...
Dont be a worker bee, be the brains.