Writers: If You Think You're Good Enough, Charge What You're Worth

*Discretely raises prices*

Hey Mani,

Don't worry - If you didn't post it I would have.

I know the OP is just starting out and saying to others that $40 is a lot, but as some of us know and have said MANY times before - There are people who will happily pay a LOT more because they value good content a lot more.

Many people in IM have never run a business or been involved in the content needs of businesses and don't realise what people outside the IM arena need and pay for great content, so it's not that surprising if they just start out and only see the low end of the market and don't realise what others are able to charge.

The problem with making the conversation about money is that for many people starting out they don't actually know where to find high paying clients, so the only people they can get interested in their work are people with limited budgets that can't pay high prices.

The IM niche is especially good at devalueing such things because it's mostly made up of struggling people looking for things as cheap as possible because they know they won't be able to turn that content into revenue.

I've been paid thousands of dollars for articles in the past, so I urge any good writers not to blind themselves to opportunities, but also not be so money focused that they don't help the small guys with small budgets, it's often helping people with small budgets that opens the door to bigger budgets - relationships help your value a lot. People will pay more to someone they can trust to get the job done.

Andy

'Course! Here's what I've been looking at for a while now:

For starters, this post by Dr. Mani was what started the gears turning in my head. I've checked the link, and it still works (Thank you!):
A Report On Positioning

I emulated my client-searching process from this post by John Coutts, almost down to the letter. I knew I could get clients in this way because much like an affiliate site's conversion rate, it just depends on the number of people you manage to reach. Someone, somewhere will undoubtedly want what you have to offer:
Perspectives on Pricing and Prospecting

This little blueprint to kickstart the freelancing business by Marianne Gonne was instrumental, and is probably the post I've referred to the most. :p
How To Start Freelance Writing

Another one by Marianne, this time about 'selling' yourself to potential clients. In my opinion, it's really no different than selling info-products or Amazon stuff; you need to keep telling them about how you can help.
On Prospecting

And finally, two threads that serve as encouragement. Populated with posts written by people who've seen the greener grass. Sometimes it's reassuring to go back and have a quick read just to let yourself know that this whole thing can actually work:
How do I get higher-paying content writing clients?

If You Earn $50 And Above Per Article Written As A Content Writer, Come In!


Also, I fully recommend checking out the Well-Fed Writer. He works primarily with offline businesses, but his methods are sound and highly adaptable to the online arena. Also, the mental pictures he paints are simply awe-inspiring.

Hope everyone finds this useful!

Awesome thread and thanks to all of you...I'd personally do back flips if I was getting $40 an article.

It's time for me to reconsider what I'm doing.