Words on the Page

Separating Fact from Fiction

Posted on by lwidmer

I love a good scare-tactic email, really I do. But they’re only effective if your audience is somewhat dumber than you are. For example, I received an email last week pontificating on the healthcare debate – the email expressed grave concern because “Congress and the Prez” are exempt from what’s written in the 28th Amendment:…

The Writing Freebie

Posted on by lwidmer

I read with interest and a little more sarcastic laughter than I’d planned a post or two by people on other blogs basically scoffing and calling professionals who hold themselves to a higher earning standard hypocritical. At issue – the fact that we “bemoan” writing for too little, then post free weblogs. Oh, if only…

If It’s December, It Must Be June

Posted on by lwidmer

Short and sweet today – I’m trying to get a holiday going here. Diane Parkin is ahead of the rest of us, and I thank her for it. Did you ever get a great idea about a summer vacation, but can’t market it because hey, it’s summer already? Diane’s posted some excellent prompts on her…

Who Wears What Pants?

Posted on by lwidmer

With the Internet world still reeling from James Chartrand’s recent confession, we’re all left wondering exactly what gender has to do with anything. But it does, doesn’t it? Whether you’re a writer or a CEO, you’re judged on many factors, gender being one of them. Think about how many times you’ve encountered gender bias. I…

The Lost Art of Competence

Posted on by lwidmer

Maybe it’s my karma to end up with payment issues and all things monetary driving me up the wall at Christmas. Yesterday’s installment was a credit card company telling me that yes, I did mail my payment in time, but I got a late fee anyway. Pour quoi? Apparently, I needed to pay the bill…

Taking the High Road

Posted on by lwidmer

With a raging debate being rehashed over on dear friend Anne Wayman’s site, I added my thoughts once more on the side of writers valuing their skills enough to demand more than $10-20 an article. The resistance by one poster in particular was so caustic I’ve decided no more. No more will I add my…

Worthy Tip: Give Yourself 15 Minutes

Posted on by lwidmer

Oh, did I raise an eyebrow or two when I mentioned this week that I spend 15 minutes a day marketing! You don’t believe it, do you? But it’s true. I don’t spend a ton of time marketing. My marketing is virtual and quick – therefore, it shouldn’t take much time. Oh, not every marketing…

Being the Project Gatekeeper

Posted on by lwidmer

I’m about to advocate a little bit of hand-holding. All writers should own their own process in every project, but sometimes we have to perform beyond our own processes so our clients’ business can thrive. Let me explain. In the past, I’ve had clients who are hopelessly unorganized, terminally late, or too overworked to take…

Spinning Wheels Require a Slip Differential

Posted on by lwidmer

Monday was exactly as busy as I expected it to be. I had a call to Belgium in the morning. Lovely person on the other end of the phone and hopefully the project I’m doing for him will net him the results he hopes for. Two other calls. The first one missed the scheduled appointment…

The Marketing Myth

Posted on by lwidmer

If I hear one more person say that it takes tons more time to market a higher-priced article than it does to funnel something through a content mill, this last nerve of mine will snap. Three times this week and once last week, people have actually told me that selling an article that pays, say,…

Wendy

Do I hear it? You bet I do. People are scared about the concept of marketing themselves. I was there too. But, most of them are marketing and they don’t even know it. Their online presence on forums, blogs, Facebook and Twitter is essentially marketing. Of course, there’s more to it, but it’s a great way to start.

The problem is their presence isn’t giving off good vibes to show they could do the job. Who would want to hire someone that shouts to the internet that they make easy money churning out tons of articles a week and they don’t have to do any marketing? That kind of marketing keeps the higher paying clients away, at least in my opinion.

Devon Ellington

Let's face it – -most people continue to work and defend content mills because they can't land the high paying work. If they were good enough to get a higher price, they'd be getting it.

I don't care what kind of excuses they spin. Whatever amount of time it takes you to write an article, why wouldn't you sell if for a decent wage rather than a pittance? The article is the article. Why not sell it for a fair pirce?

You're not going to change their minds. Let them spin in their pennies, while we build our businesses and careers earnign a living wage for our QUALITY work.

Paula

Um, for me, simply getting motivated to write an article for peanuts is much harder than jumping into a project that pays well.

One factor you didn't account for Lori is that the people saying it's harder to target and nab a decent job are not professionals. (I think what they really mean is it's easier to be lazy.)

You said you spent as much time – a whopping 15 minutes, LOL – querying a low-paying article as you did higher-paying markets. That's because you know how to query. I highly doubt people accepting $10 per article even know how to approach real markets. And you know what? I'm happy keeping it that way. If they're too lazy to figure out how to market themselves and their ideas properly, they'll never crack the majors, leaving more work for those of us willing to act professionally and put in the (little) effort required.

Georganna Hancock M.S.

Are you saying that content mills paying only $10 want researched, well-written and edited articles of 1500 words? (The length of yours at $1 per word.) If that's the case, the people writing for them are idiots.

I suspect most writers spend a lot more than 15 minutes scrounging up a new client, too. I don't see how you do it! Kudos!

Lori

Georganna, I'm saying content mill articles are not just write-and-forget-about-it articles. The folks who visited here last month said they had to go through revisions. I just wonder how intensive the revisions are.

I guess for me, I know what type of client fits. Okay, so it's a bit more work when you're starting out or branching into other areas. But the point I'm trying to make is that NO WAY is it never not a good idea to spend time marketing.

Today I contacted two clients. Total time spent – 4 minutes. The contact doesn't have to be long, detailed queries all the time. Today, I introduced myself via Twitter and asked how I could help. Another client is in PR. Just a quick note to him asking if there's something I can help with. Really. Four minutes.

Paula, you echo Wendy and Devon here. I agree. If you don't know how to market, it's going to seem hard. But what some of these people don't do is put ANY effort into it.

There is a ton of free advice out there. In fact, all the tools needed are here. I have query letter samples, marketing tips, everything. All neatly labeled and easy to find. And I'm not the only writer who does this. Plenty do. It's a matter of overcoming inertia and fear and getting going.

Lori

Devon, I'm seeing the sense of what you say. Beating my head against a wall to help people who don't want to be helped is pointless. I will clear up falacies such as this one, but if they're unwilling to want more, it's their careers that will suffer. My goal is to make sure their actions don't affect my career. Beyond that, it's not my problem.

Wendy, I see people on Twitter who are constantly "on" sales-wise. It's annoying, but even these people grow business despite their in-the-face approach!

Devon Ellington

It's called "culling the herd". Let them fall away. More of the good stuff for the rest of us.

Lori

They're falling away. I just don't want to be dragged down with them.

Diane

Surely it makes more sense to invest slightly more time anyway in such a higher paying gig? I don't understand some folk. $1,500 v $10? Sheesh, do the maths. If I were lazy, which I am, I wouldn't have to try so hard for the rest of the MONTH on the first one.

Lori

There's the whole point, Diane. Excellent post!

Here's what I cannot understand – no matter how you add it, subtract it, multiply it or divide it, if you are making $1,500 per article as opposed to $10 per article, you're making more money. Period. Tacking on extraneous things like marketing and interviewing doesn't change the fact that per article, per hour, you're making more money. And so what if you spend let's say 30 minutes or even an hour marketing? You're still holding much more money at the end of the week, and you've worked nowhere near as hard as you would on a slew of $10 articles.

And if you write 2 of those higher-paying articles a day, you've just earned $3,000. How many $10 articles are you going to have to write in one day to make that? Yea, that many. I don't think it's possible to write 300 articles a day much less two well-researched ones in one hour.

To be honest, I don't trust the arguments of those who beat the $10-article drum so loudly. I suspect there's some payment for the advocacy taking place. At that point, they've sold their opinion and it's now tainted by company speak.

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