Some Questions

[WaldorfPC]

Ok, i have some questions:

1. If I post articles up on the site, are they sure to sell? I really do not like competing with the public requests, but I still desire to make steady income off my writing. Is that possible?

2. What will it take for me to make a steady income on this site?
3. How often are we paid? Is there anything I can read regarding payment?

Thanks so much for your time in answering my questions. Take care. I hope all is well with you.

[jak]

1. There are no guarantees about sales, but if you write what someone wants they'll buy it. Since we don't know for sure what the customers want, some work doesn't get snapped up right away. But it's still showcased for as long as you leave it here, and could sell at any time. I discovered yesterday that one of mine went that has been here for about six months. Check out some of the author profiles and look at their statistics.

2. To make a steady income you need volume of articles for sale, and to keep them coming. I think most people combine other work with what they do here, though there are a few notable exceptions. It also helps to have good writers as associates here, so if you can introduce any, do. You'll receive 5% of their sales, taken from CC's commission.

3. We are paid at the beginning of each month when we have reached the payment threshold by the end of the previous month. This has just been reduced from $50 to $5 so it's easy to reach. This is, of course, after CC has taken their 35% commission.

Good luck.

[HayleyWriter]

Hi

Good answers Jak! I think the key to selling articles is writing on a number of different topics and building up a decent portfolio. I have definitely noticed that articles sell in batches, so while some articles may sit for a while, a customer will come in one day and buy a batch of articles on the same topic. Yesterday, for example, I was thrilled to notice that I had sold two articles that I had written late last year (two to three months ago), both to the same customer who bought a batch of resume and job application type articles. Sometimes articles sell straight away, but often will sit for a month or a few months before selling.

Volume is definitely the key to selling enough to make a decent amount. Pricing articles at a decent rate will help too. I know one author in particular prices at only $7 but has to churn out heaps of articles. My theory is that I would rather write one decent article and sell it for up to $120 than have to write 20 articles a day to make a living. Also, customers regularly scroll through the latest articles added, so it is wise to write regularly. I notice on the days I have an article in the latest section, I am more likely to sell an article (even if it is a different one), because it brings my writing name to the customer's mind. The customer may then go from the latest article to my profile and find another article the customer wants to purchase.

Anyway, there's my 2 cents worth. I've been writing here just over six months, and have sold close to 60 articles. I'm certainly happy with the profits I'm making from this!

Kind regards,

Hayley

[WaldorfPC]

Is it safe to charge $40 for a 300 word article? Some say I should charge $20, but I'm just not sure. I want to make money and work smart, not work hard.

[Celeste Stewart]

Lots of good advice here. While I understand that you don't care for the competition aspect of writing for public requests, doing so gives you exposure to customers who have an immediate need. WHile the article may not sell to the requester right away because several other writers wrote for the request, you're one step ahead.

I have noticed higher priced articles selling as well. Over the last couple of weeks, I've sold a couple speculation articles in the $200 range and have noticed other writers having similar results. If you do price a 300-word article at $40, make sure it's not a fluff piece. It will need to stand out and have useful information to command a higher price.

[Ed]

I think this is excellent advice that I think more of our writers should try to follow. Filler sentences/paragraphs often just water down the article and its value to the customer.

[bwhite]

I agree with both of the two directly previous posts. I try to price most of my work at about six cents per word unless it's extremely specific. Also, if I have longer pieces that are not fluff I charge a bit more but never more than 10 cents per word.

I still have a way to go before I reach the status of Celeste or Word Gypsie but I'm working on it while working another job and re-learing how to keep my house CLEAN (that doesn't mean to indicate that I'm successful at it!!! LOL).

[Celeste Stewart]

I can't speak for WG, but I can tell you that the cleanliness of my house has suffered because of CC. It's all CC's fault. :)

[Word Gypsy]

Celeste- I tried blaming the messy house on cc too, but it didn't work for me as my honey wouldn't believe it. Now, I have a new strategy. I look at each room pretending I don't live here and see what others will see if they come to visit. That's what I clean. I'd rather be writing whether for cc or one of my outside clients.

Pricing is touchy and needs to consider a lot of aspects- how many other articles on the topic are available, is anyone asking for the topic, is it something I know will sell or only hope will sell, am I offering some truly unique aspect, am I writing it for a specific customer with a known price range, and on and on.