What Sells and What Doesn't

[PhilipYana]

This topic is for sharing insights and questions about what sells here, and what doesn't.

I don't think there is a specific topic already about that, so I thought I'd start one.


Since I arrived a few days ago I've been looking over Forum posts, the Recently Sold Content list, and other places to get an idea of what sells here, and what's not selling. Here are some thoughts...

But first, a caveat, any conclusions are intelligent guesses - there's not the data to really be definite.

So my thoughts, in no particular order of importance:

1) There's a wide variety of topics that sell. But within those broad topics there are specific niches and clusters. So there's articles on business, health, beauty, computers, family etc. But within the area of business, as far as I can see, it's mostly thing about small business and online business. Either because that's what people are writing about, or because that's what the buyers that come here are looking for, or maybe a bit of both.

2) Seems like there will be lots of sales on a given topic all at once. That could be because the articles were written in response to a request, or it could be that a buyer with an interest in that area came along and took a whole bunch of stuff at once. Upshot being, you could write ten articles about X and none will sell for months, then five will go all at once. So don't be discouraged from building up material by lack of early response. (Is that right? Long timers please comment!)

3) The multimedia stuff hardly sells at all here. People come here for writing, period.

4) Reviews (films, books etc) don't sell that much. Though you could argue - "heck I've just gone to see a movie, why not spend half an hour to review it as well".

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[PhilipYana]

Any now that pesky forum software says: "You cannot make another post so soon after your last." So I'll have to twiddle my thumbs until it lets me submit.


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5) The bulk of sales seem to be for full rights, certainly in terms of revenue if not numbers of sales.

6) But, since there is no longer any trace on the site of the full rights articles, or any info on what they were about, it's hard to know what kinds of things get full rights sales! One can only assume that they are similar to the material sold for use and hope for the best.

7) My impression is that mostly articles of 200-800 words sell, longer and more in-depth ones don't. Though for all I know there may be lots of in-depth articles sold for full rights, and there is no longer any evidence of them on the site.


Ok, that's my intelligent guesswork!

I'd love to hear what the old hands here think - and know from experience!

[Ed]

Most customers prefer full rights because

1) They own the content
2) They can change the content to suit their needs
3) Search engines do not like duplicate content, so purchasing full rights licenses ensures that the article will not appear elsewhere

Ed

[Celeste Stewart]

Hey, pretty good insights for a newbie :)

Let me add that topics do come and go. Gardening may be hot for a while only to give way to topics on secret societies or graphic design. Sometimes it depends on a single customer with a huge need. Other times, seasonal or trendy topics may be driving the demand. Either way, pay attention to what's hot at the moment and jump aboard!

[BarryDavidson]

Philip,

While you can certainly drive yourself even more crazy by chasing topics (most writers are at least a little crazy already), I'd recommend you start by writing what you know. Even if some of those articles never sell, they are a way to show potential customers your writing style/styles. Basically, a portfolio of sorts. I've had one customer who liked the way I wrote some device driver articles, and asked me to do some on web content and ecommerce.

Don't be afraid to argue both sides of an issue. Well, in two different articles that is.

300 to 500 word articles do sell faster on some subjects. Write a 350 word which describes a subject, and then write another article with an in depth history or how to. It's completely up to you. I've written quite a few articles based on older public requests to get my feet wet. It all goes back to that "write what you know" philosophy.

In the end, it's all about writing. If you love it, ideas will flow out of your head from time to time. I have a file with over fifty articles I've started which need some work, but that "feeling" didn't come to me. Usually, I complete it after a few weeks or I write the same subject from a different angle. In my case, most of my writing is spontaneous. An idea just pops into my head, and I write it down as fast as possible. If I feel the article is done, I'll submit it. If there's something I feel is missing, I'll put it in my "Needs Work" folder and go back to it later.

One last word... Write about any subject you want within the guidelines of the site. You can write an article about erectile dysfunction, but not about what you can do with it if you overcome that obstacle.

[HayleyWriter]

You're absolutely right about articles selling in batches. See the batch of environmental / recycling articles sold today. One of those was even written for a public request! Building up a portfolio of articles on topics you know well does really work too.

[PhilipYana]

Barry,

Thanks for your thoughts. Esp interesting to hear that clients see samples of your work and that can lead to private requests that might be loosely related.

[Elizabeth Ann West]

I have also noticed that it is great if you can use the short summary to entice a buyer. For example, buyers can't see the word count until they click on the title, so sometimes if I think the article is a good buy (i.e. $35 for 1,000 words) I will say so. I also try to give a reason why the article is a great buy.

For example: I write an article on living trusts.

Run of the mill short summary: This article is about living trusts and why they are important for every family to have prepared for the worst case scenario.

Selling the buyer short summary: Too many families fail to set up a living trust because they do not understand the benefits and process of starting one. This article focuses on explaining living trusts for lay people, and would be a great addition to a legal,insurance, parenting, or family related website. 750 words.

As a buyer, which article are you more likely to want to learn more about and read a full summary on?

[HayleyWriter]

Great tip Elizabeth - I'm going back to review my short summaries now!

Kind regards,

Hayley

[PhilipYana]

Fantastic tip Elizabeth. I'm really glad I started this topic now. :)

We can go back and edit summaries without having to resubmit can't we?

[HayleyWriter]

Absolutely! Log in and click on the My Content button. A list of your articles will appear. Each one has an edit and a delete button on the right hand side. Click on edit and you can alter the prices, short and long summary, click best offer etc. Click submit changes when you have finished and voila changes will be made.

[JD]

Hang on a minute... As far as I understand it, you can't edit the long summary (that's the portion of your article that you've decided to post for potential buyers to read). If you edit that then the actual document (the article you attached when you submitted) won't be the same - and it's the actual document that the customer buys. If you want to edit the article (incl. long summary) then you need to delete it and re-submit with a note in your short summary that that's what you've done (so Ed knows).

Someone might want to let me know if the procedure's changed...

Thanksalot.

Jane

[HayleyWriter]

Hi

Yes you can alter the long summary, but only the length. You cannot alter the words, etc as you have said, as this would make a difference between the sample (long summary) and the actual document the customer will download. I certainly did not mean to say you could change the wording. However, say you only put 1/3 of the article in the long summary, and decided that it might sell better if you put more in, or a particular paragraph. You can go back and do that!

[JD]

Rightyo. Thanks, Hayley.

[PhilipYana]

Nice to know you can add to the extract, because really I have no idea how much or how little to put there.

Though I think Elizabeth's crucial point was about the short summary - i.e. that is all people get to see at first, and if it doesn't get their attention they won't even look at the other stuff to appreciate the merits of the article.