Problem with pricing

[Volante]

Hey guys.
Just asking if i can only put up prices for unique and full rights only? Like skipping putting a price for usage rights altogether.
Is there a way to do this and is it advisable?
Would appreciate the heads-up

[nichewriter]

You'll need to put a price for usage. If you prefer buyers purchase your articles for unique or fullrights, you can put the same price on for usage.

[Debbi]

This has been an ongoing wish/suggestion from me since I started here--having the option to not offer usage rights. I'm hoping that someday Support agrees to this so I keep putting it on my wish list.

But for now, you have to ask for a usage price and the only way to work around it is to make your usage price as high as the other two.

[jadedragon]

I can see setting the price the same, but why would you not want to sell for usage if someone is willing to pay you the same as your full rights price? you keep the asset that way to rent again.

[Volante]

Hmm the customer asked for unique and full rights articles so i should just offer those prices first right?
Then again, i should just leave a usage price there so that if he dosent pick my article within the window period, others can have a look!

[Debbi]

You can't not ask a usage price. It is a required field.

JD, I don't mind if someone wants to pay a high price for usage (has that ever happened to anyone when full rights were the same price?), but I think that work-around looks amateurish. The elegant solution is just not to be foreced to offer it. Perhpas the usage price field is a key in the database or something and would screw everything up if it wsn't required, who knows?

[Celeste Stewart]

If the customer specifies that he's only interested in unique or full rights, then those are the rights he'll be looking at and potentially buying. If you put $5 in the usage field but the customer wants unique or full, he'll ignore usage anyway and go for either the unique or full rights license. If you simply don't want a usage sale, put either your unique or full rights price in the usage field:

Usage - $30
Unique - $30
Full Rights - $40

[Sharion]

I'm at the opposite end of it. When I first came here I had no intention of offering full or unique rights (which to me are about the same, either way it's no longer mine).

I've since compromised. Certain topics I go ahead and offer usage and full. Other topics no way Jose, those will absolutely only be usage. I have personal uses for certain categories They help me sell other things I create plus I'm in the process of putting together a book.

Most business type topics though, I'll part with if it helps me achieve the goal of quitting the day job Really believe that's possible here since I only work there two days a week and the other days are on my own businesses.

I've struggled with the issue of unique license pricing. In order for it to be different than full, I'd have to charge my full price as the unique price and have a godawfully high full price. So most times I simply leave it blank. I guess I could just have it the same as full. Does anybody really buy a lower license if the prices are the same, though?

[Celeste Stewart]

Nah, they just go for the full rights if unique and full are close to the same price. After all, with full rights, they can edit the article and drop the byline. I've only sold a handful of unique licenses.

[Debbi]

I've only sold one unique license and that's because the public requester specified that's what they wanted. Everything else has been either full or usage. I don't even bother putting a price for unique anymore since as you say, it's no longer sellable and I don't care about the byline.

[Sharion]

I've been thinking about the importance of the byline issue. If you're name is posted on a gazillion articles two things can happen.

One, you achieve name recognition which might make your articles more sellable if the buyer recognizes your name as something they've seen. Sort of like brand recognition.

Two, if you have any other type of business, again that name recognition could help you. So any article you sell for full rights, you are giving up a piece of potential. A valuable piece.

I've read many of the threads about pricing and the wishes that writers would put higher values on their words. I totally agree. You are selling the right to rebrand your product and that's big.

[Celeste Stewart]

True, but many articles wind up on sites where bylines aren't appropriate. The customers are building their brands and need content that fits in. For example, if you were building a site about a specific topic and wanted to create dozens of pages about the different aspects of that topic, would you want a bunch of bylined articles, which gives it a magazine-like feel, or would you want your website to be more cohesive (like a company Web site)?

Many of the customers that purchase full rights do post the bylines as well. I've sold many full rights articles and received a byline. Customers buy full rights so that they have the most control over making the content best fit their sites. They may want to have bylined articles but yet also want the right to add links, add specific keyword phrases, and so on.

It's definitely nice to get the byline as you can use the article's link in your portfolio as well as build some credibility along the way, but it's also important to realize that a good portion of the site's market wants ghostwriters, not personalities.

Welcome to the nuances of pricing articles on CC

[Sharion]

That's why they would pay a premium price for the full rights. To change it from your "brand" to theirs

It's true that in all my surfing, I haven't been to many sites that have a variety of names tacked onto the info. I've actually been approached by people offering to send me articles for my websites in exchange for a link to theirs. Since I prefer to do my own writing I've always declined the offers, but I have no doubt other webmasters probably jump at the offers.

Being a newbie here I have no idea if the majority of sales are for websites, magazines, newsletters, or other but in reading some of the CC promo material, it sounds like websites are top dog.

Curious though, when you write for a private request, do you still include a byline and if they buy full rights they can remove it? Or because it's a private request, do you forego the byline from the getgo? What's the etiquette for this?

[Celeste Stewart]

I include my byline even though I know the requester will drop it. It's a way of keeping my name in front of them, especially if they have a stable of writers. (In other words, it builds my brand.)

[Debbi]

I do this also. I have developed the habit of putting my byline on every article I write. I'm hoping for return customers and private requests. And anyway, "it can't hurt"