Constant Content

Actually, two questions to the authors moving stuff through CC at such a blinding ( )rate:

Do you choose things to write about based on what's selling? Celeste, I think it was your tip I saw to check the 'recently sold articles', which I had assumed meant *my* recently sold articles, until I noticed there was a selection for that very thing.

Do you ever adjust your prices according to what's selling at what price? I have articles with 30+ "Hits" ( I assume that number is incremented when someone clicks "read more" ) but no sales, and I wonder if it's because I'm over-rating the value of my "wisdom" - to date, most of my copyrighting has been work-for-hire on the job, and I've really no idea what it's worth on the open market. Am I even making the right assumptions about the "Hits" counter?

Thanks!

jstevewhite

The authors are in better positions to offer advice and suggestions, but it is my opinion that your articles are underpriced. They are well organized and written on atypical subjects. Most authors here will tell you just to keep submitting - an article may sell within a week, or it may take a year for it to sell.

Ed

Thanks for the feedback, Ed, and the kind evaluation. I will certainly continue to submit articles. I find the editorial honesty at CC refreshing - that's one of the reasons I abandoned other-sites-which-shall-remain-nameless in favor of CC. I'm still trying to figure out how to price articles, and I'll keep working on it.

Hi! I just browsed through a few of your articles and I'd have to agree with Ed concerning your pricing. I've found that some topics sell in cycles, so lowering your price is not going to be of any help in speeding up a sale. Personally, I gauge the amount of time that I put into an article along with its length to come up with a price. This way, I do come up with a range of prices from very affordable to a bit pricey. The recently sold list is a good place to start as far as topics go. Just keep writing and don't worry about the sales. The more you write, the more you have to offer. Stay at it and you'll be earning money soon enough. Good Luck, WG

I'd price those articles higher too. When the right customer comes along, they'll be willing to pay a fair price. While cheap prices sometimes sell the articles, it's not always the case. Customers are looking for a good fit for their websites.

Do you have keywords in the keywords area of your submission form? Here's what I would do if I were you. I'd double the asking prices and load the keyword section of each article with loads of searchable terms so that customers searching for your specialty find your articles. It won't hurt and it may get the ball moving.

Plus, I'd keep writing. Try a few of the public requests while you're at it. Good luck!

Hey, thanks for the detailed feedback, Celeste. I appreciate the thoughtfulness. I may take your advice. I actually reduced the prices because I see that there are quite a few 'hits' - and again, I'm assuming that means that someone searched for something, got my short description, and clicked "read more"; I could be all off the wall if that's not what "hits" are - but no sales. Since I have no idea what the actual value of the articles are, I assumed they were overpriced.

I'm also having a difficult time deciding the difference between "full rights" and "usage". I'll puzzle it out eventually, though. I'll keep posting articles and raise the price a little more, at least.

And thanks again for all the help! You're helpful and ubiquitous.

jstevewhite

Many of those hits are other writers checking each other out.

Full rights means that the customer buys the article and can do whatever he wants to do with it. He gets it exclusively and can use it in whatever manner he wishes: newletters, websites, ezines, etc....

Usage is a one time deal where the customer buys an article yet it remains on the site for other customers to also purchase. The customer cannot make a single change to your article and he can only use it once. If he wants to use it on his website and his ezine, then he must purchase two usage licenses.

I've not been terribly successful with usage though I haven't focused on that market either. I see others who are doing well with inexpensive usage articles that sell multiple times so it's working for some.

I'm sorry, I wasn't very clear. I understand the functional distinction, it's how to price accordingly that's got me bamboozled. There are a lot of considerations to be made. If you think the article is timeless and will sell many times, then it makes sense to price the usage low and the 'full rights' high. The flip side of that question, though, is "just how much do I think that slice of my life is worth?", or "What would I charge to write this article as work-for-hire?". Where is that magic line between "reasonable" and "I'm just being greedy"?

The money is actually somewhat secondary, other than a marker of success, if that makes sense. I love to write, and I would be doing it anyway, even if I wasn't submitting content here. It's not like I ever made any money from those other sites-that-will-remain-nameless!

Aah, gotcha. The way I figure it, if an article sells for usage, then I'll want it to sell at least two or three times. So, I price it at about a third or half my full rights price. I've found it's easier to sell full rights than usage but could be because I price my usage prices higher than most.

Also, I do consider the time involved. If I spent an hour on an article, I'll want to make my basic hourly rate. In that case, I price the full rights license at 35% above what I need to make and then price usage at a price I can live with if it only sells one time with hopes of it selling two to three more times.