Pricing of articles - Who is selling for $1 - $5?

[HayleyWriter]

I saw the recently sold list today and nearly died. I can't possibly sell my work for these prices - it is not even paying for the time that it takes to submit the articles to Constant Content, let alone the time it takes to write the articles! Why are people selling articles so cheaply?

We have quality writers here who write quality content, otherwise it would be rejected! No-one needs to sell themselves this short! Can anyone really afford to make only $0.65 per article? Do you realise you have to sell 77 x $1 articles, 26 x $3 articles, or 16 x $5 articles to make the threshhold? That's an incredible amount of work for $50!

You cannot count on selling each article that many times either, because some customers do not want an article with other downloads - that's why the full rights or unique licences are sold! The most usage licences I have sold for any one article is three, and that was fantastic!

Trouble is, if customers can buy so cheaply, why will they pay the proper prices for quality work? Since we are all selling quality work here, we should sell at prices that indicate that quality, or at least at decent prices where an author can make some money! Would you really work for less than $5 an hour anywhere else?

Whoever is selling so cheaply on this site is doing every author, especially themselves, a disservice!

Well that's my two cents (or probably more like $10!) worth.
Anyone else want to comment?

Hayley

[Celeste Stewart]

Don't you hate that? I looked up the author and he has an author # in the early 400s (in the URL of each author you can see a number that I'm assuming indicates when they signed up). My own number is in the mid-3,000s and I've been here since January 2006. So, I'm guessing he's one of the early pioneers of the site - back in the day, they had free articles, so who knows? Maybe 65 cents sounded like a lot compared to free.

I agree. I hate to see writers underselling themselves here when I know the real earnings potential firsthand. Cheap doesn't guarantee a fast sale either. I'd love to see a minimum price - if nothing else to help pay for the time it takes for Ed to review the article, run it through Copyscape, and approve it.

[BarryDavidson]

I've sold usage rights on a few of my articles, which are up at Helium, for five dollars before. Now, if Helium would remove content upon the author's request, I'd set a higher price.

I didn't see their fine print (thousands upon thousands of words down the screen) about not ever being able to assign exclusive rights to anything you put up there until it was too late.

[MediaMaven]

It is very disheartening to see content sold here for so little. With any luck it will not become commonplace. Perhaps it's just someone liquidating old article stock?

Also keep in mind that in some countries earning just a few dollars a day in USD can provide a comfortable life.

[jak]

This has come up before. It is rather soul destroying. I was thinking along the same lines as Celeste. CC has discontinued free articles. It could also refuse to accept submissions below a minimum price.

[BarryDavidson]

I can admit, that I put low prices on my work when I first came here. Celeste and a few others set me straight pretty quickly. It wasn't a matter of over-inflating the price, but a matter of what my time was worth. If I spend an hour on an article, is it worth my time to write it if I'm only making ten dollars or less?

I make eight dollars an hour at my part time job. To be honest, writing is much harder. (No, I don't consider writing as a job. My motto is, "why do it if it isn't fun?") I was a househusband for many years, and the part time job is just to get me out of the house. That, and adult conversation is something I very much needed.

Still, I can see the reasons why someone would sell articles (at least for usage rights) at five dollars a pop. Think about it... If fifty or more sites buy and use that article, you can use that to market yourself. Usually, selling yourself is harder than actually writing, and selling yourself is exactly what you have to do. Maybe not as much with writing articles. But, if you have 500 articles published, and 300 of those were published in fifty places each - you can show yourself as marketable to a potential employer.

[topdycke]

Before I joined CC, I had decided that the only people who wrote for the web were those willing to sell themselves and their craft short. I stumbled upon the site and was amazed at the prices writers were asking and receiving and I changed my mind. Lately, I've come back to Constant-Content and I've noticed loads of articles selling for $5 and less. Yes usually for usage, but I agree with Hayley...the seller is not recovering the cost of submitting. As for other countries...imagine if they sold the articles written for Constant-Content at a going rate for the site, not for their location. The amount of money made would be a boon.

I would like to see a miniumum rate set keeping low-ballers from undercutting every writer who values his/her work. For many of us writing is not an avocation it's a vocation. Writing is my livelihood and I don't take kindly to those who tread upon it like it's a dirty rag worth little to nothing.

"Stepping off my soapbox"

T

[Ed]

Anyone have any suggestions about the best way to get out information about what authors should be selling? These authors who have been around since the inception of the site don't visit the forums and probably don't even know there's a blog.

[BarryDavidson]

[quote="Ed"]Anyone have any suggestions about the best way to get out information about what authors should be selling? These authors who have been around since the inception of the site don't visit the forums and probably don't even know there's a blog.[/quote]

Perhaps an editorial emailed to all our members?

[Celeste Stewart]

It's a shame if writers are simply oblivious. A newsletter might be something to spur interest, maybe featuring real earnings -something like, "Are you making pennies with CC or thousands of dollars? Many CC writers are consistently earning over $X per month..." followed by tips for success. Some tips could address price guidelines, others to submit to public requests, write timely and relevant articles, and read the blog/forum.

[BarryDavidson]

I can tell you flat out that I made more here in three weeks, just writing an hour or two a day, than I made at my job the whole month. Let's see... 40 hours or less per pay period (two weeks) grosses me 320 or less, or I can write two to four 300+ word articles an hour and gross 30+ per hour. hmmmmmm

I know which one I like better.

[Celeste Stewart]

When I was on maternity leave with my son a couple years ago, CC really kicked in for me. It actually COST me money to go back to work. I kept extending my leave. When I finally went back, those three hours a day for the company cut into my time where I could have been making three times as much writing articles. It was a no-brainer to quit even though I loved the job.

Edited: It wouldn't have been even remotely possible at $1 to $5 per article though.

[BarryDavidson]

Perhaps, included in the letter...

As you may or may not know, Constant Content has changed. CC, committed to delivering the best quality articles to its customers, has implemented a few policies to ensure our authors are benefiting from their hard work. Among these policies, CC no longer accepts articles which are available to customers for free. This was done to keep a tidal wave of inferior work from bogging down the site, and to drive customers to CC who are looking for quality.

We would also like to talk to you today about undervaluing your work. While it is nice to sell in volume, think of your value. Are you worth six dollars or less an hour, or do you deserve more in the way of compensation?

Or something of the like. That was what popped out of my head. My wife and I been getting all the materials ready for my child's home school review for the past week.

[EarlyWriter]

I am very new here at CC, and I saw a link to guidelines suggesting how to set the price for an article. When I clicked on the link, a blank page came up. Is there a place on this site that will give pricing guidelines to help us set the best price? So far my content is just for usage, but very soon I will begin writing unique content and would like to set a price that will sell, but not set so low as to undercut myself.

I have read about writers writing 300 word articles (blogs?). Most of mine so far are in the 500-800 range. Do the shorter articles sell faster? Or does it depend more on the topic? I will check recently sold when I leave this forum, but just wondered if length makes much of a difference in sales.

Thanks for your help.

[Celeste Stewart]

You'll be fine with 500-800 word articles - that's a popular length.