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That's insane!
Yeah, I could probably raise prices. I'm not looking for much work but I do want to earn a good hourly income of it. I'll get on that and raise my prices to 2.00 per 100 words.
Are you acquiring these clients through Odesk? Are these technical contracts?
There's great money in it - do doubt about it. Believe it or not, the good commercial writers (read good
businessmen/marketers) are making 6 figures a year with their writing biz. That's just the good ones - people with celebrity status can make more.
Pick up a copy of Writer's Market - I just bought the deluxe version, which gives you a physical copy and a 1-year subscription to WritersMarket.com. In the book, they've got a chapter that breaks down all the different rates for writing work, both online and offline. Gives lows, averages, and highs.
Rest assured that you will not find anything as low as $2 per 100 words on there - even in the "low" category. Their stated "average" for white papers is about $5K. Blogs? $50 on average (down from a few years ago, I believe), and $500 on the high end.
Actually, here's a slightly outdated version of the chapter if you want to check it out (they include it every year):
http://www.writersmarket.com/assets/pdf/...Charge.pdf
If you want to get serious about this stuff, great starting points are the book, "The Well-fed Writer," and Carol Tice's Freelance Writing Den.
Basically it's all about learning to promote yourself and conducting business like a professional. If you think businesses who pull in $1,000,000 per year or even half that would even consider hiring someone at $10 per article to pen communications that represent their business, you're the one who's insane. No offense...
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FYI: A business pulling in a million a year is still in the small business category - small fish.
Add on some real copywriting skills, tech writing, and marketing know-how and the sky really is the limit.
As for $30 - $50 per article rates, I've pulled plenty of jobs like that off Elance, the Warrior Forum, and Craigslist. Those are often touted as low-end places to get work (it's true they are for the most part).
For higher end stuff, you're better off with LinkedIn, online job ads (even for salary positions you can sometimes email them and ask if they've got needs for a freelancer while hiring), and hitting up AUTHORITY blogs and businesses directly. Word of mouth, of course - rep is everything. I hear cold calling has very solid results, but I haven't had the balls...yet.
If you do cold call or send direct mail, make sure you do your research ahead of time. It's not a numbers game, and even if it was, you'd run yourself ragged.
Start up a solid blog or two as well. Sometimes people will find you through your work, you can use it for clips, and you can make some cash with your own products, services, and/or affiliate marketing while you're at it. Use these blogs to practice your social media skills so you can offer them to clients.
A blog piece of yours goes unexpectedly viral on Twitter and brings in a shitload of traffic? Use it as a case study when pitching new clients. Whether you're just offering the writing or the social media too, that's an example of results that you can leverage.
The more I'm exposed to this shit, the more I believe writing skills are one of the most valuable things you can cultivate (aside from marketing). With the internet, it's obvious - everyone online needs the goods. But it doesn't stop there - the world runs on information, Man. Some of it is cheap - and often trashy.
But a lot of information comes at a high premium. And it costs for a reason; good info is VALUABLE.
Here are few examples:
What is a seminar, when you really break it down? Information. Top seminar tickets go for tens of thousands of dollars. Someone has to write that shit. Even low-end seminars teaching basic skills bring in dough.
Consulting work? One of the highest paid forms of info out there - it's not written, necessarily, but writing teaches you the communication skills and mentality of a consultant. Hone in on a specific niche and it's a direct path.
Not to sound too hypey, but the possibilities really are endless...
Beyond All Seas
"The individual has always had to struggle to keep from being overwhelmed by the tribe.
To be your own man is a hard business. If you try it, you'll be lonely often, and sometimes
frightened. But no price is too high to pay for the privilege of owning yourself." - Kipling
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