Everyone has their limit as to how low they’ll go with writing assignments, but lately there has been a lot of uproar about writers who take low paying jobs. We’re talking super low, $1-5 for up to 800 words! These are often keyword articles, ones that have super short deadlines and requirements that can stretch even the best writer.

Is it really that bad for a writer to take on the cheap keyword jobs? Some argue that the writing business will only suffer if people keep accepting these rock-bottom prices and that writers such as these will really drive the prices down on all assignments. Others stand by the fact that for some, these prices equal a decent wage. It all depends on where you live. For example, a writer in India might be quite pleased to have ten articles a day at $2, giving him a total of $20 per day. Where the cost of living is lower, it is easier and actually worthwhile for writers to take on these types of pay rates. But does that mean it’s a good idea?

It all boils down to what you feel your work is worth. Do you write at a $2 level? Then maybe you should stick to those lower paying jobs until you improve your skills. If you feel that you have what it takes to get higher paying assignments, go ahead and hold out for them. Self-confidence is extremely important when you are taking on jobs. If you are bidding on a project and you shoot out the lowest price possible, you won’t necessarily win, in fact, you may be doing more damage to yourself! Some companies overlook the super low bidders, figuring that you get what you pay for.

Think of it this way, you are building a brand . . . for yourself. Your name is going out there on job applications and bids and if you are constantly taking on the lowest paying jobs, that is what you will be offered in the future. If it is enough for you to live on and you are happy with this type of work, that’s fine. But, if you want to move on to higher paying jobs, it’s a good idea to be a bit more selective.

Sure, you might be desperate for some cash, so you take on a $2/article gig . . . but don’t just sit there. Keep looking for and applying for higher paying jobs and when you get them, drop the lower ones. Don’t feel that you have to stick with the company just because they gave you that first job. Drop all low paying jobs as soon as you can and keep climbing the price ladder.

By sticking to your integrity and striving to be the best you can, you will be able to command a higher fee. It might take some time, but with some hard work and patience, you will reach the level you want to be at.

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by Allison Whitehead www.constant-content.com

Ideas are behind every successful article sale.  Ideally we will have an abundance of them in reserve, so we will never be short of articles to write.

Here are some pointers to ensure you’ll never run out:

1 – Where to find them.

Answer – everywhere.  But the best and most convenient place to look is in your immediate vicinity.  You can get ideas from friends, family, your own experiences, work, hobbies, your daily newspaper, magazines, problem pages, and so on.

The key is to start being aware of your surroundings, and opening your eyes to the possibilities of the things you see.  Asking yourself ‘what if’, ‘why’, ‘how’ and so on, is also a good way to get ideas, but you need to train yourself to spot what’s all around you.

2 – Developing them.

It’s not enough to look at something and think you want to write about it.  You need to develop that idea.

What angle do you want to approach it from?  If you’re writing about teabags, to pick a mundane subject, are you going to write about a specific type, or how they are made, or how tea was discovered, or how many people drink it compared to coffee, or is it good for you?

Writing about teabags in general is too unfocused to make a knock-em-dead article.  Narrow the focus – specifics are more interesting.

3 – Angling them to a specific market.

Ten different magazines could do an article on the same subject, but they would all be vastly different, because they would all be angled to a different readership, and this is the rule to bear in mind when offering an article for sale.

Sometimes the article idea will come first, and you can look for a suitable magazine to target; other times you will find a magazine you would like to write for and think of an appropriate idea for it.  Whichever way you approach an idea for a market, make sure the angle is specific to that market, and can be written for that audience.

4 – Make the ideas unique to you.

Ever heard people say, ‘only so and so could have done that’?

Well you can aim for this in your writing too.  Make your approach or angle something that editors won’t see from anyone else.  This is harder than you might think, but if you can make it unique in some small way, it will stand out and get you noticed by the editor.

This will develop in time, this way of looking at an idea from your unique point of view, but it’s a skill that’s well worth developing.

5 – Matching an idea to a length of article.

Again, this is a skill that will come with practice.  Obviously, if you want to write a piece on the history of the American elections, for example, you’d be hard pushed to cram it into a 500 word piece.  You’d be better off concentrating on a single aspect or election for a length like this.  Conversely, if the article length is 2000 words, you know you can fill it with much more information.

A word of warning here – don’t offer a long article until you’re sure you’ll be able to get the information you need to fill it.

6 – Different types of article from the same idea.

This is a good multiple sales technique.  Gaining the most out of each block of research is one of the secrets to fast sales.

Let’s take dreams – I sold an article on erotic dreams, another on naked dreams, and I have more ideas for precognitive dreams, animals in dreams and their meanings… and so on.

You can also do a humorous article, a practical article on dealing with nightmares and bad dreams, a first person piece on your own dreams, and what you’ve learned from them… the list goes on.

7 – Maximum mileage from a single idea.

Think of all the different articles you could write from a single idea – and think of as many angles as you can.  This is more of a case of the same type of article (practical, for example) slanted towards different markets.

This is especially good to do with a familiar subject, like your hobby – try and think of as many different magazines you could slant your hobby towards.

8 – Brainstorming.

A fantastic way to come up with ideas, and also to develop them.  Pick up a magazine at random and open it to the first word you see.  Use this as a starting point, and see where it leads you.

Alternatively, write down as much as you can think of to do with your work or hobby, and see where it leads you.  Write down everything you can think of, however silly – it lets your mind wander and encourages creativity, so let it express itself.

The silliest idea can often trigger something else, or generate an article idea that is within your grasp to write, and is worth writing about.

9 – Try word association and other methods.

Word association can generate lots of ideas for subjects to write about.  This is an easy way to start with some fresh ideas.  Reading news stories, problem pages and surfing the net are other fast ways to get the initial germ of an idea.

You will still need to develop it, but writing non newsy articles that are inspired by news stories is a great way to take advantage of using ready made news stories as a springboard to some original material, using the original story as research.

10 – Knowing what to reject.

Unless you know you can get an interview with a world famous star, it’s probably not a good idea to develop an article around that.  An idea that is workable must be one you can research without too much difficulty.

Either that, or find an angle on a subject that you know you can do.  Sometimes it can be a case of just altering your focus, or narrowing it, to get the article idea to a size you can write about.

Provided that doesn’t ruin the whole drive of the article, that could be your best bet.  So recognise whether or not your enthusiasm matches your ability to write the article… before you offer it.

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