making a living from websites

[Matteo]

I agree with Kay. There is a huge need for quality freelance writers.

Think multiple streams of income, including your "labor". My company (me) makes money through marketing consulting, design, development, hosting, website management, online ad management, publishing my own websites and the occasional sale of one of my established sites. So, start up "Me, Inc." and do what you know in various capacities.

There is no business you will be able to just buy and have it be completely passive, making you money with no effort on your part. There is always something that needs to be done.

[Nidec]

I have a friend who spent £22k to get someone to build him a website. Over the next 10 months he spent £8k on Google Adwords to try and promote his site. Net result, 2 orders with a combined value of under £100. When he told me I had a look at his website for him, quite nice but nothing special and I could have done it for around £1.5k and been happy, absolutely no SEO/backlinks/social media, the only way to find it was via the Adwords it was nowhere in the SERPS.
What Im trying to say is don't put all your eggs in 1 basket, better to lose a little money but pick up some knowledge that you can use on your next venture than to lose it all and be scared off for life.

[SusanH]

Hi guys,

just wanted to thank everyone again for all their help and advice. I am curious about the suggestion of selling my labour for a decent amount

As mentioned I am an experienced journalist and I have written web content for companies in the past and earned a reasonable amount from it but they all found me through recommendations from others etc.
Whenever I see websites or ads online advertising for writers they are paying ridiculously low amounts (eg itrigga - £20 per 1000 words and that often includes research). I've signed up with some sites where you bid for work but for every person looking to pay a decent amount there are 20 others wanting it done for pennies.
Am I missing something - or are the people making money from online writing actually cold calling etc to get it?

(I mentioned that I have a letter writing site that brings in a tiny amount. I've just started a sister site - needapressrelease.com but it's just created in WP and I haven't really added any decent content yet. Is good content the key to getting sales rather than investing heavily in adwords etc?)
thanks again
Susan

[petertdavis]

If you want to make really good money with writing you have to be in a lucrative specialty. For example, if you had a law degree, writing articles on legal topics would pay quite a bit more than what you see on the freelance sites. If you can find the right gig. I also know some people who do quite well with more diverse topics, but they come at it from a Marketing/PR angle. If you're good at that kind of thing, writing articles that go viral, for example, you can make very good money (seriously, one guy I know gets $5,000 for each article).

Yes, you can consistently get nicely written articles in the $20 range for a 1000 word article. That's just the way it is. There is no shortage of people who want to make money for their writing. It does take some effort on the part of the person doing the hiring (I've been doing that for years), but there is not any correlation between higher price and quality of the writing when you're dealing in the freelance marketplace. In fact, I personally have found the higher priced writers to be harder to deal with than just using a service like TextBroker.com.

[Clinton]

SusanH, I would suggest you take a look at Mechanical Turk. People there don't earn more than a few dollars an hour, but you'll get an idea of the type of work that can be done at very low prices and can then target work that can't be farmed off to locations such as these.

[SusanH]

(seriously, one guy I know gets $5,000 for each article).

Wow, that's unbelievable -wouldn't need many of those in a year

I am a media law specialist and I also now specialise in environmental issues - I write for 3 environmental websites but they scaled back on new copy after Google's farmer. Has picked up a little but I know their income dropped by more than 60% within a few days of that.

I also have several years experience in PR but I'm rubbish at selling myself

thanks again
Susan

[KenW3]

(seriously, one guy I know gets $5,000 for each article).

Wow, that's unbelievable -wouldn't need many of those in a year

I know of copywriters worth $5K per piece, but they won't work for money and demand a percentage of each business. Once a reputation is developed for the ability to write copy that converts, the writer can stop selling themselves because they no longer need to work for anyone ever again.

The most valuable copywriter's website on the internet is free. Steal This Book by Harlen Kilstein teaches you how to use this treasure trove, and provides even more swipe files that make sales.

Experts with specialties don't command the highest prices, but writers who can turn a website into a cash machine that convert visitors and make money are worth (half) a fortune.

[Andy]

The twist this thread took tied knots in my stomach! Arrrrgh!

I'm torn to boot. As a writer myself - copywriting and otherwise - I've been hard-pressed to find those good paying clients. I will be the first to admit I'm lousy at marketing myself. I do not want to write anything to discourage you - mostly because just because I'm having a hard time making it pay, that doesn't mean you can't.

Peter, if there is any way you could clue me in on how this fellow can command that much, I'm all ears. I'd be happy with a fraction of that amount.

Andy

[Kay]

I'm also a writer (sometimes available for hire) but I can't imagine the sums talked about in this thread. $5,000? Shall I lick your feet while I'm writing the article for you? Ooh, you have very nice feet. I can research and write but I don't do sales pages and I'm not a copywriter. (Don't want to be anyway.)

Sheesh, show me where I can earn this kind of money and I'll work maybe three days a year and spend the rest of my time faffing about on forums.

[KenW3]

Peter, if there is any way you could clue me in on how this fellow can command that much, I'm all ears. I'd be happy with a fraction of that amount.

Andy

Hi Andy, Welcome back Would you be offended if I answered this question instead? I don't want to jump in on Peter's reply, but was concerned over your comment that this thread took a twist that tied knots in (your) stomach

Sheesh, show me where I can earn this kind of money and I'll work maybe three days a year and spend the rest of my time faffing about on forums.

Articles that command that kind of money are not written in a day, or even a week. They involve serious research, and skill levels which are quite the rarity. The fields I know of that pay these amounts, and much more, are scientific research and medical documentation. Peter suggested the legal field, and I can see that as similar in terms of research and effort required to write a single article.

I'm also a writer (sometimes available for hire) but I can't imagine the sums talked about in this thread. $5,000?

I usually don't attempt imagination when presented with a statement such as this. (My mind works a bit differently?) I automatically go to: 'Okay, what can I do that would make this kind of money for writing?' 'Who is charging this kind of money for writing?' 'Are they getting it?' ...and that's when I go to Google for answers.

The thought that something is not possible is a limiting factor. Everything is impossible until it isn't. The better question is always to ask 'How can I do this?'.

As Susan mentioned she was a writer in the OP, and Peter's post explored potential and possibilities, I responded with one example, copywriting because this was a type of writing I knew can command that price. There is one member of these forums that has charged that type of payment for copywriting, but you cannot hire him to work for you, not even for half your business.