Why I don’t take up low-paying writing assignments
…even if I’m not currently working on some paid assignments.
Continuing the string of thought from a previous blog post, If you don’t want to pay even a decent amount for writing services, you don’t need a writer, does it make sense when I don’t take up low paying assignments even when currently I’m not working on a project? Am I wasting my time? Isn’t some money better than no money?
This logic was presented to me yesterday by a client. He asked me if I was busy with an assignment. I was not.
“So,” he asked, “why don’t you accept my assignment? At least I will be paying you something.”
There are multiple reasons why I don’t accept low paying assignments. But one of the biggest reasons is, I would rather spend my time promoting my own services rather than writing content for individuals who don’t appreciate the value of a good writer.
Although, when I am sending an estimate to my clients, I mention them how much I’m going to charge per word or per page, in reality, I am charging for my time. Over the years I have come to realize how much I need to make per hour when I’m working, so, I have converted my hourly need into a per word or a per page figure for the benefit of those clients who feel a bit uncomfortable with the concept of paying by the hour.
Low-paying content writing and copywriting assignments doesn’t mean less work
You will be surprised to know that the clients who didn’t want to pay what I asked were more demanding and were more callous about my time compared to those clients who readily paid my rates.
It’s quite logical, actually.
When you don’t want to pay a justifiable amount for a service that is very crucial to the growth of your business, you don’t value the service and to be frank, you don’t even value your own business. You don’t hope to do well.
Since you don’t appreciate the time being put (because you’re not spending much money and hence, you don’t have much stake) you don’t mind wasting time of your writer. You come up with weird suggestions. You want a long copy, and then suddenly you want a short copy. Then you don’t like the tone. You want some sentences changed and then you realize that the previous sentences were better. This goes on and on until the writer is totally frustrated and gives up. Then you don’t pay because you say that the writer didn’t deliver what you had asked for.
It’s a no-win situation for both the parties. The write-up is important for your website (assuming you take your business seriously) but you don’t get it. The writer has put in lots of effort, the effort he or she could have spent working on a rewarding assignment, and now, his or her effort is totally wasted.
Low periods are a good time to promote your business
As an entrepreneur I need to promote myself continuously. Even if there is a lag of 2 weeks, the queries begin to dwindle. I need to publish content on my blog and website regularly otherwise I begin to lose my search engine rankings because content writing is a high-competition field.
By the grace of God or the positive powers of the universe, I’m not having to scrape the bottom of the barrel. Over the years I have been able to create a presence for myself through which, clients want to hire me for high-quality writing. By the time they come to my website, they are already impressed by my search engine rankings and the content they have found at various places, written by me. So, when they come to my website, they are already looking for me.
I’m not saying this comes easily. I have to strive all the time. I don’t mind that.
Consequently, when I take up low-paying assignment, rather than making money, I’m losing it. This is because the time that I spend promoting my business by publishing content on my own website is more valuable than the money that I make from low paying assignments.