Why I don’t take up low paying content writing and copywriting assignments

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Why I don't take up low-paying writing assignments

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.

If you don’t want to pay even a decent amount for writing services, you don’t need a writer

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Nothing wrong in paying for quality content writing and copywriting

Although for many years I have been turning down low-paying content writing and copywriting assignments, on an average I get 2-3 queries every day from clients who think paying for good writing the amount it deserves, is waste of money, especially when cheap writers are available.

My standard response is, “Good for you! If you want such writers, your business needs those writers, and you should stop looking around.”

I think, in most of the cases, somehow, they get the idea that my writing services are very cheap (I really, really don’t know how I give this impression on my website), even cheaper than what they are paying now, or pretend to be paying now.

Because, otherwise, if they are paying dirt cheap and if such writing is working for them, why are they looking for another content writer unless they want to pay even less?

Fortunately, most of the clients who contact me understand that their business needs quality writing and they are going to have to pay for quality writing.

My content writing and copywriting services are not very expensive, but they are also not cheap.

I don’t undersell myself.

I run a business.

I need to maintain the cash flow.

Over the years, I have gotten an idea of how much my clients are ready to pay for the quality of writing I provide.

I charge slightly less than that.

Why you shouldn’t refrain from spending money on quality content writing?

Your written content is the main point of contact when people come to your website or access your blog or receive your email message.

When people read your content, you are talking to them.

You are trying to sell them.

If your writing is not convincing, you don’t convince your customers and clients.

Every headline counts. Every sentence counts. So does every paragraph and every bullet point.

If your writing is less than professional, your customers and clients think, well, if this person cannot write properly, how can I expect him or her to deliver his or her services professionally?

You may say, “Oh well, I am a mobile app developer, so, it doesn’t matter how the content is written on my website. The client is going to hire me for my programming prowess, not my writing abilities.”

I agree with you. In your case, the client or the customer is not looking for a writer.

Assuming you are a programmer, do you think a coder or a programmer will be exploring your website to hire you?

No, he or she will be a manager, a business owner, a digital marketer, or someone who is responsible for taking serious decisions, decisions that involve spending lots of money.

Even if he or she is a coder, he or she is also responsible for hiring people.

People on such posts are very particular about messaging, presentation and above all, professionalism.

It can easily put them off if the writing on your website is not good.

Only when they are impressed with your writing, they will consider reading about your coding prowess.

This is one thing.

Another thing is, visiting websites and reading content on websites is a highly individual activity.

Your text should be conversational and interesting.

It should be able to hold the attention of the reader.

Your writing should be able to sell your idea strongly.

The passion must drip through your words.

And, if you have such writing on your website, it will constantly generate business for you.

Otherwise… do I need to say more?

Therefore, when you are investing in a good writer, in quality content writing or quality copywriting, you are investing in your business.

Writing is the oxygen your website needs to survive.

If the quality of the oxygen is not good, your website is going to suffocate.

If you think such writing is not worth paying for, for your case, it is really not worth paying for.

After all, it’s you who are responsible for the good health or the bad health of your business.

Targeted content writing for better conversion rate

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The image shows a bull's-eye to signify targeted content writing

Targeted content writing can improve conversion rate

You publish content to improve your conversion rate.

Conversion rate isn’t always about more people buying. It is about more people doing what you want them to do.

Suppose you write a blog post explaining people why they should download your e-book. This is your conversion rate – people downloading your e-book.

Although, you may want people to download your e-book so that they do business with you, the conversion rate of that particular link is the number of people downloading the e-book divided by the number of people accessing the link, multiplied by 100.

Targeted content writing plays an important role in this. The purpose of targeted content writing is to get the right people to your link and then delivering the right message.

Through targeted content writing, you need to tackle your conversion rate from two angles:

  1. Get traffic from search engines and social media/social networking websites.
  2. Convincingly deliver the message so that people take the action they’re supposed to take after reading your blog post or webpage.

How to do targeted content writing to improve your conversion rate

In simple terms:

  1. Clearly define what you want to achieve.
  2. Make a list of keywords and search terms that will help the right people to find your link on Google and other search engines.
  3. Write content based on these keywords but keep the message at the center.

Clearly defining what you want to achieve

Focusing on a single topic and a single objective is very important. Often, clients send me a topic and then they send me a long list of keywords to cover. It doesn’t work that way.

Sometimes they send me a list that has got nothing to do with the main topic title of the blog post or the web page they want me to write.

They simply want to generate search engine traffic without having a clear idea what the visitors are supposed to do once they find the link and come to the blog post or the web page.

Frankly, if you focus on your main topic (which generally has your main keyword or search term) you don’t need a separate list of keywords. Sure, you can use synonyms and alternative words for better SEO, but you shouldn’t move far away from your core topic.

I’m writing this blog post to explain to you how to do targeted content writing to improve your conversion rate. I don’t intend to teach you how to improve your SEO. I’m not even talking about copywriting.

To clearly define the purpose, know searcher’s intent and write accordingly.

For this blog post, I know that the searchers should be looking for a way to use content writing to improve their conversion rate. When they look for information on how they can use content writing to improve their conversion rate, I tell them that they should focus on targeted content writing instead of generic content writing.

Make a list of keywords that correspond with the information you are planning to provide

Keywords and search terms shouldn’t drive your writing effort. Nonetheless, they keep you focused and if you optimize your content writing for appropriate keywords and search terms, it helps the right people find your content on Google and elsewhere.

I say it again, don’t worry too much about using keywords everywhere. They should appear naturally. The more you focus on the topic, the better you optimize for the targeted keywords.

To write targeted content, as an experienced content writer, I can incorporate even unrelated keywords. Right now, I’m doing this for one of my clients. There is no connection with the topics they send me and the list of keywords they want me to focus on. Any other content writer would have either given up or made a mess of the entire thing. The client knows that I’m doing a great job.

Ideally, to write targeted content, make sure that the main search term appears in the title of the blog post or the web page you are writing. Various studies have shown that when people see the keyword or the search term they have just used, in the search listings, they click the link with greater frequency than those in search engine listings that don’t carry the keywords they have just used.

Remember that the most important is your message

Don’t bother about the keywords if you cannot incorporate them. There is always another blog post or webpage where you will be able to use those keywords. Most important is the information that you are providing. The value that you are delivering. Simply focus on that.

Your conversion rate depends on many factors. It also depends on the urgency the visitor has or does not have. But your targeted content writing plays a pivotal part. For that, you must know what you intend to achieve through your writing. Or your content writer.

Exactly when does your content begin to generate more business for you

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The image shows pillars of coins in the form of ROI

When do content writing and content marketing begin to pay off?

Here I will write in the context of content writing. When do you start experiencing the positive results of writing and publishing content on your website or blog on regular basis?

When you are writing content on your own (you are investing time) you are not spending money, but if you have hired a content writer then it is a recurring expense especially when you want to go on publishing content for a few months.

The nature of content marketing, in terms of improving your search engine rankings and generating more business for you, is such that it takes some time before you begin to experience your return on investment.

It’s like doing farming. When you are just about to start farming, if you don’t have land, you buy land, which is an expense. Then you prepare the land for sowing, which involves effort and money. Then you buy seeds. You sow the seeds and take measures that they grow into a healthy harvest. Then you reap the benefits.

When you repeat the sowing and harvesting, your investment and hard work begins to pay. But until then, you must be patient and courageous.

The same happens with content writing and content marketing.

I was inspired to write this post when I came across this graphic. The graphic was prepared by the SEO website Moz.

Graph explaining exactly when content writing and content marketing begin to benefit your business

It shows that when you start investing in content, initially there is euphoria as you see some results. Then, as the search engines begin to figure your content and your competitors, knowingly or unknowingly, begin to catch up, although your costs go on mounting, the results dip.

The graphic shows an area called “The gap of disappointment” and most of the people abandon their content writing and content publishing efforts during this phase when they begin to think that although they have spent a lot of money, the ROI isn’t there. Just when their cost is going to come down and the content writing and content marketing is about to show results, they quit.

The graph shows that it takes around 5 months for things to really kick off. Then, by 7th month, the ROI begins to rise and cost and effort begin to come down and eventually, cost and effort plateau, but ROI keeps rising for a long time before creating a big gap between effort/cost and ROI.

Why content writing and content marketing take a while before beginning to grow your business, compared to conventional advertising?

It takes time to create a presence for yourself even when you use conventional advertising it’s just that, the mental conditioning is such that you don’t realize it.

First, we must make it clear why you want to use content marketing and not conventional advertising. I mean, if conventional advertising is better, why not use it instead of content marketing?

Conventional advertising is instant gratification. You pay for exposure, you get the exposure, and people buy from you. It’s an ongoing process. Unless you are a famous brand, there is always going to be a big gap between advertising expense and ROI, in the negative sense.

Take for example advertising on Google. You pay for every click. Stop paying for clicks and you stop getting traffic, it is as simple as that.

Similarly, you stop advertising, and people can’t see you. You haven’t become a part of their lives. You haven’t kept in touch with them. You haven’t helped them in any other manner. You have simply advertised your product or service hoping that they will come to your website and buy from you.

The combination of content writing and content marketing on the other hand isn’t instant gratification. It is a long-term investment in building and establishing lasting relationships.

Once you have published enough good quality, targeted content, you don’t need to pay for every click Google sends your way. When you have organically improved your search engine rankings, whether you get 10 clicks or 10,000 clicks, or even 10 million clicks, you don’t have to pay.

Content in the context of content marketing doesn’t mean publishing any sort of content just to get visibility. Your content needs to be meaningful, useful and informative. It must solve a purpose. Your prospective customers or clients must feel good when they come across your content on search engines and on social media and social networking websites.

Content marketing means building your brand presence through an emotional connection. People begin to know you. They begin to recognize you for the quality of your content. You don’t need to advertise. They themselves seek you out.

Yes, initially there is a cost. But once you have published enough content return on investment is so huge that compared to that, the money and effort that you spend on writing and publishing content is negligible.

As you can see in the above graph, it takes time. Depending on how much competition you have it can easily take between 3-6 months to get good results and if you can sustain yourself till then, often, there is no looking back.

Finding purpose for writing content instead of talking about features and benefits

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The image shows a cyclist with the big caption talking about the purpose of content writing

What is the purpose of writing content and sharing your thoughts?

Today I stumbled upon an update from Joe Pulizzi on Twitter in which he had shared his recent email newsletter broadcast.

In the first topic he talks about how Apple turned around its business when Steve Jobs decided to focus on marketing the purpose of the company rather than its products and their features.

These days I’m reading a copywriting book titled The Adweek Copywriting Handbook by Joe Sugarman. In the book he repeatedly insists that effective copywriting is all about catering to the emotions of prospective customers and clients rather than harping about product features and benefits. He gives the example of the Mercedes car. Most of the people buy the car due to the emotional high they get. Buying is always emotional, he says.

When you communicate your purpose of existence instead of promoting your products and services, you make an emotional connection.

I believe, when you are writing content, this is the true meaning of content writing especially when you are writing content for content marketing.

How do you plan to change people’s lives?

If you are marketing a tasks management mobile app, how are you going to make it easier for people to accomplish what they want to achieve?

If I am marketing my content writing services through publishing content all the time, how do I make it worthwhile for my readers to read my blog posts? What do I really convey?

In the daily hubbub of marketing our businesses and constantly trying to get new customers and clients, we get little time to sit quietly and think about our purpose of existence.

Why do I really provide my copywriting and content writing services?

A simple, straightforward answer would be that I’m good at these and hence, I use these skills to make a living.

I think, as a reader, even you would understand my need to offer my services. In this world, every person who earns, puts in an effort to make a living. That’s the purpose for that person. This is my purpose.

But how do I make an emotional connection with you, as my prospective client? What moves you to contact me? What makes you trust my abilities as a content writer and as a copywriter who can help you grow your business?

I say I’m passionate about helping you grow your business. I believe that my writing can improve your conversion rate and help you get more traffic from search engines.

There might be thousands of reasons why your business isn’t growing the way you want it to grow, but I know that content and copy play a very important role.

People read the words on your website and then they decide if they want to do business with you.

The words on your website make them click your contact form or give you a call, and the words can send them away back to the search engine or to another website.

As a writer and as a reader, I know the power of words.

I know words are not casual. Wars have been fought because certain words have been spoken. Words have triggered revolutions.

They say that a person can recover from a bullet wound, but it is very difficult for him or her to recover from a wound caused by someone’s words, such is the power of words.

This is the purpose I want to instill when writing content for my own website, and when writing content and copy for you.

What is the purpose of your business? The true purpose. How do you want to change people’s lives for better?