Happy Thanksgiving!

I'm taking a break from work--and everything else--for the week of Thanksgiving. I'll be back next Monday. Hope you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Things You Can't Buy for $5 An Article

No matter how long you've been a freelance writer, you will continually run into the client whose frame of reference for hiring freelance writers is the $5-an-article market. These clients expect you to charge less than nothing. They think it should take you mere seconds to crank out 500 words. And part of them doesn't really understand why they should pay for writing at all: after all, YOU should be grateful that someone is paying you to write anything--and giving you all that free exposure on top of it.

If you're only willing to pay a couple of dollars per page, you may be able to find some misguided people who will take that deal. There's always someone out there who will work for less. But there are a few very important things you won't be getting. These include:

Research. $5-an-article writers don't have time to research. Most of these articles are taken from the top of the writer's head or rephrased from existing articles. If I was writing for $5 an article, I wouldn't have time to spend clicking around Google to find out if what I was writing was actually true. I'd be too busy cranking out words to try to make a living wage.

Fact-checking. You may get a lot of factual errors with cheap articles. That's because you probably aren't paying a separate fact-checker to do it--and your writer isn't.

Originality. Don't think that $5-an-article writers are spending time researching your market, looking up what's already out there, and coming up with an original angle for your article. In fact, for dirt-cheap article writers, it's better to go for the tried-and-true topics. That way there will already be plenty of info out there to cull from quickly.

Interviews. Interviews take time. It takes time to find the right people, time to schedule an interview, come up with the right questions, and then sift through the results afterward. $5 an article just does not cover this amount of time. And it's too bad. Interviews with people in the industry or involved in the issue can make the difference between something of substance and keyword fluff--and don't think your audience can't tell one from the other..

Good grammar and spelling. It's tough to proofread your own work. Spell-check programs aren't dependable, and it's often hard to spot errors in something you've just done writing. If you're doing it yourself, it's best to give a piece some "sit time" for a day or so to read it again with some distance. But $5-an-article writers don't have that sit time. The name of the game in this industry is "fast."

If you're only willing to pay bottom-dollar for writing work, expect errors in spelling, grammar, and accuracy. And don't be surprised if the articles just rehash the same topics that are already out there. This type of article isn't likely to appeal to an audience or set you apart from competitors. If you want writing that does more than throw keywords at search engines, expect to pay more than a nominal fee.

When Should You Stand Your Ground?

As a freelancer, it can be tough to stand up to a client who wants something unreasonable. And when you're starting out, you may not have the confidence to say when things are and aren't OK to expect. When I started out, I thought being "professional" meant saying yes to everything. Now I know it has more to do with knowing what battles to fight--and when to stand up for yourself, even if it means losing the job. Such as:

When the pay is too low. Once I was really excited to partner with an SEO firm. They knew my prices going in, and the plan was for them to sell my services along with theirs--for a markup. They would make money for essentially doing nothing, and I would have a flood of new clients. Sounded awesome--right? Except when the SEO company started pressuring me to lower my rates. They wanted me to compete on price with the $5 article people, and I found myself having to draw a line in the sand and explain the difference between my services and theirs. It turned out that although the SEO company was excited to be offering the best writing around--at that price point--their client base wasn't willing to spring for more. That partnership didn't work out.

When the expectations are unrealistic. Does the client want you to manage same-day turnarounds on edits? Expect you to be available for phone or IM chats all the time? Want to treat you like an employee, not a freelancer? Some terms are grounds for dismissal--of the client.

When what they want is less effective. Every so often, I've had to defend my copywriting choices. When a client wants a change that will make the writing less effective, I usually stand up for myself and state my case--once. If after my explanation, the client still wants a change, I make it--they're paying the bills, after all. I try to make sure the whole exchange and the suggestions have a paper trail--so the client can't come back later saying that I didn't do a good job because of bad results.

When the contract is unreasonable. Once I was handed a non-compete contract when partnering with a graphic designer--that essentially stated I couldn't work with anyone else who provided that type of service. I'm willing to sign some general non-compete agreements, but this was way too strict. Sometimes when the client gives you a contract, it's their own arse they're looking after--not yours.

What do you consider reasons to walk from a client?

When Expectations are Unrealistic

I've been running up against unrealistic client expectations lately. It can be a frustrating thing--especially when you don't realize how unrealistic those expectations really are until you turn in the first draft. When I first started freelancing, I believed that I should try to do whatever I could to satisfy client expectations. Now I know that some are just not possible. Here are a few of my favorites:

This copy will get a specific result. Whether it's supposed to out-pull the current copy or get the client an interview in one month flat, it's unrealistic to expect a certain result from any advertising or marketing effort. You can reasonably predict results, sometimes--but you can't state them for certain. All sorts of factors--from the job market to the reliability of the information your client gives you about the industry--can affect the results of a project, and many of those are out of the writer's control. Be careful about getting yourself into situations where you have to predict results for certain.

You will be available all the time. Sometimes clients misunderstand the relationship with freelancers. They think that because they've hired you, you're now their employee--and able to be available at their beck and call. Occasionally I've had to set firm boundaries about when I can take phone calls and do IM chats--and I try to set a precedent of keeping most correspondence done via email. Email is less intrusive and easier to deal with on a daily basis--and it also provides a record of what went on, just in case it's needed.

You'll get it perfect the first time. Occasionally a client will get upset because the first draft isn't exactly what he or she expected. Part of this is my fault--I failed to prep them beforehand to expect revisions. But sometimes you wonder whether these people ever submitted research papers in high school and college--and ever had to revise a paper. What happened to the writing process? Nobody's perfect, and nobody's understanding of another person's concepts and ideas will be flawless.

You'll guarantee your results. Very rarely, I've seen job postings that offer pay based on results. This is similar, to me, as asking for a guarantee of results--or the writer doesn't get paid. In my opinion it's an unrealistic and unfair way of paying for copy or any other freelance work.

What do you consider unreasonable expectations in freelancing?

Back After a Loooonggg Hiatus

So, I haven't been around for a while.

A lot's happened in my life. I met a fabulous guy. I traveled all over Europe with him--and went to Kenya. My brother got married. I finished a second novel. I started performing slam poetry in New York. And amidst all that, my freelance writing work suddenly tripled. It was a great run...and things are finally starting to slow down.

If I'd realized this was coming, I would have prepared better. But it was a case of not realizing I'd be too busy to post until I was...and once you start ignoring something (like your exercise plan, or your screenplay, or your blog) it gets easier and easier to keep ignoring it. So...sorry about that! But things are slowing down for me for a bit, so I'm finally coming back.

When I started this blog, I promised myself I wouldn't let it take over my life. My plan was always to keep it going for as long as it fit in my life, and not stress about it when it doesn't. Since then, there have been several points where I've had to drop out for a bit. I can't say when that time will come again, but I'm sure it will. In the meantime, however, hopefully I can get a good, consistent series of new posts up.

I hope you've had a fabulous few months, too!

Palm Readings and Popcorn

I just have to share this experience.

So I was walking down the street in the East Village the other day. I was on my way to see a movie with a friend, and I was late. And as I was walking, a guy comes up to me and starts walking alongside me. He says something, very fast, to the effect of:

“I’m a professional palm reader. I give Daoist, Taoist, Confucian palm reads in the ancient Chinese tradition. And I’d really like to give you my spiel today. Let me pitch you, miss!” (He really did say that.) And in this perky, peppy voice…

I’m from Vermont. I never evolved the thick-skinned, New Yorker ability to say “get lost” to people who come up to me and talk to me. I’m just not good at being rude. So I said something like, “um, OK.”

So the guy launches into a two-block talk about his palm reading and the traditions they’re from and the techniques he uses and the steps he takes, walking alongside me as I go to my movie. Then he starts going into the types of “packages” he has…and how much they cost. Really? He wants me to drop everything and get a $20 palm read, right there on the sidewalk? When I’m clearly on my way somewhere?

“…And you’ll be getting me at my best energy today,” he said. “I’m really fresh. Like popcorn! Where are you headed, miss?”

“Meet a friend,” I mumble.

“Oh, really? Is it a girl friend or a guy friend? Is it a date?”

“No, it’s a movie,” I say. Yeah, I’m awkward.

“Well, why not stop for a quick five minute palm read? It’s only five dollars—”

And then I did what I should have done the whole time, but didn’t. I turned to him and said, very clearly, “NO.”

And the guy gave me a disgruntled look and jetted off to go harass his next victim.

This ties into my post on Monday...about email marketers who won't go away unless you take the time to give them a clear "NO." Is this what we've come to? Is the market so saturated now that to get any business, we have to persistently bother people who clearly don't want what we're selling? I don't see how that's the case...personally I do just fine, and I will NEVER let myself become this person, either online or in person. But I've seen this kind of thing a lot lately...and I'm starting to think my "no"'s need to be more pre-emptive.

Email Marketing: What Not to Do

This has happened to me twice in the past few weeks. Someone sends me an email marketing message asking me to buy into something, promote something on my site, something like that. It’s not something I’m interested in. Since I get a lot of these emails, I don’t respond with a “not interested.” I just don’t respond at all.

Then, a few days later, I get another email. “Hey, I didn’t hear back from you about the email I sent earlier. Just wanted to see if you’d be interested in…”

Is this a new trend in email marketing—that if someone doesn’t respond to your solicitation, it’s an invitation to keep emailing them until they do? Generally, if I email message someone with some kind of promotional intent and they don’t respond, I assume they’re not interested. I might email them again in six months, in case things change—but I won’t expect their not being interested to be some kind of basis for a relationship-building exchange.

And it goes the other way, too. If I don’t respond, I’m not interested. And I get a lot of emails like this, so having to respond with a “sorry, not interested” every time I get one would take time out of my day that I don’t need to spend. And if I do respond to you with a “not interested,” it might be taken as a pretext for you to get back in touch and try to convince me, which I’d rather you didn’t do.

Do you take this tactic with email marketing? Do you have any luck with it?