The Article Writer

I recently started to go through some of the articles that I have posted to the article directories over the past three years by updating some, deleting a few, while deciding that I would renew my effort to post to directories again.

Unlike in times past when I would post one article to as many as 20 directories, I’ve decided to change my tactic and limit my distribution to just two directories: Ezine Articles and Article Sphere. I know both both owners, Christopher Knight and Larry Lim, respectively, and know that they provide a consistent and reliable service. I wish I could say that about most of the other directories, but I cannot.

With my current initiative each directory will start receiving fresh articles beginning in May, articles which will not appear on the other directory nor will they have been published elsewhere. I plan on testing the effectiveness of this approach, but I suspect that it will work: quite a few of my articles on Knight’s site have received PageRank, offering excellent link juice for me.

Speaking of link juice, this is the primary reason why I have decided to revisit the issue. I have built or am in the process of building or overhauling several sites and they could use some back links. Submitting articles to article directories allows me to place as many as three back links to three different URLs, a great way to empower any site.

I realize a number of articles will be picked up and posted elsewhere, therefore if the publishers keep my back links in place I’ll get additional link juice. If not, I’ll be content to gain the links from Article Sphere and Ezine Articles as they are both solid sources for this type of marketing.

BTW, both directories are featured on my side bar — the only two.

Q. How did you preserve your existing client base when you increased your rate?

I’m writing at $.03 per word. I’d love to reach $.05, but I’m fearful that my clients will chase cheaper services.

Did you have this problem? Would you be able to give me any insight about how you avoided/resolved it?

A. First of all, let me congratulate you on your choice of profession. Freelance writing is an enjoyable (and rewarding) job choice, not for everyone, but something talented writers should consider.

Secondly, my most noticeable rate increase happened two years ago and it wasn’t without much difficulty. Essentially, I quit writing for all of my lowest-priced clients and began pursuing higher quality, more lucrative projects. One very large, on-going project had recently ended while two others were done, but I knew they’d be interested in using me again in the near future. However, I was no longer interested in writing for them and quit accepting new work when offered.

Of course, if you want to keep your current clients and raise your rates, you can always ask them to pay you at the new, higher rate. However, since your current clients are looking for a bargain (and at .03 per word, that is what you are offering), they’ll probably look at the change to .05 per word as a 60% price increase and resist. In this case you have three choices:

1. Keep working for less money.
2. Drop your current customers.
3. Keep your customers until better paying opportunities come along.

I did lose quite a bit of money until I was able to make the adjustment, but I’ve managed to land several better paying opportunities, including a pair of ongoing magazine gigs which is the direction I planned on going eventually. I’ve been writing about my favorite topics, cars, a lot lately which also helps because I’m excited about my work instead of feeling as if I have to produce work on subjects which aren’t of much interest to me.

Finally, when you do get to the point of having a name for yourself, you’ll be able to cherry-pick projects as they come along. Sure, I work my tail off for my customers, but I also want to produce work that satisfies me. It has taken me three years to get to this point, but I like the direction that I am going.

Best wishes to you in all of your pursuits.

I had occasion recently to do some research on the alternatives to Craigslist, the ubiquitous online classified site that everyone in the world seems to be using. At least everyone that I know who is looking for a job, seeking to promote their website or business, or desiring to SEO (spam) their way to success. Which is almost everyone! wink*wink

Let’s just say that one of my SEO practices warranted that I take a look at some Craigslist alternatives out there, thus the reasoning behind my research.

What I found was a pleasant surprise, not that I didn’t think that other sites existed, but that some of these have been around for quite awhile. I know a lot of people live or die with Craigslist (CL), but if you’re looking for something a bit different, then the following are worth a shot:

Backpage — This site has the look and feel of CL, but is a bit more polished than the standard bearer. Ads run for free and the city selection roughly parallels CL. You can pay a few a token amount of money to automatically bump ads every seven days and you can purchase block ads which dominate the top of listing category and cannot be flagged by users. Backpage is owned by the Village Voice.

ClassifiedExtra — Canadians in Toronto and Vancouver love Craigslist — I know this because if I have to post an advertisement in either location, both cities perform extremely well with CL. CE is new to me, but with a PR6 ranking, it gets a good amount of traffic with penetration throughout Canada. A French edition is also available.

Gumtree — For UK readers, I’m thinking that Gumtree could be your favorite site. Again, this is like CL but a bit more refined. Select cities in Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the US are also featured. Gumtree is tied in with Kijiji (see below).

Kijiji — Don’t ask me how to pronounce this site! I just started using it yesterday, posting an ad very similar to what I can post on CL. I like the layout, the fact that ads stay live for six months (okay, maybe I’d prefer to bump them up), and a synopsis of the listing is featured on their site. Kijiji and Gumtree are eBay companies.

There are other classified sites out there including Recycler, serving Los Angeles and Southern California; LiveDeal — which is tied in with the YellowPages; and AdPost, to name just a few.

Oodle is interesting as it operates as an aggregator of several sites including CL, Kijiji, and several popular job sites.

If you’re looking for a gig, something to sell, or an item to buy, these other sites can provide some decent alternatives to CL and each one is free to use. SEO anyone?