Comments on: Free Content: It’s All in the Wording http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/ Freelance Writing Jobs for All Writers Sat, 11 Feb 2012 17:52:56 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Does Guest Blogging Work? Part 1: Traffic : Freelance Writing Jobs | A Freelance Writing Community and Freelance Writing Jobs Resource http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/comment-page-1/#comment-123772 Does Guest Blogging Work? Part 1: Traffic : Freelance Writing Jobs | A Freelance Writing Community and Freelance Writing Jobs Resource Tue, 04 May 2010 00:32:36 +0000 http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/?p=5513#comment-123772 [...] for free. It’s kind of a sticky situation because we complain that too many people are advertising on Craigslist for free labor but then we turn around and offer our expertise to other blogs because they’re supposed to be [...] [...] for free. It’s kind of a sticky situation because we complain that too many people are advertising on Craigslist for free labor but then we turn around and offer our expertise to other blogs because they’re supposed to be [...]

]]> By: More Thoughts On Writing for Free, Guest Blogging, and Marketing Opportunities : Freelance Writing Jobs | The #1 Online Writing Community for Freelancers http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/comment-page-1/#comment-120323 More Thoughts On Writing for Free, Guest Blogging, and Marketing Opportunities : Freelance Writing Jobs | The #1 Online Writing Community for Freelancers Thu, 07 Jan 2010 19:13:42 +0000 http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/?p=5513#comment-120323 [...] another post about guest blogging I confessed to being confused by the mixed signals I get from the freelance writing community. On one hand, people who advertise for free writers are [...] [...] another post about guest blogging I confessed to being confused by the mixed signals I get from the freelance writing community. On one hand, people who advertise for free writers are [...]

]]> By: Tania Mara http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/comment-page-1/#comment-118479 Tania Mara Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:48:39 +0000 http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/?p=5513#comment-118479 <blockquote>Why is a content mill paying $15 an article – with byline – a bad idea, but a free guest post is golden?</blockquote> Honestly, I don't get it. Especially when I see so many famous bloggers out there who are making tons of money but still won't pay you a cent if you write for them. The other day I saw a blogger stating that anyone who doesn't understand the importance of guest blogging is a "complete moron." Well, I'm certainly not a "complete moron," as I do understand there are times when guest blogging might lead to more freelance writing work. Yet, I still believe certain bloggers abuse their guest posters. It seems I'm just a "partial moron" after all. :P

Why is a content mill paying $15 an article – with byline – a bad idea, but a free guest post is golden?

Honestly, I don’t get it. Especially when I see so many famous bloggers out there who are making tons of money but still won’t pay you a cent if you write for them.

The other day I saw a blogger stating that anyone who doesn’t understand the importance of guest blogging is a “complete moron.” Well, I’m certainly not a “complete moron,” as I do understand there are times when guest blogging might lead to more freelance writing work. Yet, I still believe certain bloggers abuse their guest posters. It seems I’m just a “partial moron” after all. :P

]]> By: Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/comment-page-1/#comment-117663 Dave Doolin | Website In A Weekend Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:52:07 +0000 http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/?p=5513#comment-117663 We're in the middle of a radical restructuring of what constitutes economic value. More simply put: most writing is simply information, and information has almost no value at all. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada. People that hoard information will be rendered irrelevant by Google & friends. People that hoard information about competitive tactics in, say, marketing, will be put to it by their competitors giving away for free what used to cost a lot of money. When everyone has the same access to all the information, what then? When everyone can publish for pennies (thank you WordPress!), what then for professional writers? I don't know. But I suspect we're all going to find out pretty soon, because people just can't work for free, not in the long term. Just to clear, I spent 15 years learning some pretty amazing programming skills (c, c++, etc), none of which are worth more than $15-$20/hr in general. Being a specialist on a particular system is still lucrative... just as being a copy writer specializing in the diet industry is still lucrative. We live in interesting times. We’re in the middle of a radical restructuring of what constitutes economic value.

More simply put: most writing is simply information, and information has almost no value at all. None. Zero. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

People that hoard information will be rendered irrelevant by Google & friends.

People that hoard information about competitive tactics in, say, marketing, will be put to it by their competitors giving away for free what used to cost a lot of money.

When everyone has the same access to all the information, what then? When everyone can publish for pennies (thank you WordPress!), what then for professional writers?

I don’t know.

But I suspect we’re all going to find out pretty soon, because people just can’t work for free, not in the long term.

Just to clear, I spent 15 years learning some pretty amazing programming skills (c, c++, etc), none of which are worth more than $15-$20/hr in general. Being a specialist on a particular system is still lucrative… just as being a copy writer specializing in the diet industry is still lucrative.

We live in interesting times.

]]> By: Kelly Watson | Womenwise Marketing http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/2009/10/free-content-its-all-in-the-wording/comment-page-1/#comment-117662 Kelly Watson | Womenwise Marketing Mon, 12 Oct 2009 16:32:44 +0000 http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com/?p=5513#comment-117662 As you know from experience, writers can be very vocally opposed to free gigs. It's a natural reaction to a marketplace that is all too happy to profit off of their hard work without offering anything in return. That said, I think guest posts are a totally different playing field, because of their SEO value. If you've built a good site (which you have) and give blog post authors bylines and links, then I don't see any problem in asking for free guest posts because you're offering something in return. You may not find any takers, but I don't think it's wrong to put the opportunity out there. As you know from experience, writers can be very vocally opposed to free gigs. It’s a natural reaction to a marketplace that is all too happy to profit off of their hard work without offering anything in return.

That said, I think guest posts are a totally different playing field, because of their SEO value. If you’ve built a good site (which you have) and give blog post authors bylines and links, then I don’t see any problem in asking for free guest posts because you’re offering something in return.

You may not find any takers, but I don’t think it’s wrong to put the opportunity out there.

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