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I’m taking a break after writing a long run of article writing (on some pretty boring topics) to let you guys know about a few things that I’ve been thinking about lately when it comes to website content in general.

I hear a lot of complaints here about writers being underbid on work, competing against $3 500 word articles, $2 rewrites, all of that good stuff. I say let the guys work. If people find the content suitable for their purposes, and the writers are happy to earn that wage, then it’s simple supply and demand.

Being a writer myself, I spend quite a lot of time thinking about this stuff. In my mind, there are different levels of content, and they all have their places.

Auto Generated And Duplicate Content

Ironically enough as a writer, this is one of my favorite kinds of content. It’s free, easy, and can be completely automated. Some people may not agree with some of the practices, but the bottom line is there is money to be made from auto generated content, and in the right hands it’s a very valuable tool.

Poorly Written Content

I hear a lot of writers complain about this kind of content. The truth is, if someone is writing for $3 or less per 500 words then there is probably a reason for it. Don’t expect to hit the front page of Digg with what you get handed over to you.

That doesn’t mean there isn’t a place for this type of content. Maybe you have a MFA site that needs to be half way readable. You just want people to land on the page, see the poor content, and click on the nearest ad to get out. There is a place for this content, which is why there’s a market for it.

Average Content/Rewritten Content

There are quite a few writers here on Digital Point who charge anywhere from .01 to 2.5 per word to write content. The quality of work will vary wildly from one writer to the next, but some of them are extremely talented and just trying to build up enough feedback to command higher rates.

If you can find a good writer in this price range who’s not booked full, you’re lucky.

If you’re looking for some decently written general content this can be a good way to go if you can find a good writer available in this price range.

Premium Content

If the goal of your website is to gain authority, natural links, and bring back repeat visitors you’re going to want premium content.

Premium content needs to be sticky and linkable. It takes creativity and research. It’s not something that can simply be rewritten. I write on many projects where the research takes much more time then the actual writing.

I would say most (not all) writers who are capable of this are easily charging no less than .03, and sometimes a whole lot more.

If your entire business model revolves around bringing repeat visitors back to your site, it’s obviously a smart investment to spend the money it costs to have that caliber of content created.

Sales Copy

Sales copy is critical.It has a direct impact on the profitability of your website. It’s a whole different ball game then writing regular content.

Hard selling, soft selling, understanding the best approach to sell YOUR product, you need to be able to put a lot of trust into your copywriter.

My advice, if you find a good copywriter, stick with him. It’s not something that just any writer can do.

Great copywriters can command some extremely high rates compared to traditional copy. Why? Because when a copywriter does a good job you make money.

Other Forms Of Content

There are other forms of writing that command higher rates then standard website content.

Press release writing, for example, can be critical. Coming up with an angle for your release, writing it well, soft selling without actually “selling”, there is a high skill level associated with press releases, and the better writers can easily command $200 or even much more for a single 600 word press release.