Uneducated clients who don’t really know these two forms have been busy muddying up the conversation about them for years. That’s made it hard for writers to define writing projects and bid them appropriately. There are plenty of clients out there who call the 300-word quickie posts they want ‘articles,’ but still want to pay $5 for them. There are also many clients who’d like you to write 1,000-word blog posts with two interviews and a research stat, but they’d like to pay $20 because “it’s a blog post.” Your job as a freelance writer is to cut through the bull and get to what the assignment really is — then, talk about what that gig should really pay.
Define it. When a client tells you they want articles, or they want blog posts, ask them to define what they mean. Are there interviews involved? How many? What’s the piece length? Sway them. Sell them on the idea that what they want is considered an article by pro writers. It’ll instantly boost your rates. Make your case for why it’s an article gig. Sell articles. When you’re talking to clients who don’t quite know what they want, sell them on the idea that you should be writing an article for them, rather than a blog post, if they want their content marketing to be successful. Share the news of how Google is frowning on short keyword-driven posts. Sell blog upgrades. If they want posts for an existing blog, sell them on the value of taking their blog to the next level, to more of a reported-story, magazine-type feel, and what that could do for their reputation and visibility.
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