Yesterday I talked about how to determine a per post rate. Now I’d like to address page views. As bloggers, sometimes we are paid by clients on page views alone, or how many times a post is viewed. I’ve got some thoughts on this, so let’s discuss it.

Page Views Only?

If you’re getting paid on page views alone, without any other type of incentive or earnings, you are taking a risk. That doesn’t necessarily mean you shouldn’t take these types of jobs, but you should know that your pay is at the mercy of the Internet Gods and it can change. More than that, it will change. It may shoot up one day and go plummeting down the next. It may stay high for awhile and lull you into a false sense of security about your future, and then come crashing down and stay down.

I’ve seen it time and time again, and experienced it as well. So why would you want to take these types of jobs?

Good Opportunities

I caution you against taking a job for “exposure,” which seems to be the favorite word of people trying to hire writers for no pay. But the reality is that occasionally, OCCASIONALLY, it can be worth it. You really have to determine if a website will open you up to new readers and will be worth your time. It might be. Nearly every time I have poo-pooed something myself, I have heard of someone else that had success with it. So there you go.

Page Views Combined With Other Incentives

I’ve been paid every which way when it comes to writing, including by page view. I’ve also been paid by a combination of things, including page view and something else, like per post, per hour, etc. Having something else, a base of some sort, is a much better way to go because it’s more stable.

Again, it’s up to you. Do you feel writing for page views is worth it?

More on freelance writing:

• The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less
• 102 Ways to Earn Money Writing 1,500 Words or Less: The Ultimate Freelancer’s Guide
• Getting Started as a Freelance Writer (Culture Tools)

 

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