What do Warriors look for in an Article Writer?

I write my own content for my pet niche sites, but have in the past outsourced article writing for other niches. I've paid around $5 for the articles and have found that even at that price point, quality varies markedly.

For example, one lot of articles were very ordinary indeed; while the spelling and grammar were fine, they just didn't read well.

Another writer produced absolutely brilliant articles for $5, but as others have said, these writers don't stay at that price point for long.

I've pretty much given up outsourcing my writing, but if I was to do it again, I'd look for good spelling and grammar, but I don't need a writer to look for keywords for me. Smoothness and quality of writing is critical - I'm after an article that make sense, and has a friendly conversational tone to the writing that makes it easy to read.

I personally get ideas from other articles written out there and put them into my own words. Especially if I dont know much about the niche. I have used other spinners out there and the one I use periodically now is Mass Article Creator. It works pretty well but again its best to put the articles in your own words.

I'm a content writer myself, so this isn't what I'm looking for... it's what I try to deliver.

First, I try to make the text flow smoothly. When SEO terms are awkward, I do this by... geez, this is one of my trade secrets, but here goes... splitting the term with punctuation. Like if the SEO phrase is "how to make potato salad," most writers will say "Here's how to make potato salad. Blah blah blah learn how to make potato salad. An important part of how to make potato salad is blah blah blah. And that's how to make potato salad." I do this a little differently, for flow purposes: I might say "There are certain dishes everyone should know how to make. Potato salad is one of them." The search phrase is still intact and works for SEO purposes, but the text flows a lot better.

Second, I try to put a new spin on whatever I'm writing. If everybody has written the same thing on this subject, it's just got no impact, so I try to look at things in a fresh way. Most importantly, I try to look at it in a way that someone who really thinks a lot about the subject would look at it... with the potato salad example, I'd talk a little about regional variations in potato salad and the debate over mayonnaise or vinegar as the base. (Not to mention "German" potato salad came from Poland. Why do I know so much about potato salad? I don't even like potato salad.)

Third, I use a conversational tone, as though I'm sitting in the same room talking to the reader. I use idioms and "incorrect" grammatical structures that make the article seem informal, like you're just sitting and talking to a friend. I don't go overboard with this, like Mark Twain style Southern dialect or the like, but I'll occasionally use a sentence fragment or end a sentence with a preposition... even though a little part of me dies every time I do that. (Caveat: conversational idiom differs vastly between the US and the UK, so I always ask clients whether this is supposed to be a US or UK English article. That means a lot more than whether it's spelled "colour" or "color.")

Finally, I try to develop an honest passion for what I'm writing. Your reader can actually tell if you're bored out of your skull, or just plain don't like your subject, or even don't believe what you're saying. This is the crucial element, and it's why my rates are so high. (Although my current WSO puts it within reach for most.) When your articles are written with real passion and excitement by someone who honestly cares about the subject, that comes through, and it's pretty much the only way to develop real passion and excitement in your reader.

There's a lot of other stuff in there, such as "don't tell lies" and "don't steal other people's work" and "don't make up what you don't know" and "check all your facts" and the like. I don't really go into those because anyone who doesn't do them isn't really a content writer to begin with.

See, a little part of me just died.

Are you in business or are you jerking around? If you're in business, invest the extra twelve bucks and get a real writer. If you're jerking around, go ahead and waste seven bucks on a worthless article that will erode your brand and cost you sales. See if I care.

It really is that simple. People who cheap out on writing services are idiots. Why do you think the big boys (by which I mean Coca Cola, not Joe's IM Guru Shoppe) are so successful? It's because they use the right words.