Hiring Article Writers - A Few Tips

Hi Bev,

Nice tips

Just to add, for those who can't afford to outsource their
articles yet, don't go for the extremely cheap ones. Most
of the time you'll be better off writing it yourself until you're
earning enough to pay for it..

I know not everybody is a born writer but it's a skill that
can be learned. If you don't have an idea how to start
just look for article templates and read a lot.

One thing I learned earlier is that if you're having a hard
time writing then just think of a single issue or topic.

Then decide whether you are for or against it, and then
list about 3 reasons why, then discuss those reasons
and before you know it, you've got yourself a decent
article..

All the best,

Good article writers are expensive. Better ones are more expensive. I find it best to write my own article.

Outsource the thing with a budget to afford good article writers. Do not plan your things based on cheap quotes

When Bev speaks on this subject, take copious notes.

I'll just add that every IM'er who doesn't outsource needs to learn to do quick, effective rewrites. You'll eventually use PLR. You'll want to repurpose your own content. It'll come up, trust me. Being able to rewrite something in a few minutes will serve you very well over the years.

John

Great list of tips!

I would definitely reccomend that you start by writing at least 50 articles on your own, and learn how to do it well.

This way you'll know what you want for your articles, and be able to properly distinguish the good from the bad...

I can also definitely see the benefit of learning how to quickly rewrite articles... I'm just checking out your wso page Zeus, looks interesting...

Since he was mentioned in the OP, I'll add to this list by quoting Stephen King...

"If you don't have the time to read, you have neither the time nor the tools to write."

This is %100 true. Good writing comes from practice (obviously) and also from READING. Read other (quality) articles, read the newspaper, read books, read, read, read. You don't necessarily have to take notes on what you are reading, but you will find that the more you read the more you are able to write things that just seem to "flow" out of you.

I took this from Vince Runza, and I know it isn't the exact quote, but it's the quote I used when interviewed about ghostwriting.

I'm a ghost writer not a ghost thinker.

Don't tell me what you want, and you won't be surprised if we don't hit exactly the right note.

Imagine for a moment, an orchestra playing one of the Classical Musics, and then for a single moment, someone plays an A instead of a B. Imagine the disharmony as the wrong note is struck. Imagine it coming out as a Flat or a Sharp of the original note. It sounds terrible, people hear it and wonder what happened.

The reality was the musician wasn't following the score, because they thought they knew the piece. They spoiled the whole performance because they didn't use the music.

The same thing can happen when a client doesn't give a brief or give a good brief, and then complains when the writer only writes for the brief given not the hidden things which the buyer wants.

I've blown some money on subpar article writing. The best thing you can do is just get out there and try some services. Don't give any one writer or company too much business until you find one that offers a good service. Then you can start scaling up from there.

Matt

Article writing services are generally hit or miss. What's difficult with buying articles in this fashion is marketers are turning what really is a careful craft into a commodity.

Certainly, some topics lend themselves to mass article creation. Others, however, sometimes require an expert touch. I've always been fortunate enough to have access to some smart, talented individuals who don't mind sharing their expertise for certain projects.

Here's an effective strategy that has worked wonders for me:
1. Interview an expert (over the phone, e-mail, etc.) with specific questions that would make good article content
2. Transcribe it or outsource the transcription
3. Hire a writer to editorialize the content, adding in further information, statistics, etc.

Using this method, I've escaped the run of the mill content you'd normally get produced by a writer without the unique knowledge required in favor of more specific pieces with a voice of authority.

Experienced and professional writers do not sell $1 articles. Creating an article that suits the target audience is a craft and a skill that is often misunderstood. As Audre said, the best writers will ask the questions about the audience and will COMMUNICATE with the customer about what is wanted.

Communication is the key to getting what you want in your articles. Explain to your writer what you want the article to achieve, what keywords you are using to drive traffic to your site, and expect the writing process to take a little bit of TIME. Although I can whip out an article in 15 minutes if I know the topic really well, it probably won't suit the target audience. It takes a good hour at least to write a professional article that is high quality. And no one I know personally can afford to work for $1 an hour! I can't.

If you outsource your writing - find a professional and pay them as such. You will reap the rewards by the high quality writing that suits your exact needs. Make sure you write a good brief for your writer and explain exactly what you are looking for. Writing is a skill that many can learn the basics of, but few take the time to perfect the craft.

Make high demands on the writer on the professionalism front by all means and expect the best, but be prepared to pay for the writer as you would for any other professional. Would you work for less than $5 an hour in all honesty? I do not know why people think writers should!

Bev,

I kid you not...

...but I did ONCE hire a ghostwriter called Stephen King to write me some articles...the name won me over ...although he was chargin' a "mean" 5 bucks per article, lol.

Sadly, he was no Stephen King!

Lesson learned: I should've gone with James Herbert...



Hope all's well, Bev!

Steve

I agree with many of the posters here. As a writer, I want to know what "slant" you want me to take with your articles. It helps a lot in the writing process.

I have also found that the people who want someone to write for $1-$2 per article are more demanding than those who realize that quality content is not produced by paying someone less than minimum wage. Just as you would not think the guy flipped burgers at McDonald's could write a quality article for you, neither should you assume that I will!

CC

I send a few examples of what I consider to be well made content to my writers beforehand and tell my writer to attempt to emulate what that writer had done in terms of amount of information, tone, structure, or whatever it is that I liked about a particular article.

Beside from these, you should also consider how reliable your article source. Can they supply your article needs and deliver them on time??

I always send my clients questions to find exactly what they are looking for.

Knowing the target market is important, knowing the voice the client needs is also important.

The more money a person has to spend, often means they have spent a lot of time working out exactly what they need.

Bev

One thing that hasn't been mentioned here is providing feedback to your writer - after the articles have been written.

One client I have is especially good at that point - and the result is the next batch of articles he receives from me are exactly what he wants.

It's simple enough to do - but for some reason it is very, very rare.

I disagree that a buyer needs to give all the information for the writer to work with. Now, before you all jump down my throat, follow what I'm about to say.

I've had people saying, will you write articles on [fill in a niche] and how much will you charge for 10 articles.

For many buyers, they don't know what is needed to get the best work created. They don't know what information the writer needs, they have no idea which way the writer works.

It is the writers responsibility to ask the right questions, to draw the information from the buyer. Never complain you don't have the right information, if you haven't asked the right questions.

I ask questions, I get onto Skype with the client to discuss their needs, I make suggestions about how they can have an even better product. But, this is why I charge higher rates.

Bev

Filipino writers do write good and also quality articles.I plan to do a lot of outsourcing to those people in the future.