Presenting Yourself as a Professional when Answering an Ad for Services

I have used forums like this one to recruit folks for a number of services that I have needed. I have found some good low priced partners this way and will continue using this method to recruit new talent. With that being said, if you are going to answer an ad for a service, especially writing content, it is important to present yourself as professionally as possible.

About a month ago, I posted a thread on another forum recruiting writers. The thread specifically said that all applicants must:

1. be well versed in the English language
2. submit a sample article with their PM
3. be able to produce a minimum of four articles per day
4. include links to at least five previously published works

Within minutes, my inbox was flooded with PMs. The first one that I opened was a single line that said, "sir i can do what you ask".

I read through at least 20 PMs until I found one that had a sample attached. The sample was a spun article with a bunch of words that made little sense.

After about 50 PMs, I finally found a candidate. That person has since written over 100 articles for one of my sites... and gets paid well.

The moral for people looking for service providers: Understand ahead of time that most people are losers that are too lazy to follow directions.

The moral for service providers looking for work: You only get one first impression, so don't be a loser that is too lazy to follow directions.