What do you pay VA's to blog and post on forums for you?

15 replies
Thinking of hiring a skilled poster to help me build some backlinks by commenting on forums and blogs around hither and thither and am unsure what to pay per successful post or comment.

What have you been paying?

How do you make sure they're providing quality posts in your name and not spamming?

Thanks,
Kirk
#blog #forums #pay #post
  • Profile picture of the author RyanT
    Originally Posted by Kirk Ward View Post

    Thinking of hiring a skilled poster to help me build some backlinks by commenting on forums and blogs around hither and thither and am unsure what to pay per successful post or comment.

    What have you been paying?

    How do you make sure they're providing quality posts in your name and not spamming?

    Thanks,
    Kirk
    Well Kirk I have a a sectioned answer for you.

    First off I wouldn't Look for someone to charge by post, that could get expensive.

    Personally I would look for someone who charges by the hour and then discuss with them what you want accomplished and what they are capable of within an hour.

    That being said to get good quality posts I would shoot for around $8 an hour. I say this because if you go too much lower you may end up with someone who cannot write decent posts and may also have trouble with the english language. (I've outsourced several times and ran into this problem) In my experience you want to try at least 2 or 3 people out to before you commit to one.

    If you go too much higher than $8 an hour than you may run into that expensive range again. You will get good quality posts but are they really worth $300 a week?

    It's easy to check on them if they are using your account, just go in and check what posts have been made in your name.

    Now on to a little self promotion. I do this kind of thing for my customers a lot and I charge $8.50 an hour. Depending on what exactly you want done i.e. length of post, number of posts an hour I can get this done for you no problem.

    I can easily write several posts a day (I'd say about 4 an hour depending on length) about as long as this one.

    I am very knowledgeable in many subjects and if I come across something I'm not educated on I will educate myself before posting so you don't end up with a bogus post.

    If you are interested we can discuss what you are looking for so just PM me.

    If you are still interested in look elsewhere than I'd say follow those little guidelines above. Hope that helps.
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  • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
    Originally Posted by Kirk Ward View Post

    Thinking of hiring a skilled poster to help me build some backlinks by commenting on forums and blogs around hither and thither and am unsure what to pay per successful post or comment.

    What have you been paying?

    How do you make sure they're providing quality posts in your name and not spamming?
    Around $4 an hour, to the Philippines. You can find some excellent workers in that price range, very well qualified and experienced in that area, and highly rated by past employers. Check their feedback. I recommend oDesk.

    When working with new contractors, I or one of my associates reviews all postings to ensure they meet our standards, before payment is issued. Once trust is established, they are allowed to do more on their own.
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  • Profile picture of the author djbventures
    I pay $1 to $3 per hour. I make sure they document every post and provide a link in a google doc. They'll do it...just ask.
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    • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
      Quite a range of suggestions here.

      The niche is a rather technical one, and I'm torn about using an outsourcing service because of that. I've found a local person, who knows the technical, but knows nothing of the internet marketing aspect.

      However, the suggestions here may cause me to rethink the extreme technical accuracy I have been going for. I'll be back with more questions on the morrow.

      Cheers.
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      • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
        Originally Posted by Kirk Ward View Post

        Quite a range of suggestions here.

        The niche is a rather technical one, and I'm torn about using an outsourcing service because of that. I've found a local person, who knows the technical, but knows nothing of the internet marketing aspect.

        However, the suggestions here may cause me to rethink the extreme technical accuracy I have been going for. I'll be back with more questions on the morrow.

        Cheers.
        Increased technical writing requirements increases costs for outsourced contractors to ensure technical accuracy. You may want to offer the local authority a flat rate for X number of articles on the subject.
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        • Profile picture of the author phmoisan
          Call me stupid, but the idea of hiring people from countries like the Philippines because it costs less annoys me. A lot.

          1st : I call that exploitation. Maybe I'm wrong. Haven't be thinking that hard on the subject. But here are real world examples that speak to me.

          a) I live in the Quebec province, in Canada. During the summer, farmers hire people from Mexico to do work in the fields. I think they pay them well, though. The reason they hire them is because the unemployed here don't want to that kind of "lowly" job. Don't think I judge badly people who do that kind of job. I have done it for a few years as a teen, and I enjoyed it because I was with friends.

          b) I work in the software industry. For years, we've heard of companies hiring people from other countries to help with software development, and it costs significantly less. Well, in the last year, the company I used to work for has been bought by an international player, and some of my ex-colleagues have lost their job cause the parent company has begun giving work to people in other countries.

          The first example is not really a good one for the point I'm trying to make, sorry about that.
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          • Profile picture of the author Steven Carl Kelly
            Originally Posted by phmoisan View Post

            Call me stupid, but the idea of hiring people from countries like the Philippines because it costs less annoys me. A lot.
            The average hourly salary in the Philippines is $1.40 per hour. If I pay a contractor in Manila $4.00 per hour, I'm paying that person THREE TIMES the average wage in their country.

            These are educated, competent, professional people who are using technology to earn well above the national average in their country. Do they not deserve to market their skills outside the borders of their land and to improve their lifestyles while we, as consumers of their services save money by hiring competent people who are pleased to work for a lesser wage than some in other countries?

            It sounds like a win-win situation to me.
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            • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
              Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

              The average hourly salary in the Philippines is $1.40 per hour. If I pay a contractor in Manila $4.00 per hour, I'm paying that person THREE TIMES the average wage in their country.

              These are educated, competent, professional people who are using technology to earn well above the national average in their country. Do they not deserve to market their skills outside the borders of their land and to improve their lifestyles while we, as consumers of their services save money by hiring competent people who are pleased to work for a lesser wage than some in other countries?

              It sounds like a win-win situation to me.
              How would I go about finding someone in the Philippines who is EXTREMELY knowledgeable about US Tax Law? Not just accounting, mind you, but the US Tax Code and all the 97,423 gazillion pages of regulations they create new each day.

              I agree with you that paying an above average wage in a low cost environment benefits both parties. I find that the level of wages is not an accurate barometer of a persons skillset. I've had better results with providers (coders) in developing nations than I have in developed countries. The one problem I have had is one that affects trust. The low wages and distance provide a motivation and an opportunity for abuse with little recourse. I have had instances where code developed or created for me was resold to others, with the result that my development costs paid for a competitors product.

              While that is not germane to this instance, it is the only major hazard I run into in outsourcing development.

              Thanks for the feedback folks.
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          • Profile picture of the author Black Hat Cat
            Banned
            Originally Posted by phmoisan View Post

            Call me stupid, but the idea of hiring people from countries like the Philippines because it costs less annoys me. A lot.

            1st : I call that exploitation.
            You can call it a unicorn too, if you'd like. You'd be wrong on both counts.
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        • Profile picture of the author Kirk Ward
          Originally Posted by Steven Carl Kelly View Post

          Increased technical writing requirements increases costs for outsourced contractors to ensure technical accuracy. You may want to offer the local authority a flat rate for X number of articles on the subject.
          That's the direction I'm leaning. $per post with monitoring for quantity and quality only ... also keeps it in the realm of contractor rather than employee, which makes tax reporting easier.

          My niche is accounting and tax marketing and I'm talking to a local "Enrolled Agent" (that's a USA designation/certification for a tax law expert on a par with attorneys for law and CPA's for bookkeeping auditing.) I'm thinking that there will be very few low cost providers who can post intelligently about US tax law.
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          "We are not here to sell a parcel of boilers and vats, but the potentiality of growing rich beyond the dreams of avarice."

          Dr. Samuel Johnson (Presiding at the sale of Thrales brewery, London, 1781)
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  • Profile picture of the author Matt Morgan
    Originally Posted by Kirk Ward View Post


    How do you make sure they're providing quality posts in your name and not spamming?

    Thanks,
    Kirk
    You state that the posts must be
    -original posts
    -no advertising in the post
    -2-3 paragraphs minimum
    -proof read posts
    -no copies and pasted stuff from other webpages
    -copyscaped posts
    -helpful and knowledgeable posts, nothing dull.

    and you tell them that you will be checking their posts regularly so if they dont meet these requirements they will have to 'redo' them all.
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  • Profile picture of the author myeanne
    Compare to other outsourcing countries, I can say that Philippines has lots of advantages in terms of communication and proper English write ups. I would like to discuss your need, it would be great if you could provide your contact information so we can have a detailed discussion.
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    • Profile picture of the author xnice
      You may take sometime to find the right man who have good knowledge, hard working with low price. If you operate a company, you may see it is not easy to find the good one, and they may not work for you long time. Find more people and split your works, it can help you have more choice.
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  • Profile picture of the author sbucciarel
    Banned
    I would never want someone else to building a reputation for me in a forum. I think there's a lot more to gain by building a solid reputation in a forum than by chasing backlinks around.
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  • Profile picture of the author seobro
    The going rate is a dime per post, but that seems a bit low to me. Check out microworkers and see what "forum angels" are getting there but for US posters it is I believe 50 cents an hour, post I mean.
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