The Care and Feeding of the North American Content Writer

27 replies
Actually, that title is a lie, since this actually applies to all content writers not just North Americans, but this is funnier. Well, if you're me.

There've been a lot of posts lately about finding the best writers and good writers, so I thought I'd give some perspective from the other side. I've worked with more than a hundred clients, many of them from the Warrior Forum and most of them involved in IM, and this is what I think you need to do to get a writer you're going to be happy with:

Know What You Need

Do you want content that's meant to establish authority? Do you want to amuse and inform your readers? Do want link bait? Do you want something that will pass the bare minimum standards for article directories?

You need to know what you want your content to do. If you're trying to become the number one authority in your niche, then you need a different kind of content than if you're just trying for backlinks.

So before you even start looking for a writer, you need to have a clear idea of what you want that content to do. This will allow you to find the writer who can actually do what it is that you need done, which will save you a lot of time and hassle down the road. And probably money.

Know Your Limitations

Clint Eastwood was right - you do need to know your limitations.

When you're looking for someone to write for you, you're going to need to evaluate the quality of their writing. If you don't speak English as a first language, this can be a problem. If you know you're not great at grammar and writing, ask someone to help you with finding the right writer.

This is probably the toughest thing on this list. People are, as a rule, not great at knowing what they're not good at. If you can't read, for instance, you'll know that, but with common things like writing, we're so used to doing it that we don't actually know how good or bad we are at it.

Bargain Shop, But Be Realistic

We're all in business to make money. I am, you are. There's nothing wrong with looking for the best value for your money when hiring a writer, but you need to be realistic. I see ads fairly regularly looking for native English speakers to write articles for three or four dollars apiece. This is nuts.

Most people (and yes, there are exceptions) can't produce more than 1000 or so words an hour of writing, especially when they have to do research on it. If you're expecting people to write for three dollars an article, they're going to be making less than minimum wage in any English speaking country.

Flipping burger is a minimum wage job. It requires next to no skill or training, because everything that needs done is all there in the manual. Writing is a job that requires skill if you want to do it well. Skill means money.

If you can't pay more than minimum wage, don't expect quality. Yes, there are exceptions, but generally speaking any writer who is even minimally competent - they produce articles that coherent, grammatically correct and not stolen from someone else - is going to find out that they can charge more than that and still have more work than they can handle.

Look At The Ad

Easy tip: if the writing on their ad or response is terrible, don't expect their actual work to be any better. That said, the reverse isn't necessarily true: don't assume that because the writing in the ad (or whatever your point of contact with the writer is) is good that the work will be. A great many people outsource work to people that are less skilled or have someone better write their ad copy.

Look For Samples

I'm always kind of surprised when I see people advertising their writing service and they don't have samples. It's not that there people aren't necessarily any good, but why spend time looking at people without samples when there are so many that do.

When you look at the samples, keep in mind what you're hiring them to do. Are they good at the things you need? This is why knowing what you want your content to do is important.

Look For Testimonials

But take them with a grain of salt. A lot of people are looking for something that is minimally readable for a cheap price, and if it hits those standards, they'll say the writer is great. Which is true, if that's what you're looking for, but it's not as helpful if you want interesting content that sells the reader.

A rule of thumb is to look at the writing quality of the person giving the testimonial. If the writing in the testimonial is bad, there's a decent chance the person doesn't have the experience necessary to know whether the writing is really good or bad. This isn't always true, but it's something to keep in mind.

What you're looking for in testimonials is how other view the quality of the writing, how the person is to work with and whether there are any complaints. A lot of people are good at writing but bad at things like time management, and that will probably be reflected in testimonials.

Buy One Article

Once you found some writers that you like and seem to fit all of the above criteria, get them to write one article for you. Make sure that you give them specific instructions and that they follow them. Samples and testimonials are great, but the real test is the work they do for you.

If they're good and are getting the work done on time, buy more. The key is that you shouldn't invest a bunch of money into articles with someone you haven't worked with, even if they give you a great deal on bulk orders. Take the time to establish a relationship so you know what you're getting.

So that's getting a writer, but what about getting the best from the writer after you've lured them into your trap...er...hired them.

Be Specific About What You Want

The more specific you are about what you want, the better the results you are going to get. At a minimum length, subject, keywords (if any). Specific ideas about article topics is better than none.

More Information Is Better

Related to the above, it's good to let your pet writer know what you're using the content for. A good writer is going to write differently if the article is meant to build authority than if it's meant to get someone to click a link in a resource box. Likewise, if you're promoting a product, it's good to let them know which one so they can structure the content towards it.

Have Specific Deadlines

Confession: I used to struggle with time management. I've gotten a lot better at it, but I do a lot better if I have a specific deadline from the client. Now that's me, but it's an issue that seems incredibly common with writers, so working with them to set a deadline is a good idea.

However, be realistic: if you want ten high quality five hundred word articles, the deadline should not be tomorrow.

Don't Go Keyword Crazy

I've seen people ask for five percent keyword density. This is almost certainly going to produce a bad piece of content. Honestly, even three percent is going to demand some tricky writing to avoid sounding terrible, although it can be done.

Try to keep the number of keywords you want in an article manageable, too. Twenty keywords in a five hundred word article is going to be tough. Twenty keywords at any kind of density is going to be impossible

Make Good Use Of Your Content

This isn't specifically about the writer, but I think it's good advice: use your content in as many places as possible. If you hire a writer to write ten article for you, you can (and should) place that on your website or blog, distribute it for syndication, turn it into a video and distribute it, turn it into audio and distribute it and turn it into a document and distribute it. There's more, actually, but you get the idea. If you get the right content, all of this will translate to more money.

Content is an investment. If you do your due diligence, it will make you multiples of what you spend getting it. This is an area where people looking for bargain basement writing are going wrong. Cheap barely readable content is maybe useful once, but good content keeps earning.

Okay, that was longer than expected, but hopefully at least halfway useful.
#american #care #content #feeding #north #writer
  • Profile picture of the author WillDL
    Now you're just being silly. Go back in the cave with the other writers. We'll throw you some scraps when we get around to it.

    In seriousness, I agree with you. I'm always shocked that people expect quality writing at $.01-.02 per word. Hell, looking at your Warriors for Hire thread you are a lot cheaper than my writers. the lesson here might be that the Warrior Forum may not be the best place to advertise your writing services.
    Signature

    Occasionally Relevant.

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341320].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
      Originally Posted by WillDL View Post

      the lesson here might be that the Warrior Forum may not be the best place to advertise your writing services.
      It depends, I think. You are flat out not going to make as much money writing here as you would doing the same amount of work for an offline organization, for instance, but the work is different in ways that might make it worthwhile.

      There are a couple of advantages here that make up for the price difference:

      - It's easy to find work. Bumping a thread every so often is a lot easier than calling and emailing people, which frees up time.

      - The nature of the work tends to be less demanding. When I do write for companies and such, there is typically a lot more research and a lot more hoops to jump through. That's fine, because the pay is about four times what I charge here, but it still eats up a lot of time.

      - Smaller projects, usually. This is related to the last one. It's comparatively difficult for me to find projects that won't require near full time attention, which matters to me because I'm working my way into other stuff*.

      For writers in general, I think the Warrior Forum is a pretty good place for that middle ground; you can charge more money than a lot of places, but you don't have to go whole hog into building a writing business with all the time expenditure that goes with it.

      *I have a comic coming out this fall from a big publisher and that writing doesn't yet pay the bills.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341432].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author WillDL
        Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

        - The nature of the work tends to be less demanding. When I do write for companies and such, there is typically a lot more research and a lot more hoops to jump through. That's fine, because the pay is about four times what I charge here, but it still eats up a lot of time.
        That's an interesting point. How much more time does it take you to write a 10 article series (call it 5,000 words) for a local service company than for another warrior? Does the time difference assume that warriors will want articles on a fairly narrow range of topics?
        Signature

        Occasionally Relevant.

        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341607].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
          Originally Posted by WillDL View Post

          That's an interesting point. How much more time does it take you to write a 10 article series (call it 5,000 words) for a local service company than for another warrior? Does the time difference assume that warriors will want articles on a fairly narrow range of topics?
          I can usually do between 500 and a 1000 words an hour for both, but what makes the difference is research and outling. The offline stuff generally requires me to talk to people, read documents and get quotes. The stuff I do here usually just requires me to do research online, which I've gotten pretty good at.

          The offline stuff is also usually longer, and that means I need to do a lot more outlining as I work, which eats up time. I also usually have to submit proposals, which are factored into my fee, but again take up time.

          I'm sure it's possible to get assignments that pay really well that don't take as much research and time, but that's not the way my (so called) career path has gone.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341708].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
      And in what point in history did NOT good writers, just like good artists and good musicians starve because the public didn't have an affinity towards their work?

      Look at Kerouac> Dead at 47 but influenced generations of writers. He didn't reap the financial rewards during his lifetime but he left a legacy.

      So, you're talking about "copy" writers, man, that's not even a dime a dozen job compared to real writers unless you find some cush corporate job based on nepotism.

      I simply can't believe somebody would ask this. My best advice to the OP, is to get a real day job that pays the bills. Content creation and other creative endeavors are secondary pastimes to our primary source of income.

      REPEAT : Content creation and other creative endeavors are secondary to our primary source of income.

      If you want to survive on writing alone, best of luck to you. It's a hard road.

      Surely, you aren't going to cash in on writing copy for SEO sneaks, backlink builders and marketing gurus. Those people don't even make enough money to pay their own bills, legal costs, not likely they're going to pay you.

      btw, last time I checked, content writers are not an official endangered species, just a lazy species, so in North America, most of us do what we have to and get a day job.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341449].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
        Originally Posted by LooseChange View Post

        My best advice to the OP, is to get a real day job that pays the bills.
        The OP makes enough money to pay the bills, but thanks for your concern and sparkling advice.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341473].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
          Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

          The OP makes enough money to pay the bills, but thanks for your concern and sparkling advice.
          And how do you know that Justin? btw, I'm originally from Lancaster, PA, doesn't cost a lot to live in PA, like it does to live in FL ~ well, taxes and homeowners insurance are similar in PA+FL BUT... I doubt many WF members actually pay homeowners insurance and taxes. Their parents do, but....

          check out my signature....

          btw, bro, I need money for my two daughters in college. How can you help me?

          Writer> I think not.
          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341908].message }}
        • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
          Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

          The OP makes enough money to pay the bills
          Originally Posted by LooseChange View Post

          And how do you know that Justin?
          Um...Justin is the OP.

          I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make, LooseChange. Are you suggesting that it's impossible for any writer to make a good living online - or are you just relating your own experience?



          Frank
          Signature


          {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342029].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
            Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

            Um...Justin is the OP.

            I'm not sure I understand the point you're trying to make, LooseChange. Are you suggesting that it's impossible for any writer to make a good living online - or are you just relating your own experience?



            Frank
            I don't "try" to make my life writing, although I'm a fantastic writer. I'm also a damn good guitar player and an excellent drummer but I make $150K per year programming C/C++. The other stuff is just hobbies.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342125].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author Frank Donovan
              Originally Posted by LooseChange View Post

              I don't "try" to make my life writing, although I'm a fantastic writer. I'm also a damn good guitar player and an excellent drummer but I make $150K per year programming C/C++. The other stuff is just hobbies.

              Ah, I see. Given that, I'll just fix your previous quote for you...

              Content creation and other creative endeavors are secondary to my primary source of income.
              Now, that makes more sense.


              Frank
              Signature


              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342183].message }}
            • Profile picture of the author mounds
              Originally Posted by LooseChange

              I don't "try" to make my life writing, although I'm a fantastic writer. I'm also a damn good guitar player and an excellent drummer but I make $150K per year programming C/C++. The other stuff is just hobbies.
              Now let's say for a second that you can live without the $150k per year. I can live comfortably on $30k a year, no problem. Suddenly, a creative job is a very viable option.

              If you really want to see something really wild, check out Jacob from Early Extreme Retirement. Retired at 33 years old and lives on $5k-$7k per year.

              @JJ - cool post!
              {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342210].message }}
          • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
            Originally Posted by Frank Donovan View Post

            Um...Justin is the OP.
            I have insider knowledge on being me.
            {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4343066].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author R Hagel
    Good post, Justin. I especially enjoyed this tip, since not too many folks mention it:

    Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

    Look For Testimonials

    But take them with a grain of salt. A lot of people are looking for something that is minimally readable for a cheap price, and if it hits those standards, they'll say the writer is great. Which is true, if that's what you're looking for, but it's not as helpful if you want interesting content that sells the reader.

    A rule of thumb is to look at the writing quality of the person giving the testimonial. If the writing in the testimonial is bad, there's a decent chance the person doesn't have the experience necessary to know whether the writing is really good or bad. This isn't always true, but it's something to keep in mind.

    "Grate writter! Perfect gramar! JJ is gonna rocks your world and puts monney in your pocket!"


    Becky
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341635].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author ladywriter
    Great post OP, especially when you point out that a teenager mopping the floor at McDonald's gets paid a better rate than some internet marketers want to pay writers. If writing is worth so little money, why bother hiring a writer at all?

    Was going to stop writing for internet marketers altogether, for many of the issues you bring up, but the more I think about it I might just raise my prices and see if that eliminates most of the nonsense.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341766].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author LErinator
      Agree with everyone else on here as well, awesome post OP! My two cents on this is that its by far the most taken advantage of aspect for AM, and for IM in general. If it's not direct use or approved then hiring for so little is highway robbery, considering many just end up being proxies across campaigns and so on.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341888].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Justin Jordan
      Originally Posted by kstark View Post


      Was going to stop writing for internet marketers altogether, for many of the issues you bring up, but the more I think about it I might just raise my prices and see if that eliminates most of the nonsense.
      I've juggled my prices here a good bit to see what happens, and I actually just dropped them again this week as a experiment. Surprisingly, at least in my sample size of one, raising them hasn't dropped the number of people looking to hire me.

      But there are some broad differences in who hires you: the higher the price, the more you get people that are experience and established marketers who know exactly what they want their writing to do.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341902].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author ladywriter
        Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

        But there are some broad differences in who hires you: the higher the price, the more you get people that are experience and established marketers who know exactly what they want their writing to do.

        Absolutely. The most direction I've gotten is from people who pay more--they come up with article ideas, link me to similar pieces, etc.
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4343576].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
    You can certainly make a full time income on writing. It's not lazy at all. I actually find content writing to be more difficult than most office jobs. You actually need to be working almost nonstop to make an appreciable income.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341975].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author LooseChange
      Originally Posted by JamesGw View Post

      You can certainly make a full time income on writing. It's not lazy at all. I actually find content writing to be more difficult than most office jobs. You actually need to be working almost nonstop to make an appreciable income.
      So why not get an office job if it's more difficult? The path of least resistance?

      Keep writing on your own time, just like guitar players, bass players, artists, etc who get a day job to further their creative endeavors. If you're creative, unless you have rich parents to support you, you have to do what it takes to get ahead of all the rich kids who got handed their opportunities on a silver platter.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4341986].message }}
      • Profile picture of the author JamesGw
        Originally Posted by LooseChange View Post

        So why not get an office job if it's more difficult? The path of least resistance?

        Keep writing on your own time, just like guitar players, bass players, artists, etc who get a day job to further their creative endeavors. If you're creative, unless you have rich parents to support you, you have to do what it takes to get ahead of all the rich kids who got handed their opportunities on a silver platter.
        Some people don't want an office job. Maybe they're a good writer with a strong portfolio but can't get hired because they didn't graduate college. Being a content writer is something you can do on your own time where you are judged by your skills moreso than qualifications.

        I don't see the point in telling people how to live their lives. It's kind of like asking someone with a masters in nursing why she didn't just become a doctor, since they earn 5x as much while doing less work. Maybe she didn't want to?
        {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342065].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author BradCarroll
    Originally Posted by Justin Jordan View Post

    Cheap barely readable content is maybe useful once, but good content keeps earning.
    Quote of the day!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342031].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author blakethale
      Justin,

      Great read! As someone new to IM I must say that you've given me some food for thought when it comes to what the goal of the content should be as well as some ideas about how to find and deal with article writers. I also found some of the posts to be good observations with a few others being silly and just a waste of everyone's time...

      Regards,

      Blake Hale
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342100].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author 3bagsfull
    Great post - I think this is a wonderful list of "questions" you can use when working with a client. It helps clarify what is and is not important and required.

    I will definitely be returning to this post in the future for perspective.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4342063].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rose Anderson
    Well...I was going to make a comment about living in Florida and still being able to make a living as a writer...but I see that is no longer necessary.

    I would like to throw in the fact that I am an awesome guitar player though it's not relevant in any way.

    Great comments, Justin. I like the time-line comment. I would also suggest the need to plan ahead when you're going to hire a writer. A good writer will often be booked a week or two advance. So if you're expecting 20 articles in two days they're going to have to either crank out your articles without worrying about quality; or you're going to have to hire a writer that is not that good.

    There are exceptions, of course, so there's no need to post saying one time you needed 30 articles and got them the next day and they were all works of art. But in general, please give your good (and therefore busy) writer enough time to finish your order without compromising quality.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[4343278].message }}

Trending Topics