Hiring Article Writers, How To Protect Yourself

If you are trialing a new writer, break the job in to smaller blocks, i.e. say 5. Judge the quality, run them through Copyscape. If you are happy with results, pay and go to phase 2.

At the outset you can specify that copyright belongs to you (once you have paid for the articles). Most article writers know this, and understand that they have no claim on the material nor can they use it elsewhere.

You can publish them under your own name.

There are writers like me here in the WF - pay peanuts, get monkeys.

Thank you for your response, I didn't even think about using the warrior forum as a possibility. It's just hard to determine what kind of background the writer would need because it's a medical niche. If anyone is interested in being hired/payed for writing articles in a medical niche (feel free to pm me), Prices, Experience, and what would make you a good writer for the medical field.

Thanks Again Kerry

Copyscape for me is the best option to make sure that the articles you have ordered is 100% unique. Be sure to check the articles first on Copyscape before posting it on your site if its clean then all rights should be yours.

Since you paid the writer for the articles then the ownership of the articles will be transferred to you and acquire all the rights to post it on your author admin.

I cannot suggest any best sites that offers content writing services since we have our own, but you can scan some on Elance or Odesk.

When I was earning my living writing articles I advertised here on Warrior Forum, I never asked for payment upfront as long as the client had more than 100 posts.

I delivered the articles and the client paid me, I very rarely had an issue with non-payment but when I did, I simply informed the client that I would be offering the articles as PLR.

Once the client has paid, the articles are exclusively theirs and would usually be published under their name. No mention is ever made of the fact that someone else had written them. That's usually the deal, unless otherwise agreed.

If I was looking for someone to write specialist articles I would just order one article in order to determine if their style of writing was what I was looking for.

Once you find a writer that provides the quality that you are looking for at a price you can afford, then you can place your full order.


Regards

Karen

Work with companies instead of individuals, and ask the company when ordering what their Terms of Service are in this regard.

Most legitimate ghost writing companies will give all rights from the article to you.



Professional "Ghost" Writers allow you to take full credit, so long as you pay them what they ask for the service they provided you.



I take two segments of sentences, and put up to ten words into quotes and run them through Google. I try to identify something that I think will be unique, and I have found that the magic word count is between 6-8 words to eliminate false positives in any search query. I try to pull one sentence segment from the beginning of the article, but after the first paragraph, and I try to take the second sentence from towards the end of the article, but never from the last paragraph.

People often try to use other people's stuff and put a new first and last paragraph on the copy, so I never test the first and last paragraph.

If you hire a ghostwriter you can post the articles under your name. Full rights should go to you once you've paid in full.

I agree with Kerry that you should start with five articles or less to be sure you like the writer's style and tone. Then place a larger order if you're happy with the first batch of articles.

Sample articles are not always typical of the quality you'll receive since many services sub-contract.

Great questions, Ryan

I would use copyscape to test out the quality of the write up

I would pay that bit extra to make sure that that i get the quality in the articles and i would test out the chosen writer with one article fist before letting them loose on 20 articles

I would ask them to sign an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) .that would ensure they don't share any of the information you created and make sure in the NDA you stress that you own express rights to articles written . This way do not owe them more than the one-off payment you give once the articles are delivered

Test the waters with one articles and then you can trust your winner to do more

Most ghostwriters expect that once you have paid for your articles that you have full and final rights to them unless otherwise specified. That means that you can do anything that you like with them - including selling them on. As a writer I know that once I have delivered articles they go into a little zip file with the clients name on to use as a back-up in case the client needs another copy.

When it comes to payment I always offer first time clients the option of paying '50% now 50% on completion' for bespoke ghostwritten work. Most clients will only order 1-5 articles to start with, so we end up with a great, relatively risk free 'trial' period.

Because word of mouth is a very strong marketing tool for ghostwriters I would wager that the percentage of writers and clients who have had less than honest dealings with one another is pretty small in the scheme of things. Using Eshrow through eLance is a good way to go if you are worried.

As for finding writers WF is good - there are plenty of experienced writers here, but if you want to be able to research your writer or find specialist medical freelancers then eLance or oDesk allow you to 'vet' your potential writers so that you can get someone experienced in the niche that you want. Also remember that you do invariably get what you pay for.

For 5c a search Copyscape is great value, but using Google the way that tpw suggested is another great way.

You need

1. A written agreement, that

2. Says it is a work for hire and all copyright is exclusively assigned to you.

.

Always ask the writer about these things and make sure your implementation of their work is acceptable with both of you. I run a writing service myself and we allow clients to use articles however they want, most others are the same. Very rarely will you have a problem with this if you don't discuss it with the writer first.

Half now/Half later works fine for most freelance deals, most teams/services require payment up-front to protect themselves (my team requires this, when I work individually I do half and half).

I think the best way to protect yourself is by digging for gold from the
start.

If you have very specific needs then it might be best you make them approach you rather than the other way 'round. Make your post as clear and detailed as possible and if you are willing to pay a reasonable price then you should end up with a good selection to choose from. If you do have a price in mind then mention it too.

A lot of the people advertising their writing services on the forum are targeting a broad spectrum of clients so it is hard to find out exactly what they really know about. Not many advertise for a specific niche as there often aren't enough one-off clients to make it worthwhile.

By posting a classified ad you are already filtering through the writers who are motivated enough to look for their own opportunities. With clear requirements you save each others time, especially if it requires experience in a niche. The first message from the potential writer can also say a lot about their professionalism, personality and writing talent and style. Interact with them to get a feel of their interest in working with you. Someone with the intention of running off with your money will hopfully just put you in the too hard basket.

I have also found that when the writer knows what your goals are for the site and where you see their role, their motivation sky rockets and you will end up with a lot better content for your site. Everyone has different requirements for their writers but if you are looking for a long term solution then make them feel like part of the team and show genuine appreciation. Spun articles and copyscape shouldn't be a concern.

Ryan,

As a writer(check signature) I give all my clients master rights to their articles and never ask for credit. You just need to ask your writers up front and if you feel like you are going to get ripped off, then don't use that writer. Pick someone from this forum that has good experience and only pay them with paypal or a similar service with the protection you deserve and need.

You should always get the rights to the articles and your writer is only a ghostwriter that creates content for you. Just make sure this is stated up front and you will be just fine, especially if you have it in an email from them.

Benjamin Ehinger