What do you look for from article / content writers?

oziomedia ... I've worked with this company for over two years... NOT ONE PROBLEM... all English writers and only 3 bucks per 100 words.. which really isn't that bad.

I cant say Ive every hired a writer before, though I believe the main issue I would run into is conveying my message properly. It is easy to shoot ideas back and forth, but to give the exact impression you want to give is difficult.

Either you haven't used many writers or you are just generalising here.
Speaking for myself, I am told my work is excellent and often better than expected which is a nice compliment.
I am sure there are many other writers who receive the same feedback.
As a potential employer, it's important to ensure you're getting your message across and that the writer understands what you want before any money changes hands. I never take money until I fully understand a job as there has been the odd occasion where a job has been not something I could do well so have been honest and said so.

I want articles where I actually LEARN something. Seems most articles just state the obvious.

If I don't learn anything from the article, it's likely my readers won't either.

Most of the problems I've encountered are the use of English Grammar, spelling, and once in a while just the lack of not being able to follow directions as requested!

Distinct writing....some people just write superior to others. If you have a writer that has a distinct style you have a winner. Tough one to find cheaply though.

This is what I love about the forum. As a content writer, I now have a lot of input and quotes at my fingertips. It shouldn't be much of a stretch to write a post about this topic....I haven't configured that yet, but there certainly is a post, if not two...with several quotes. [thread favorited]

The two points I find that I would be interested in, if I were a buyer, would be: humor and storytelling. The buyer wants interesting material....readable material (unless he just needs to fill space.) Readers will eagerly digest humor and storytelling, when they would otherwise leave...and they can be a great foundation for the major points of the post.

Im a content writer and the two biggest praises I get are:

1) The content was very refreshing
2) Service and response time was excellent.

I assume these are things people are fed up with.

I look for the them being, punctual, reliable, having good grammar, doing good research, and charging reasonable prices.

People have come to me after hiring other writers and have complained about their lack of research. I agree with Kurt - many enjoy stating the obvious rather than educating their audiences - after all, readers love a good statistic or three

Spelling and grammar aren't difficult as long as you know how, these are 2 basic requirements that I think should be a 'given' when it comes to writing!

The #1 thing that my clients ask me to focus on is the flow and tone of the article - if it sounds more conversational, it is easier for the reader to follow.

So overall, I'd say the ability to write with a conversational tone (in the right situation, of course!) has got to be at the top of the list!

Two important things to look for from content writers are:
He should be good at english writing specially grammer.
His content must be of good quality and he must provide helpful content to visitors.

Hey Mark, I've hired content writers for my company and I have many good experiences with them than bad. I encountered a few who do not proofread the articles and perhaps this is the number one problem that I have experienced with them. As for the skills, I always look for writers who write excellently in English with zero grammatical errors, and etc.

I rarely hire people to write for me, but when I do, I expect them to be able to learn from and respond to my feedback.

I do a lot of ghostwriting, so my standards are quite high. I understand that not everyone has the style or level of skill, but if they are able to be guided and make improvements in their writing (based on my needs), then I'm happy.

All the best,
Michael

I aim for native English article writers. I've had too many bad experiences with non-native English writers. I want articles that are nearly flawless. When I've hired non-natives in the past, I've had to do tons of editing.

When my prices were lower my clients were most concerned with keyword density and quick turn-a-round times.

My prices are higher now and my current clients are concerned with proper research, an engaging tone, and the ability to put an interesting twist on even the dullest subjects.

Rose

I'm a very good writer but how can anyone in the US or UK make a living as a writer for just 3 bucks per 100 words? Even without research time it doesn't seem worth it, or am I missing something?

Proper english. Not grammatically correct, but simple sentence structure. They need to have samples/pieces of their work for view too. And having a case study of clients that they've worked with in the past is good too.

First thing I consider is unique content with correct English. If writer can write unique and grammatically correct content then i will look for interesting and informative content. That's the second priority for me.

Non plagirized material.

Inexperience and dishonesty amplified by lack of communication.


Honesty, Confidence, enthusiasm. That combo seems to create some awesome content. It definitely worked when I hired laurencewins.

It has failed me once though, but that's because honesty has to be earnt I guess.

OK this could be fun, let me flip things around and look at the situation from the clients perspective.

What would I look for in a content writer if I wanted to employ one?

OK let's take the requirement that they can write in the first place as read. These are additional things I would come up with:

First of all, they would need to demonstrate that they understand the value of a page of site copy (be it an article, blog post or whatever), and that its function is not just to fill up space on a page.

I would expect them to know what bounce rate is, why it is an important metric, and how to encourage readers to stay on the site instead of clicking away.

I would also expect them to demonstrate the ability to write socially engaging content, designed to illicit some form of social networking response from the reader.

Finally, I would require them to have Google AuthorRank and allow me to leverage its value.

I can probably think of more, but this is enough to get started with.

I think one of the biggest problems in the field of content writing comes from a lack of good definitions. What I mean is that people talk about content writing in a very broad sense when they're actually referring to something rather specific. We make differentiations between things such as squeeze page copy and sales page copy but we treat all content writing as if it is the same thing.

The truth is that there are at least two different types of content. You have basic web content and then you have feature articles. Basic web content is exactly what it sounds like, just a simple article that addresses some sort of topic. It isn't really meant to be a big traffic draw and is better used as a daily content update.

Feature articles, on the other hand, are meant to draw in traffic. They're longer, often written to a higher standard and aren't as concerned with keyword density. These types of articles require real skill and good research. They need to be written to fit the audience that will be reading them and can often be used to really establish authority about a certain subject.

I see a lot of people complaining that they can't find a good writer. I can't help but feel that many of these people are expecting feature quality work for basic content prices. You simply can't have both.

Conversely, no one is going to pay $25-$50 for basic content. Most people I've worked with will order 20+ basic articles at once. No one is going to want to pay $25 for 20+ articles. When people say "You get what you pay for" they really mean that you can't order a burger and expect high quality steak.

The point is that the rate a writer charges doesn't really tell you as much as you might think. There is so much bad information out there concerning how much a writer should charge. It's really important that you're clear about what you want. Don't pay too much for basic content and don't pay too little for feature content.

Another problem I see is that whenever a newbie comes around and asks how they can make money people will often tell them to start writing content. This is both frustrating and, to be blunt, really stupid. Writing is a skill that not everyone has. I don't understand why people have such little respect for the craft of writing. No one says "Just go out and become a graphic designer" or "Go ahead and start making websites for people".

I guess what I'm saying is that you can't go around telling newbies to write content and then be shocked at how crappy most of the content is.

From the perspective of a writer, there are things I look for in a client. I've worked with a lot of people from all over the world and most of them fall into one of two categories. There are the clients who are experienced and know exactly what they want. They provide plenty of information and there are no misunderstandings.

Then there are clients who are obviously new to the field of IM. They don't really know what they want. They often don't want to pay a lot and won't have much patience. They really don't have the ability to recognize high quality writing because they simply lack the experience.

I will always happily work with both types of people but, to be completely honest, the experienced clients, the ones who know exactly what they want, are the ones for whom I can create specifically designed content. We can build a rapport and I can create the perfect material for them.

If you're going to hire a writer then you need to know what you want and you should be as clear as possible when giving them the assignment.

are the articles on fiverr website a total waste? you can buy hundreds if not thousands of articles on fiver however hiring someone to write an article seems like it costs more than $5 for a single article

Well I try some article writer they was good but after some time I feel that article writer force him self to write for me and about my products as they are not product specialist they just research and write so in my opinion now one can write better then you for your self.

sometimes they write in a too formal tone, the main problem i have is finding good casual writers that can write in an everyday conversational tone

In the past when I use to get my articles outsourced I noticed that the toughest problem was getting the writers to stop being so robotic within the content. The spelling and grammar was not to bad but it was just how they gave out the message to the reader, there was just no passion behind the writing.

Example:

(Robotic) - Paper cups are good for your home since you will not have to wash them. Paper cups are very cheap and will make a great asset for your home.

(Reader friendly) - Washing glass cups over and over can be a tedious task so why not get your hands on some quality paper cups. Make your life easier and get a set of paper cups today, don't worry about the price since most of them are very affordable.

- Will

The biggest problem I've had with writers is they don't proof read their work.

I've gotten some writers who just copy'd an article online so you want to make sure you check the content on copyscape!

There are a lot of quality writers out there. You have to check around and when you find someone stick w/them and pay them well. Then ask them for referrals.

I feel like pretty confident when I receive a topic to write upon. I accumulate information. But when I start writing, I feel like my pen is not moving smoothly. I take a long to finish my writing. Its bad.

for me he must be english native citizen, and someone who have experience in wrtiting blog posts and reviews .

You indeed usually get what you pay for, but sometimes you can find some quality writers that don't demand so much. For instance, some years ago I hired a few Native English writers that were still in high school, so I got a very good price for the articles they wrote, and they had no grammar mistakes whatsoever.

For blog post i prefer writers who have free flow of article writing, who can even write on notepad without opening anything..! Ofcourse you need sources for studying things but once that's done close all the other things and start writing.

Over the years I have outsourced hundreds of articles and the writers I used most often had a few things in common.

1. They were reliable....Always Delivered work on time.

2. Their work NEVER required any editing or revisions.

3. They had a feel for each subject and went beyond just rewriting a PLR article.