To hire a writer or to not hire a writer. That is the question

Some of the top writers like Alexa Smith, MYOB and others take several hours to write one article. They are not slow writers they just are very calculated. If you want stellar articles expect to pay over $100 easily. My suggestion is to keep writing. Practice makes perfect. Write 1,000 word articles not the standard 500 word articles. Heck you can write a 2,000 word article with no problem. Read a lot of good writing because it helps you improve as well. Its ok to spend several hours writing a 1,500 word article. Provide content to where you are impressed with yourself after reading it.

If you mediocre at best, i think better to outsource.
Yes, it's possible to learn and improve the writing, but there is so many good writers available..

In the Warriors for Hire section you will find many writers, myself included, who can help you with your work. You also have the option of using the auction sites but it can be harder to find a good writer there as you don't know what people are like, except from their reputation based on work they have done.

If you hire a good writer, it will relieve the stress you currently feel and you can focus on other areas of your business.

Well if your looking to get some articles quick I would suggest outsourcing for a few articles. Just remember you get what you pay for. If you paying a few $$ your probably going to get a poorly written or spun article. I would suggest in the long run work on your writing skills (tons of articles here on the forum to learn from). That way you have total control over your keywords and the message of your articles. Good luck.

Here you go. Rose Anderson.

Once again, thanks for the help.

I should look at learning to write as part of the overall job. Just like learning how to e-mail market.

That's your opinion, and like most people you're probably being too hard on your self.

The best time to start writing and improving is now. It's not as hard as you think and it just takes sustained effort and a little knowledge.

1. Learn who your audience is and adapt your writing to them. Most audiences respond well to conversational writing.

2. Learn the basic rules of grammar, etc, so you will know how to break them without looking illiterate.

3. Write using the inverted pyramid approach. Research nearly ten years ago confirmed/discovered this works best online. State your point right away, and then use the rest of the paragraph to support your point.

4. And learn how to format your content for web readers. Skimmers, scanners, etc.

***
Once you start outsourcing, it's like dope - you'll enjoy it and want to keep on doing it. But there are good benefits such as more time, etc.

However, I think writing and copywriting skills are great to have. You get better by writing every day. Writing is the only way to get better at writing.

Besides, if you don't really know how to write well, then how can you recognize it when you outsource it? I mean, beyond the basic stuff like no glaring mistakes.

Also, if you get to the point where you outsource everything, then you're just another manager. Yes, all the $$ addicts will tell you that that's how you can maximize profits. So I suppose it's a personal preference.

There are always trade-offs.

You can have a bunch 'o skills, but be the object of criticism for those who aspire to be IM managers. Or, you can be a manager and have to depend on others because the only thing you know how to do is manage.

OK, being a little sarcastic - but just a little.

Yea I definetly think its something I need to work on if I am going to do this seriously.

I keep seeing the word copyrighting come up, I need to do a bit of research on that because I have no idea what you guys are talking about, well the definition I have in my head does not make much sense

Spellchecker fail I realize they are two different things I just don't know anything of copywriting

As many have said already, even if you are not a great writer it is best to learn and practice and understand what great writing is before you outsource. Also make sure you start making profit with your site then you can improve upon it and outsource later.

Best of luck with your first site!

-Will

Working in a team can provide an excellent environment to learn and excel. If you can afford outsourcing I will advice you to hire a proof reader who will not only point out the mistakes in your articles but will also help you to enhance your skills of content writing

You can outsource your writing here at the WF. Post a thread at the Warrior For Hire section and you will surely get a lot of takers.

You start from a good place. All it takes is patience and tons of writing

Seriously, just go searching for some blogs to read and once you find something that grabs your attention, read more from that author. Don't copy them, though, use that to develop your own style and loosen up too. It took me a while to loosen up and just let i flow: I remember the first newspaper gig I got, it was to tight and didn't flow quite as well as it should.

If you're already grammatically correct, then you just need to work on your style. Do you like making wisecracks? Are you usually quite dry? You should be able to write content for yourself, but if not, there's plenty of us out there to help and who knows, when you've got too many sites on the go and too much writing to do, you may well need to outsource

I think you should hire a writer. Of course, it will take sometime to find a good writer but once you do you don't need to worry about writing the content for your blog and you can focus on other aspects of the website like SEO.

Hi jackcarr!

First, you have to weigh your options with respect to the resources that you have. If you have the budget and you are preoccupied with your time, there is no problem with hiring writers as there are may impressive ones you can hire in fiverr and odesk.

But if you have the ample time,you can practice good writing and trust yourself as well as save money. Hiring writers is fine but writing it with passion as for yourself is better. Have confidence within you.

Creating your own content is where true value comes from. You want people to get to know you and understand you.

I think that's where the line is drawn.

Pros of hiring a writer:
The benefits of having a writer is that you save time and have a peace of mind that it is written in a grammatically perfect way.

Cons:
On the other hand, you don't know for sure if the quality and the value of the content is good, so you basically have no control over it (even if you try to edit it, you still wont gain enough confidence for yourself). Also you dont grow in the process and it makes it hard for you to establish a good understanding of your readers.

While if you do it on your own...

Pros:
You will eventually get good at it, you learn how to engage to your readers because they will comment directly of your work. You can personalize your work which is very important if you want to leave an impression of yourself to your readers.

Cons:
Its very time consuming at first, you might get criticize and loose potential clients.

Now for my personal opinion, I think that its best that you do it on your own at first, because you will personally gain a lot by doing so.
Next is that as you get good at it and your business starts to grow, you can then start outsourcing some of the work and just revise it as you see it fit. You see if you experience it yourself, you would actually know what your readers want to read from you.

Tips for you...

Do not be afraid to write, just as long as you get your message across that's ok. Value comes from content not from the context. Although everything has their own purpose and own use.
Write as you speak, just imagine yourself talking to your friends and write that way. It gives a more natural feel of your writing and you make it more personal.
Another thing is that you train your readers how you write, so they will eventually get used to it.
Be direct, when you are writing, just go straight to the point, imagine yourself giving directions to someone who is asking for a location.
Don't be afraid to make mistakes, we all do, instead focus on how you can give value to your readers. You know you are giving value if they can take away something from what they have read.
Lastly, believe in yourself. If you know how to communicate with people, then you know how to communicate on your blog.

Although I am weighing heavily more in doing it yourself, I would recommend hiring a writer as you go down the way. Because when you want to build a business online you want to work more on creating value for your company. So if you find yourself too busy working on other stuffs, you can pitch in an idea, hire your own writer and let them write for you. That way you still have the personal touch and have time to do other stuffs...

I hope this has been helpful too, and oh, just to let you know, English is not my main language, but if you truly desire to share some great value to other people. I don't see anything wrong in making mistakes if you know you can make their lives a little bit easier.

I, myself will be hiring my own writer very soon, so that I know I can give more value to my viewers. In the meantime though, i still have to continue practicing. Don't let yourself hold you back to being a better you.

Good luck to you my friend, if i can do it, you could probably do it much better than me...

Thanks for asking this question, Jack. The replies actually helped me out with a slightly different doubt I was facing.

All the best to you. I'm rooting for your success.

Elance has some of the best writers on the net. If you don't have much cash, I've had some pretty good experiences with fiverr. Also, some good writers here on the WF.