To write your own articles or not to write your articles...

If it comes right down to it, I can buy better content (for some niches) then I can produce myself.

Also, leaders of nations and such give speeches all the time that they didn't write.

If the content is good, does the byline really matter?

I think it depends on the goal of the site. If you're trying to establish yourself as an expert or guru then you need to be writing your own stuff. However, if it's a product review site or something along those lines more than likely you won't be able to write enough content by yourself to make the site successful. Some people may also just want a break from constantly writing articles and so they turn to others for help.

I have had people hire me because they either don't have time or their English isn't good enough. I also get people wanting me to proofread/edit their material because they know they're "ok" but need their material polished.

I personally write my own articles. It's just easy for me. I tried outsourcing some article writing... when the results came back, it was 700+ words of run-on sentences, misspellings, bad grammar, and obviously copied materials. That was my last and final time with an article writer. I write everyday... knock an article out in about 15 minutes. Try it. You'll see that it's easy.

Between the two of us, we have it covered, then, because I can't really understand why anyone wouldn't.

I'm an article writer, albeit not one "for hire", and even I didn't write myself every article I've ever published on my sites. (I didn't hire writers, I admit, but I've re-printed a couple from article directories - those come "free", which is one of my favourite prices).

I'm confused, now: if there's "definitely a place for it", how is it that you can't understand why anyone would do it?

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I have a student that used to write their own articles... they also used to hire writers to do the work for them once it just got too be too much to keep up with.

I understand it can be very hard to find a writer you can trust with the work. I think my student told me they went through close to 30 writers before they got 2 that could do the job appropriately. They still checked the work, but it worked out for them.

You just have to make sure you use copyscape for all content you have written for you.

I think a lot of it boils down to your own writing abilities. If you cannot trust yourself to write compelling, value-adding content, then by all means source it out. You can give your ideas, guidance, and direction for the content, therefore, being sure to make sure you know what is going out in your name.

I have a unique writing style some like it some dont... for some niches it works well and for other niches I just cant be bothered....

For most of my niche sites I have a pen name and so its fake from the start...

Sometimes, there’s a limit to what one individual can do.

Permit me to go more in-depth.

There are two types of authority, or brand.

First is personal brand. That’s YOU! Second is a company, a business.

If you’re trying to build a personal, you’ll have to write most articles yourself. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t outsource to content writers. When you do, you’ll have to edit the article, rewrite and structure sentences to fit your own tone and style.

To make the job easier, you should hire a talented freelance writer, who you can train and tell how you want jobs done. The tone and writing style the freelance writer should adopt.

As for a corporate brand. There’s a limit to what an individual can accomplish. Because you’ll have to keep delivering high-quality content on a consistent basis, it makes more sense to hire well-known authors.

It all depends on what your goal is but you’ll always need the help of content creators. There are thousands of people out there who can write better than you.

Think of how Rand was able to build Moz. He didn’t achieve all by his own power. His secret is simple: he surrounds himself with creative minds. You can do something similar too.

If you can write your own articles, then you should, unless you want better quality or a specific writing style, time, etc. I personally write my articles myself, but sometimes I hire some writers.

one of the best, and I mean the BEST article writers is here on this forum.

And NO, I am NOT going to share him with you as I pay them well do perform. And perform well they do.

As I do think ARTICLE marketing does not really work well as it did when I first started marketing, but google is after longer articles, with high quality content. If you can give her that, you will do well.

Fresh content for your sites and on WEB 2.0 is always good too. It seems.

Think of it like this: There are great musical artists in the world that don't even write their own music...but you would never know. And truth is no one really cares who wrote the song as long as it sounds good. This is the same with article writing. Regardless of whether you write it yourself - or hire someone to write it in your style, it doesn't matter just as long as it makes your audience smile

I wrote all of the content for my first site - hundreds of articles. I loved the subject and had a passion for it. I also had a following. That first site made very little money because I was so focused on writing that I forgot to keep an eye on the big picture. I should have been marketing and creating products.

Now I do still write for my own sites. I write the articles that inspire me. I write when I truly have something to say. For anything else, I give it to a team of writers that I trust.

There can be a balance. At the end of the day though, this is a business that needs products to sell, lists to build and strategy to implement. I give those my priority.

Here's a tip, don't spend $5 for an article (looking at you Fiverr). Find yourself someone that knows the business, and can write good articles that benefit your readers.

I personally recommend CopyOrDie.

Some people just don't have the spare time to write. Maybe their real world job and family concerns outweigh whatever they are doing online. Lots of reasons to hire someone to write on your behalf. And, most times, you get the credit anyway, especially if you are paying. The byline goes to you, not the ghostwriter.

It may depend on your particular 'creative funnel,' or means of building your sites and backlinks that you will actually keep doing. What production schedule tactic will get you going? E.g., some people can't quite get around to writing original articles, but can easily re-write unique content from existing material in a decent fashion (one of the reasons why PLR can be useful). Others may only want to write something once, instead of re-writing, but that leaves a lot of needed writing left to be done for their project (for Web 2.0s and other backlinks).

So one solution to getting traction in such cases is to get somebody else to write one set of the SEOed unique content you need. If it's good quality, it goes on your site, and you can do a quick re-write that you place on a related site to provide a contextual backlink. If not so good, you then can re-write it to the quality level you want, post that re-write to the site, and post the original on your Web 2.0 page pointing to your site. Either way, you can use the hired writing to jog your creativity and dexterity in putting up unique content.

In this fashion you can cut down the time taken personally creating content, using the hired work as a means of spurring you to more quickly completing getting all the writing done.

I very much believe in working to your strengths , if you have time and are good at writing then do it yourself. otherwise outsource and focus on another area of your business

Keep it simple

It all depends on the website, and the goals of how the expert of the website wants to distinguish himself as the expert. However, your idea on trying to build a brand is a good question to ask. I can see where you are coming from.

i think what you are forgetting is that your audience does not know whether you wrote the content or not, so it does not matter whether you are building your brand or not, you must have good content for your audience, whatever way you are getting it

hope this helps... cheers!

I'd guess it all depends on your vision, do you want to be a writer or a business owner? You can be massively successful doing both (See J.K Rowling); but it's just dependent on preference. I'd prefer to hire other writers because I absolutely love focusing on business growth.

As a writer myself, I've actually hired writers in the past for several articles on a few of my own blogs....BUT the writers (only 2) were excellent and also very comparable to my own writing style. I would never hire a writer whose style and quality wasn't A++++

Whether or not to write your own content depends on your goals. I believe it's important to personally write the articles that are going to be published on your site or blog. However, it's worth hiring writing or using PLR for creating books, reports, guides and other types of products that will go to your subscribers.

On my main sites I write the content but on my cheap aff sites which are built to make fast consistant cash I hire it out...

Danny

I believe in writing your on articles but by learning from someone who does it really good! There is a famous quote that says a "a good pilot knows how to fly a plan but a GREAT pilot knows the inner-workings of the plane) So learn how to do it and watch your self get better with time. If you noticed everything in marketing is connected!

It is a matter of choice really, if you have a busy schedule like myself, i would rather outsource it to some content writers (there are some good ones out there) than spend all that time composing articles.What i do is outsource it to some guys on Fiverr for just $5 a piece.I have never had an issue with quality before.

You're not really seeing the bigger picture here. The main problem is that when people "outsource" the content for their project to another party, they often aren't particularly fussy about who that other party is and let price dictate their selection. The old expression "you get what you pay for" rings true for most products and services, and it certainly does for content creation. Your brand will only be "cheapened" if you are stingy on your budget for your content and look to hire one of the cheapest writers around. Real quality writers will take the extra time to gain an understanding of your audience and their needs, as well as align themselves with your own goals. They will then go that extra mile to overdeliver on those expectations, providing you with content that kicks-ass. But this costs a bit more than the regular generic stuff you see advertised right across the internet for $5 for about a zillion words. The real question is, are you prepared to pay a bit extra for content that will enhance your brand rather than cheapen it?

This is just me....But I personally think that it is a waste of time to write articles these days and think that you will get good and long term results.

A few years ago, when the competition was very low, it was worth it but now a days, if you want fast results, I would go with paid marketing.

It's called "ghost writing" and its a lot more common than you think.
Do you think that all those books published by celebrities were
actually written by them? They are not cheapening their brand
at all but quite the opposite. And why would a business owner
hire a writer who is less competent than himself and so "cheapen"
his brand?

A lot of people with bright white smiles got them from their dentist
and not from their own faithful dental hygiene habits.

-Ray Edwards

Though I personally write most of my own content, there is nothing wrong with hiring someone to create content for you. You may have time constraints or you may not be the best writer. People hire writers for a number of reasons. I do not believe doing so (hiring writers) hurts your credibility in the least unless the content is crappy.

If you don't have enough time or skill to produce high quality articles than buy them.

If you can afford to outsource the best writers of the world and still have profits, then why not?

How and where can I learn how to properly write articles and such that involves freelance writing ?

Nowadays, I prefer to compose my own articles and blog posts. I've managed a few social blogs (guest blogs) and my biggest problem was always having to worry about others making grammatical mistakes, not including a proper thumbnail graphic, etc.

For me, it's all about quality control.

I think its sometimes Ok just because of time problem but if they review the articles and agrees to it its fine :-)

Its obvious that writing your own is the best way to build presonal brand.
Outsourcing the content is suitable for entreprenour who need to monetize the content to earn from niche website, affiliate, etc.