Article Outsourcing *HORRORS*

My very first article outsourcing project was for 12 articles. I was very specific about what I needed re: article length, keywords, keyword density & when I needed the articles. What was delivered to me was sooo poorly written. I can laugh about it now, but at the time I was mad enough to shake the guy out of his skin!

My subsequent article writing projects (using the services of fellow Warriors) have turned out a whole lot better.

It is shocking that such crap actually gets through. My time is limited so I joined one of those article exchange deals where they send you articles you can use on your blog. I wrote my own and added it so others could publish it. Only a few did. So I figured it had to be the topic.

Either that, or the other members wouldn't recognize a well written article if they fell over it. The stuff I got was literally junk. Obviously, most of it was put through the spinner and came out making no sense.

I can't imagine EA actually publishing such garbage.

But that's not the point here, is it? You're looking for solutions.

Once you have purchased the articles, you can only hope the company does its best to satisfy your needs by rewriting them or refunding your money. $500 is a ton to put down for garbage that you have to rewrite.

You will have to screen your providers better next time.

1) ask to see 5 articles they have written on the same topic (not necessarily the one you are targeting). This will give you an idea of how the writer handles one topic.

2) check their credentials. Who is doing the writing?

3) don't ask for sites that publish their work... odd to say that, but you have no idea whether the material had to be rewritten before being published. So the site result tells you very little.

4) ask for contacts of previous clients so you can see what they got and get their opinion about the service.

5) place a short order of 2 articles to see the quality before ordering what you need.

6) ask to receive the finished product in series of 5 or 10, and pay as you go. That way, you can monitor the progress and cancel at any time.

That's about all I can think of to protect you in future. There are excellent workers out there (me being one ) who are very well qualified to give you what you want. They are respectable business operators who are serious about making a good impression and satisfying their customers. You'll find them right here on the Forum.

Hope this helps.

Sylvia

PS: Before you ask, no, I'm not doing freelance writing at the moment. Too bad for you, I guarantee it.

I can say from my own experience that there are a good many who call themselves writers but they don't know how to research worth a fig. I always thought the two skills would go together but apparently that's not always the case.

I recommend giving a small order on a topic that you are very familiar with but would take some research for anyone not knowing the topic. That way you can get a sense of their writing skill and style while seeing if they know how to properly research a topic.

It can take a while to find a good writer, or set of writers, that you can rely on to do a good job but it is worth it.

Tina