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Started Killing It, Need Advice About Outsourcing

by TPaulBuzan
16 replies
Hello Warriors!

So after some mighty struggles and many, many failures in the IM game I finally found my niche: Elance.

Long story short I've been offering writing services over on Elance for a couple of months now and things have really taken off -- to the point that my available work has exceeded my available time.

I'd like to hire a couple of writers to help me out.

Obviously, Elance isn't an option. Can those of you with firsthand experience offer up other suggestions for outsourcing websites?

I've heard of Guru and oDesk but I'd like to hear personal experiences before committing to anything.

Thanks very much and I look forward to everyone's insight.

Best,

Paul
#advice #killing #outsourcing #started
  • Profile picture of the author ratracegrad
    You can find very cheap writers on odesk but don't expect quality like you get from elance writers.

    What is your account on elance? I'd like to check it out since I have 5 writers on elance that I use exclusively
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  • Profile picture of the author TPaulBuzan
    Rateracegrad (AWESOME name btw!),

    Thanks for getting back to me. I figure even if the quality isn't superb I can go back in and edit it -- even extensively if need be.

    I'll still end up saving time which equals more money.
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  • Profile picture of the author owenlee
    Try iwriter.com
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    • Profile picture of the author RuthRNM
      I use PeoplePerHour when I've got writing work that I need to outsource. There are some great writers on there with varied rates, so it's worth a look. I don't have any experience with Fiverr, though I've seen lots of people using that for bulk writing jobs. If you're not bothered about quality it could be an option, but bear in mind that you could end up spending too much time editing.

      One thing I learned is that it's worthwhile getting a process in place from the offset. So, depending on how you work, you might want to create a little guide or a short video about how you find your keywords, structure your writing, and anything else that they might need to know, such as project management systems you use. It cuts out a lot of time and effort if you can get this sorted from the word go!

      Good luck
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  • Profile picture of the author jgant
    Unless you're commanding premium prices for your work, I can't imagine outsourcing will be worth it. It's time consuming managing outsourcing, clients, etc.

    However, if you are commanding $20 plus per article and deliver top notch content, hire college students. If you can profit $3 to $5 per article, then it's worth doing.
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    • Profile picture of the author Jason Perez O'Connor
      Originally Posted by jgant View Post

      Unless you're commanding premium prices for your work, I can't imagine outsourcing will be worth it. It's time consuming managing outsourcing, clients, etc.

      However, if you are commanding $20 plus per article and deliver top notch content, hire college students. If you can profit $3 to $5 per article, then it's worth doing.
      This. If you want similar quality you have to go for UK or US writers, and they don't come cheap Or you can find the diamond in the rough looking through hundreds of applications on the above mentioned freelancer sites. Some writers from the Philippines have what it takes, but most don't. So if you charge premium prices, you can afford to outsource to quality writers, if not be prepared to do a lot of research, or spend more time writing yourself

      *EDIT* Unless the volume of orders is so great that you can afford to have smaller margins such as making 0.50 cents to a $1 per Article. But you'd have to be pushing 100 orders or above per day to make a worthwhile income. Hard to maintain though. Just start turning work down, or increase your prices. This way you can keep those that are actually interested and earn more for the same amount of hours. The problem people run into when they are in demand is to recruit others, when instead they should increase the cost of their service and keep the same hours
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  • Profile picture of the author pepelino
    why don't you use articlebuilder . It's more cost-effective
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  • Profile picture of the author writeaway
    Freelancer.com and similar sites have a lot of writers you can outsource to. Make sure to try them out to figure out which provider you can go with. Look for quality, native english speaker quality, a conversational style, and, most importantly, RELIABILITY.
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  • Profile picture of the author AuthorityRush
    I have a full time writer I found on oDesk. She's awesome and I am very happy. So yes, oDesk is a viable option.

    But I have also used onlinejobs.ph to hire full time staff in the Philippines. There is a charge, but well worth it.

    Just ask for some samples from potential hires, usually the applicants are happy to provide them. Then just say that you'll agree to hire them for a week, but only a week. Then you'll make the decision on either keeping them or not.

    This way, if you're not happy with results or amount of content they can push out in that time period, you can just move on. There are a lot of people on that site. So I am sure you'll find what you are looking for.
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  • Profile picture of the author Campbell24
    Odesk is the way to go. I've used it for cheap quality content tons of times.
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  • Profile picture of the author PrestonPilgrim
    I would go with odes
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  • Profile picture of the author kjay83
    Hey Paul - send me a direct message. Might have something to offer you..
    Cheers
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  • Profile picture of the author YasirYar
    Hi Paul,

    You can also find dedicated and great writers at Fiverr. There are a lot of very good writers in there. You just have to test and filter them out, check the gigs they have completed and the feedback. Hope this helps!
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  • Profile picture of the author Danielle Lynn
    Raise your prices if you find yourself having too much work. I don't think people realize it, but you can charge $200 or more for a decent article (yes, one article) or small white paper if you have the ability to engage.

    You gotta have the skill, and you gotta pitch it right.

    Skilled writers are hard to come by.

    Outsourcing-wise, college students aren't a horrible place to look, but you'd have to train 'em. Too many are used to writing in such strict formats, that they forget to be engaging.

    Good luck!
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  • Profile picture of the author laurencewins
    If you have more work than you can handle try the Warriors for Hire section in here. You will get good quality writers. I don't know who the clients are that you're talking about but if you have promised to help them, you need to do so.

    One tip...I always tell clients how long it will take me to do a job but often I factor in a couple of extra days in case I get caught out. Try that and see if it helps.
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    Cheers, Laurence.
    Writer/Editor/Proofreader.

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