The Dummies Guide to "Article Writers Wanted"
Writing content is a daunting task for those who feel that they are not good with words or those who do not have the time to spend. Your time may be better spent closing sales and reaching out to potential resellers. Whatever the reason, you have decided to place an “article writers wanted” advert. This is the guide to helping you find the best article writer you could possibly want.
Payment
It can be very tempting to offer very low prices for the content that you require. I’ve seen advertisements offering as little as $1 per 500 words. This is an insult to freelance writers everywhere. Be willing to pay good money for good content. A good rule of thumb is to offer an hour’s wage for 500 words. It should take the average, good article writer an hour to research and write a piece that is roughly 500 words long, less if the topic is one they are familiar with.
Be sure to quote your offered rate in your “article writers wanted” advert. Just to make sure prospective applicants know you are serious about the quality that you want.
Platform
There are thousands of freelance article writers to be found on places like LinkedIn, Upwork, PeoplePerHour and various other freelance platforms. You could advertise in your local classifieds or simply post the job on your website.
Be aware that the platform you choose will have an impact on the number of applications you receive as well as the quality of the writers responding to your advert.
If you place your request on a freelance platform be prepared to be inundated with applications from huge teams of writers who claim to produce quality content for as little as $10 per 500 words. If you are looking for well-written English content – avoid these teams of writers. They typically present you with rehashed, grammatically and factually incorrect content that you will spend more time editing than it would have taken you to write the piece in the first place.
Look for writers who live in your country first, then look for those who live in a country that is similar to yours in terms of language usage and laws. If you don’t find your match in that pool, branch out to countries that are progressively less similar to yours.
Protection
Although freelancer platforms can charge an arm and a leg for the service they provide, they do this so that they can protect both the freelancer and the employer from each other and themselves.
If you don’t get what you asked for or if the freelancer does not get what you promised them, the issue can be disputed, and the contract voided without need for expensive lawyers and legal fees.
If you are not using a freelance platform and want to deal directly with the freelancer in all things financial, make sure that you have an iron clad agreement in place regarding delivery times and payment schedules. Your quality guidelines and topic choices should be stipulated – anything that you can think of that may provide a loophole should be covered.
Testing
It is easy to write a cover letter or have someone write one for you. It is easy to appear to be able to write in emails. Cover your bases and test the applicants to your “article writers wanted” advert.
If you find errors in their covering letter or email communications – discard their application.
Ask any who make it through that phase to write a test article, which you will pay for if it passes muster. Ensure that you are happy beyond all doubt that the person you are handing your content creation to can do the job and do it well.
The alternative
Of course, you may not have the time to do all this interviewing and testing. In that case, hedge your bets and find a digital agency that offers content writing as a service in your area. Odds are good that they will be able to provide you with the content that you need when you need it.