All New CommentMILK Version 1.0When To Outsource Your Blog Writing
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One of the “dirty” little secrets among professional bloggers is that many of them don’t actually write all their own material…. instead they outsource either some, if not all, their writing.
WHAT… NO…. It Can NOT be???
Yup! Sure, they might edit blog posts in order to put them in their own unique voice. They might add a little bit of personal information so as to more closely associate the blog post with their identity. But very often, their words are not their own.
This is a completely valid business model, too. If you’re trying to make money blogging, hiring someone to write your blog posts should be one of the first things you consider.
There are two compelling reasons why you should consider outsourcing some of your writing.
First of all, to really make money at your blog, you need to be able to write well. You don’t have to be Shakespeare or Stephen King to write a blog. Blogs, by their very nature, are a much more casual form of writing. They’re designed so that the average person with average writing skills can connect with her readers.
If you’re serious about making money on your blog, you have to be able to write in such a way that your blog posts are convincing. Whether you’re hawking your own wares or whether you’re promoting affiliate programs, you have to be able to convince someone, through your writing, that the product is worth buying or at least worth checking out.
The second reason to consider outsourcing your writing is this: you probably don’t want to have to work at your blog as if it were a full-time job. You need to be able to delegate certain tasks out to other people. The potential for Tim Ferris’ four-hour workweek is out there, and you can do it by blogging, but you can’t do it if you spend four hours a day writing blog posts.
Let me add just two bits of advice to the mix, as well.
When it is time to hire a writer, make sure you vet the writer properly. Know what they’re capable of. Look at writing samples. If they have a blog, subscribe for a few weeks to really get a feel for their style. In addition, remember that you get what you pay for, when it comes to hiring writers. If you pay bargain basement prices, you’re going to get bargain basement quality.
What is your thoughts of outsourcing some of your writing?
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I never out sourced my blog writing on any of my blogs. I thought about it a couple of time though as I don’t always have time to write like a mad man. Can you share with us what would be a good price/quality ratio? I mean, what’s the average cost of a GOOD 500 words article?
Ben - frogstr.coms last blog post..Do I look like a comment bitch?
The absolute minimum you should be expecting to pay is $10 an hour and that would be cheap. The best thing to do is hire three authors and then have them each write three articles and then keep the best writer of the three.
Thanks, I’ll consider that option!
Ben - frogstr.coms last blog post..Do I look like a comment bitch?
Hmmm, I know this happens a lot! I even know a few people that have been writers for some of my favorite blogs! I just don’t see how I personally could benefit, it would take a lot to find someone that writes in my style.
I’d end up re-writing the whole thing! It is a good business model though, especially for more niche focused blogs. But, I haven’t got to the point where I can see this happening on my personal blog, and I’m not sure if I ever will. I enjoy it, it really doesn’t take long at all….but I hear what you’re saying about effeciency.
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Well one strategy is to use them for the research portion of the content. Then you take what they wrote and rewrite it BUT… you can submit the version they wrote to a place like ezinearticles.com and link to your post, since they will be each unique
great point there John. A lot of the time the research is the longest part!
Tom - StandOutBlogger.coms last blog post..What To Expect From StandOutBlogger In October!
Interesting.
Currently I would be happy to write a post for somebody for 10$. On the other side, I think I will also pay 10$ for a good post that fits my blog.
Both options look attractive for me. What is strange is that when I write for my blog, it doesn’t have this “deal” factor and it is somehow…boring?
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$10 an hour? That’s horrible.
I have many contributors on my blog, but I let them write under their own name, and I pay per word, not per hour.
Geeks are Sexys last blog post..Landline phone use falling in favour of mobile phones
I just said the min you could expect to pay… i agree that is low.
Definitely.. what can you do with $10 per hour today? Not much, unless you’re a student and are living at you parent’s place.
…or living in a third world country
Geeks are Sexys last blog post..Landline phone use falling in favour of mobile phones
Well I thought the posts in JohnCow were written by you. Now you let the secret out. I know someone else is writing this post. I am unsubscribing to your blog …
Deepak Rajs last blog post..How to Make Money by Creating Websites and Selling Backlinks
Well actually, I personally DO write 95% of the posts on this blog. I do however have a writer that I get filler content written from, that I use for days that are busy and some weekends. Over the past 5 months, I have had a writer contribute 9 posts… so out of 150+ posts, 9 where not from me.
I agree with the comment that this is particularly useful for niche blogs where having the same “voice” throughout is not as important.
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Big difference between articles (blog posts) that are How-To or very subject focused and articles that are focused on an experience is huge.
Hire writers to do the How-To stuff. It’s really not about your “voice” so much in those posts. The visitor just wants the info and Now!
But… say your writing an article about your experience at a convention or the problems you had getting your travel arrangements or a rant about some product… Those should all be written by you.
Thank you so much for this article John! You Rock!
Debra Conrads last blog post..Book Reviews For Maximum Profits
Excellent points Debra!
I use a mixture of my own ‘creations’ and material ‘borrowed’ from news sources.
But your post raises the possibility of my being a blog/article writer to supplement income.
As well as the ezinearticles.com site, where else would you suggest as the optimum sites to promote writing skills?
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Well, this is a little off topic, but,I just felt I had to comment back on Geeks are Sexy’S assertion that you cannot live on $10.00 and hour.
I don’t claim a family could live on $10.00 an hour. But if your single, and you cannot live on $10.00 an hour,something is seriously wrong here.
I can live on less than that (when working full time).I don’t have a wife and my family is grown up , so I don’t require lots for food and other things ou might have when raising a family. So $10.00 per hour pays my bills and keeps me fed and I even have money at work when no one else does.So who do you suppose everyone comes to when they are in need of a loan? me of course.
As a professional ghostwriter, I often write blogs, especially for clients whose ebooks I’ve ghosted. Though a good ghost can match a client’s own style fairly well, some clients do not write well at all. To avoid a huge disconnect between the style of the book and the blog, the “author” has me write the blog.
Ten cents a word is a low price. I work in a group of 4 writers through Elance, which I highly recommend as a site that matches buyers with writers. You can find experienced writers who are new to the Elance site who are willing to work for even less. You can also find writers who “cudn’t spel wrytr yisterday n today I are 1.”
I charge between 20 and 50 cents per word for blogs, depending on the research involved. That is a typical range for experienced professionals on whose work you can rely.
Do be aware that some Elance providers either have a staff or sub-contract your job. While a staff can be helpful by keeping the work fresh and by covering for one another, you do want to be sure the person who discusses your job is the one who will actually do your work.
Nicki
at HarperCo on Elance
I am one of the writers of an outsourced company in Europe which earns around $100,000 a month. IN fact we are 15 in the group. I will be launching an ebook by December to reveal how real outsourcing really works.
Well, for those who wants to outsourced you can contact me and we can discussed about it.
I am not and will never be against bloggers who outsource their writing. Well, you can contact me if you want to find someone to help you write the content for your blogs.
Mr Nice Guy’s comments are exactly the reason I can not outsource writing confidently. They need to be read and edited.
You don’t know much about outsourcing Dave. Your kind of commenting without posting your contact link is a kind of cowardice. Be man enough man. Don’t hide.
Why wouldn’t you outsource content creation? You can’t do it all yourself! I’ve had great luck with a number of writers and, yes, you do have to train them and edit their stuff.
I pay by the post in some cases (e.g. $10 a post), by the word in other cases (2 to 4 cents per word) and by the project in other cases. I don’t know how you’d pay a writer by the hour though … writers are much more motivated when they are paid by the word, post or project.
If you don’t hire writers it will be very hard to scale your online business in my own experience. I don’t own and operate web sites for personal reasons; its just a way to pay the bills without working a 9 to 5 job.
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Dave’s comments are an example of cowardice since he did not post a link where we can also see his blog and what he can offer. Be man enough Mr. Dave.
Seriously, why does it matter if someone else is doing them? Who cares as long as they are useful.
People like to feel they are talking to the source and I think if people who pblished books actually admitted they did not actualy write it, a lot of people would not buy them. I 100% agree with you but I do understand the concern people have.
Some of the most brilliant thinkers are very poor at communicating in writing.
As a ghostwriter, I use notes, outlines and interviews to learn just exactly what the “author” wants to say, and how they want it said.
And then I write it. The “author” reviews and asks for corrections. When it’s right, it is published.
It is hard to trust a financial or marketing expert who cannot spell, or who uses poor grammar. Why should the world be deprived of an expert’s knowledge because their skill-set doesn’t include writing?
Because it takes more time to learn what the “author” has to say than it would to simply write from my own knowledge or research, I charge quite a bit more than 2 cents per word. But the product does truly belong to the “author.”
I certainly am considering hiring a writer to take some workload off my back in the future. For a good quality writer, how much should I expect to pay? Just trying to get a feel for it