How to Choose a Writer?

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I'm currently in the process of building an authority website in a huge niche inside finance industry. A niche which I know nothing. Maybe I know I little but I'm surely not good at it since my target marketing is US and I'm not from there. I may know what they want and what they need, but I don't know the we they think and I don't speak the way they speak. So I assume the best way to make this work is to find a writer that also lives in US.

I'm not into $5 to $10 per content writer. Though I don't also prefer paying $50 - $100 per content. $20 - $30 per 1,000 words is fair for me and I know there are great writers who can work with this rate.

Upon checking freelancers and people who offer writing service, I found 3 different options.

#1 - US Writers with background in finance. Mostly Accountants, Finance Analyst and others worked on a bank before. They might not be an expert in my niche, but at least they're good at the industry.

#2 - US Writers who knows Internet Marketing and SEO. They might not be good on my niche, but they understand what I'm trying to build. They can write contents that both search engine and visitors want, but they have lack of understanding on the niche and industry.

#3 - US Writers who are excellent in writing but lack of understanding on the niche and Internet Marketing. They don't have much knowledge about my niche, they don't really understand what I'm trying to do, but they're an excellent writer. These are writers who dedicated decades on writing contents.

Now I'm having a trouble choosing a writer. So I need you guys to guide me or give me advice. Which one should I choose? Or can recommend writers that can deliver my needs?

Thanks is advance guys!
#main internet marketing discussion forum #choose #writer
  • I don't even know where to start with this. Other than to say, good luck finding somebody worth their salt who will throwaway their valuable time for a pittance.

    -Chris
    • [ 6 ] Thanks
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    • Just pick one that you think good. It's hard to find perfect one without a reality show with huge price.
    • Banned
      This.

      Exactly.

      And you seriously expect to pay a qualified accountant or financial analyst who's also an experienced, professional writer $0.02 to $0.03 per word?! (Edit: I made a much longer post, here, but I've now decided to delete most of it because it's just too silly to discuss).
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  • We suggest you spend a solid afternoon skimming through articles of competing websites pertaining to your (future) niche in question. This will help you get a general idea as to what article quality you should be shooting for, which in turn will help you choose a better writer to serve your purposes. Sites such as oDesk and eLance are great starting point.
  • Try out cheaper writers. Do not let the low price fool you. There are many good ones out there.
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    • Hi there,

      Order one article from a few different writers to find one that can understand what you want and are trying to accomplish. There are quite a few writers out there that understand both SEO and finance.

      It's all a matter of connecting with the right writer and to do this you should first try out a few of them.



      Cathy
  • Upon checking the quality of their works, all of them produces high quality contents. Which is still make me undecided. Need to dig deeper to choose which will work great.
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    • Actually, your English isn't good enough to judge the quality of English writing by others. Your best bet is to find people knowledgeable in the field to write valuable, information-packed content. Then hire a native English editor/proofreader to make sure that the quality of the writing is appropriate for the niche.
      • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Is this a highly profitable niche? Are there alot of competitors? Hopefully you will do your homework about the finance industry niche since you say you don't know anything about it.

    But to answer your question... go with option #1.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • Yeah I'm sure it's profitable. Lots of advertisers and lots of options to make money. Obviously I don't want to compete with companies within the niche, so I'll be targeting mid-competitive keywords. Although I don't want to compete with these companies, I still want to offer valuable contents to my readers. Already have a design and marketing plan, I'm just stock in the contents.
  • Visit sites like Squidoo and HubPages where you will find writers posting their articles. Search for articles in your niche. If you like any of the articles contact the writer through their profile and make them an offer.

    You can also get good writers on Demand Studios and Textbrokers.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
  • 1. Ask to see samples.
    2. Ask for fair rates.
    3. Ask for some authentic testimonials.
    • [1] reply
    • Write a very specific project offer - saying exactly what you expect as finished work. You $$ estimates are on target unless you are choosing a trained professional in the field.

      If it were me, I'd hire a good writer who came with great recommendations, a good work history and submitted a variety of samples of their writing styles.

      I would offer to pay 4 hrs of research time at $20/hr - and send a list of sites that have the type of materials (and niche information) you want them write for you.

      One way to quickly find the best writer is to hire 5 of the people bidding to write 3 articles for you and from those chose one (or two) writers that give you what you want.

      If this is a specialized financial niche, you'll help yourself by including a set of detailed instructions to the writer(s) you choose that give any legal restrictions on what can be said, etc. Specify length, primary and secondary keywords for the articles, any paragraph length/number that you prefer, etc. The more information you can provide, the better the finished product will be.

      If you develop a good working relationship with a writer you'll find that writer will learn exactly what you want and that's what you'll get time after time.

      kay
      • [ 1 ] Thanks
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  • Why are you so keen to have US writers? People in other countries, including Australia where I live, actually write and speak as good as, if not better than, many Americans.

    You seem to be limiting yourself too much for starters.

    I am not even going to try and address your other limitations but will say good luck if you want to find an excellent writer/proofreader who won't charge you what the work is actually worth.
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  • I think you might want to ask yourself this:

    If you don't now much about the subject nor are you fluent in the language of your target market, how the heck are you going to be able to evaluate the writers to know if their writing is good?

    I mean if you are attempting to build and authority site, then the articles need to be authoritative, right?

    I'm no expert, but I think an authority site is more than articles that just have keywords and commas in the right places - the content needs to be top notch too.

    I agree with those above who have stated they doubt you will find the types of writers you need for the price you are willing to pay.
    • [ 3 ] Thanks
  • Best course of action is to do everything gradually. Don't order in bulk at first but order 1-2 articles to get a good taste of what they have to offer.
  • @Frank.. "as good as" is perfectly acceptable English although perhaps I could use "as well as" for a slightly better format.


    @Kay, English is my first language, NOT second.
    Also I was actually born in England so if we want to get technical, then my English IS first and American English is actually a second language...But I don't intend to argue semantics.

    My point is that anybody who is a decent writer from the US, Canada, the UK, Australia or anywhere else should have an equal footing here.
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  • I run a content production company and as such need writers who can write authoritatively on any topic. This means that I look for people who are willing to spend time researching before they write.

    In your case, personally I think if you have option 1, then I don't see why you would consider option 2 or 3. Find solid writers who have industry relevant experience, and make sure they are happy to spend time researching. As others have said here, if you find someone who really has education/experience in the niche you are looking for, they will charge more than $100 per article and rightly so.

    Find someone with a good grasp of what you are looking for, and if necessary help them with research pointers to ensure you get what you want. They don't need experience with internet marketing, but should understand basic SEO as well as know how to captivate an audience.

    If you're sick of searching on Freelancer, try Problogger.net as I often find writers by putting an advert up there.

    Make sure to order 1 article at a time until you are 100% certain you've found the right writer(s).

    Antony.
    • [ 1 ] Thanks
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    • I wasn't referring to you personally -they speak English in Australia...right?

      If a buyer is targeting US customers and can afford to hire a good writer that is US based....that's his right. Many buyers only specify "first language" while others prefer a certain resident country due to idioms, common phrases and slang specific to that country's population.

      The buyer who is paying the bill gets to choose the criteria.
  • Take the writer who is deeply familiar with your subject. The difference between indepth knowledge and a quickie research job really shows up. As far as SEO - all that "stuff this word and that word in at this% usage is complete crap. Have had so many articles on google 1 (sometimes the first thing on the page after paid ads) that it's crazy and I've never ONCE stuffed keywords. I know others with the same experience.

    If you want traffic - quality is the way to get in the traffic that actually matters. Doesn't matter if they are there if they aren't impressed with what they find, eh? Build your site up on unique, quality info that only a person who really knows the subject indepth and the SEO is a heck of a lot easier because people that land on your site will stay there longer..........and THAT does more for your SEO than a lot of other efforts you can pour into it. Google LIKES sites that people sit on or click around on when they get to them.
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    • Banned
      This. All of it. Exactly.

      With apologies, Sal, if you're going to keep making posts as perceptive and realistic as this just when I've run out of "thanks" for the day, they're sometimes going to go unthanked (by me). Can you not post these a little earlier?
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  • [DELETED]
  • To add to the discussion - you really do get what you pay for. I charge $150 per article at a minimum for many of the companies I write for - but you know what? Those articles are detailed and in-depth, they get tons of traffic, heaps of social shares and pay back their website owners 10x what they put into it.
  • i think you forgot #4. Non-US writers blah blah blah. why choose US writers when there are other people who can do the same job or can even provide more? dont little your choices, widen them.
  • I also think you shouldn't be afraid of non US writers. The only real way to find out if somebody matches your standards is to hire them for an article and see how it turns out.

    Find 5 or so writers that sound good and order an article from each of them. Tell them if the results are good you'd like to be a repeat customer.

    Pick the one you like most, or move on to other writers. Ideally you would have them write about things that you could still use even if they're not completely up to your standards. This way the work isn't wasted.
  • Quality is subjective as different people view it differently. You might want to order small amount from different writers to test it out so that you will know the quality of the writer.

    Another thing that I will do is that I will check the quality of the content on the competitors website so that you will be able to know the standard of the quality that your content should have if you want to compete with them.

    Doing these 2 things concurrently should help you in decided which writer you should be using for the content creation.
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    • You need a good writer who's familiar with the subject (or is willing, if sufficiently compensated, to do the research). SEO knowledge is not relevant.
      You can tell them your main keyword and they could stick it in the title and you can do whatever other SEO you deem necessary yourself.

      You are asking for 2 things:
      good writer
      knowledge of a specific field (knowledge most people don't have).

      American writers who have that knowledge have the following problem: it ain't cheap to live in America. You might want to target American writers who live in countries where a month's worth of living is under $500. They might take you up on your $30-50 offer.

      I know of at least one awesome writer. But she charges $50 just for her writing skills (a few hundred words). When you throw in the knowledge you require (which she has, I've read some of her stuff on the matter), you're way past $50.

      She also knows about SEO and marketing. But she'd add some more to the $50 and we'd be talking a hell of a lot more than you think is reasonable.

      I understand that you may have profitability-caused limits on what you can pay. I'm just suggesting you find people who've lived in the US but don't now, who're good writers and who have the knowledge of the niche. Or, else, you're willing to pay them to do proper research. Or, else, they're in a place where $30 for an article is a boat load of money and they throw in good research for free.
  • You need a person who can handle both : a good writer and have knowledge of a specific niche.

    These writers don't come cheap, I know you maybe on a budget...but these kind of writers cost.

    I wish you well on you journey.
  • choose whoever fits in with the things you wanted them to do. the price varies on the worth of the article itself.
  • You would do well to choose writers that have good turn around time. Check whether they are sound in grammar. Pick them from established freelancing sites.
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    • My advice is that you try all three options that you list.

      Give all of them the same project and then upon completion, you choose a long term writer based on the quality of their work.

      You said they were all good writers so you'll only be able to choose after they have written for you based on your specification.
  • The very best writers will be able to take the information you give them and craft it into a first-class piece of work.

    Although some background knowledge of the topic may be helpful, it isn't essential. That's because its accuracy depends on what you know; the information you supply.

    One way to choose from among several potential writers is to ask each one to write 400-500 words on spec on a topic you provide. Give each of them exactly the same information. Then compare the results.

    You should have no trouble deciding which one will meet your needs.

    But, I want to stress how important it is for you provide tha content. All too often, clients think that they've done their bit by suggesting a number of websites to look at or videos to watch. That's not writing; that's research.

    If you want a quality writer to just write, then you need to understand that it's customary for you to provide all of the material.

    If you want research to be done as well, then that must be included in the brief. It will save both you and the writer a lot of time and give you the product that you want.

    And it will also help you to weed out those writers who are not up to the task.
  • Use your common sense to choose the writer. Actually finding the perfect one is really tough. You must hire first to judge the quality of a writer. Here is the list of some sites where you can hire your content writer:

    textbroker.com
    iwriter.com
    hirewriters.com
    constant-content.com
    needanarticle.com
    ecopywriters.com
    contently.com
    thecontentauthority.com
    articlez.com
  • We actually have a finance product where we've vetted a selection of our authors for financial knowledge, certifications and degrees. It might be just what you're looking for. Textbroker Finance
    • [1] reply
    • You're looking at this the wrong way. What you need is an expert in the financial topic of your site who is a good writer. That's not cheap.

      Look at it this way. I have a master's degree in business administration, worked as a controller for a major hospitality company. I also have a consulting firm that assists entrepreneurs and small to mid-sized businesses in business planning. And I'm the author of several business books on financial topics. Why would I write a 1,000 word article for $30, when I can use that writing to promote my own sites and books?

      Dee
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  • The great thing is that you have identified your problem right at the beginning. The next step is to do your research. This is by looking for writers that meet the criteria you have set out.

    Once you have commissioned a few to do some work for you, you can evaluate the results and move on from there.

    Without doing your research, it is difficult to know if you have made an informed decision.

    Good luck
  • A true and gifted writer should be able to write about any subject. The skill of writing is what you should look for. You should be able tell if the writer is capable of writing by looking over samples. All it takes is a little research and if the writer is skilled in the art of writing, it won't be a problem at all.

    There are some people who are not gifted writers and just get into writing with the hopes of making money, but then there are those who were born writers and have a gift for writing. That's the writer you're after.
  • I am here to add some different perspective:
    - you ware to build a niche website, not a knowledge blog, never use number one, their writing is going to bore your visitor
    - you definitely don't want someone who know SEO but give you a crappy article ( no niche knowledge, and not a good writer)

    so, pick number 3! a creative writer will always willing to research their job, they can write something that your visitor will actually read UNTIL THE END. No matter what is your option, I hope you can find the hard work one.
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    How to Choose a Writer?

    I'm currently in the process of building an authority website in a huge niche inside finance industry. A niche which I know nothing. Maybe I know I little but I'm surely not good at it since my target marketing is US and I'm not from there. I may know what they want and what they need, but I don't know the we they think and I don't speak the way they speak. So I assume the best way to make this work is to find a writer that also lives in US. I'm not into $5 to $10 per content writer. Though I don't also prefer paying $50 - $100 per content. $20 - $30 per 1,000 words is fair for me and I know there are great writers who can work with this rate.