In this thread: http://th3core.com/talk/web-development/cointent-writing-services-your-favs/
I was surprised to learn how many people had a difficult time finding good content writers. While some people believe cheaper is better, I believe once you find a good writer, you pay them well and keep them happy. IMO, a good content writer who knows how to write for the web and incorporate phrases without sounding cheesy is *gold*, particularly for a site you actually want customers to use not not just click out of.
(I do, however understand the concept of poor content writing to *get* people to click out of the site using an ad or other escape route, and I do appreciate a good spinner.)
Most of the time, I use Textbroker, and to date, I've only had one really poor writer that I had to refuse and blacklist. And I've ordered hundreds. I think perhaps the way I ask for a writer naturally screens out the bad writers who just don't want to bother. I pay about 2 cents a word (which is the "4 star" article".)
The most important rule:
Be specific in what you want. Saying "write me 15 articles on black kittens" just doesn't cut it. If you ask for that, you'll get crap. Specify who the writer is, who they are talking to, and what kind of voice to use.
I have a template I use, and I'm going to go through it piece by piece. The first part of it looks like this:
QuoteWho You Are:
Voice:
Who You are Talking to:
Let's say you need articles on campers, specifically what to use to tow a camper. I'd fill out the template like this:
QuoteWho You Are: A camping enthusiast. And you tow anything from full size campers to little pop-up campers.
Voice: Informative, but friendly. Think of a no-pressure sales guy who you respect.
Who You Are Talking to: Think of a co-worker that you don't really know, but who knows you like camping and is curious about what to use to tow a camper he's thinking about buying. Friendly, but slightly formal.
This allows the writer to understand *how* the article needs to sound. From my own writing experience, the "voice" section is invaluable. It allows me to know if I can make jokes (and if those jokes can be racy like Mivox's f-ckingc-nts site, or must be g-rated like Erma Bombeck) or if it needs to be very formal and polite. It helps to know if I am talking to an educated audience or not.
Also, the "who you are" allows me to screen writers. If I am writing on Cigars, and I need someone to describe the tastes and so forth, then I need an actual cigar smoker. I will specify this in the "Who you are" section. Something like, "I really need a writer who smokes and appreciates fine cigars."
If I am spinning the article, I usually add the following to the template:
Quote
Words Orig Article: The original article needs to be 400 - 450 words
Special Note: First, write one article that is 400 to 450 words long. Then, I need you to go back to each sentence and re-write that sentence twice to convey the same meaning, but to have a different words in it. So, you'll end up with 3 sentences total.
Example:
Orig sentence: "If you plan to rent a car while in the United States, there are certain rules and guidelines you must follow. "
2nd sentence: "In the United States, there are specific rules you must follow if you are planning to rent a car."
3rd sentence: "When renting a car in the US, you must be careful to follow the specific rules and guidelines.
All three sentences say the same thing, but in a different way. This becomes a little difficult when you are dealing with keywords: Whatever sentence has the keyword in it, must have that same keyword phrase in the following 2 iterations.
Most of the time, a first time writer might have questions on this, but more often than not, they "get it".
I'd say the second most important thing is to
Be Friendly and add a carrotI usually add something like this:
QuoteI know this is confusing, and if you have any questions, please let me know and I'll do what I can to help you.
I've got many articles that will need to be written in the following months, and if I find someone great, I'll be sure to work with you again!
Thank you!
-Heather
If they have questions, I answer them as fast as I can so they can get to it. They appreciate this, and I appreciate that they are asking in the first place so I can get exactly what I want.
Now I know you're saying
"But Heather this takes a lot of time."Honestly, once you have the little template saved, it doesn't take that much time at all. And, it is important to remember that the time spent on the front end saves huge time after because you get what you want.
Another thought: I think this method works so well because the people who don't want to do a good job will just skip over it because the template looks like a lot of demands. Only people who want to do well will actually read the entire thing.
Here is the template to cut and paste if you'd like to use it:
QuoteWho You Are:
Voice:
Who You're Talking To:
Words Orig Article:
Special Note: First, write one article that is __________ words long. Then, I need you to go back to each sentence and re-write that sentence twice to convey the same meaning, but to have a different words in it. So, you'll end up with 3 sentences total.
Example:
Orig sentence: "If you plan to rent a car while in the United States, there are certain rules and guidelines you must follow. "
2nd sentence: "In the United States, there are specific rules you must follow if you are planning to rent a car."
3rd sentence: "When renting a car in the US, you must be careful to follow the specific rules and guidelines.
All three sentences say the same thing, but in a different way. This becomes a little difficult when you are dealing with keywords: Whatever sentence has the keyword in it, must have that same keyword phrase in the following 2 iterations.
I know this is confusing, and if you have any questions, please let me know and I'll do what I can to help you.
I've got many articles that will need to be written in the following months, and if I find someone great, I'll be sure to work with you again!
Thank you!
Hope this helps!
Fantastic. Thank you very much grnidone.
Good stuff! Voice info is great, don't know what I haven't thought about that.
>Voice info is great, don't know what I haven't thought about that.
Most people don't, unless they've had to write for someone else.
I have not bought that many articles, but my results have mostly been very good. I've also found that in addition to voice and audience, it helps to stipulate the format. If the writer is a bit savvy about the web, saying things like
"Articles should be broken into 2-4 sections with subheadings. One section will consist of 3-5 bullet points"
Has gotten me articles that come closer to the finished product. I've gotten some excellent, but somewhat pricey authors off Elance, and some very good articles from.... I think it's called SEO Article Pros??? I can look it up if anyone cares.
If you buy in bulk, they'll be down around the 2 cent/word range I think
Check: http://seoarticlewritingpros.com/order/
This is brilliant, thank you grnidone. Great stuff.
Very well done! It almost made want to go out and hire some writers. 8)
That's good stuff Heather. thanks!
Nice one Heather. I order lots of content and it's easy to be lazy and go down the route of not specifying exactly what you want. Some great tips and info there.
Thanks for this Heather. I'm one of those who have a hard time getting off my arse with the hiring writers thing and this helps a ton.
When you get the articles spun, do you pay less for the spun copies, or just the same rate? How does that generally work for you?
re: Spun content
It's worth my time just to pay the same rate. I'd rather over pay a content writer and get good content. Until you've written content for someone else, you don't realize how difficult it is just to write about something you're not passionate about. It takes time.
It's very much like when you go to a restaurant, you can always tell who used to be a waiter/ waitress because they always tip more. Maybe that's why I just go ahead and pay the same for spun.
> pay the same rate
I expected you to say this, and it makes sense to me. It's probably just has hard to spin it well as it is to write it in the first place. (key word "well")
QuoteIt's probably just has hard to spin it well as it is to write it in the first place
I couldn't disagree more.
It is FAR harder to spin than it is to write - nah, worse than that, it is MASSIVELY harder.
I have found plenty of good writers who can't spin for toffee - it requires a greater vocabulary and a better grasp of English usage and the vernacular.
Lots of people can think of one way to say something eloquently, but few can think of three different ways to say the same thing, and then to go in to each sentence and spin individual words but still leave the sentence reading well.
I have one half decent spinner working for me at the moment - and I have tried and 'sacked off' loads.
I went back and gave TB another shot after reading Heather's posts in the other thread. Been happy using the Open Order option for level 4. My Direct Orders from my original authors I liked were taking too long. Picked up some more good writers. I would say 20% of the work I get done I ask for a revision for some reason (parts are too vague, seems like a surface rewrite of source material etc.). I then try to address the problems in my templates moving forward (i.e. add a line that says "be as specific as possible about xxxx")
I agree with Heather having a template is the way to go and just modify as you move along. I have since been using the bulk order option and that has worked well and saved lots of time.
Excellent post Heather and I also appreciate the tips about "Voice". I also like the incentive built in that "if you do a good job I have more work for you" etc.
Other things I like to include:
1 - Please include the following in this order and label each section with a heading. (I give instructions on what each section of the article should be about)
2 - Use subheadings and bullets wherever possible for easy online scanning/reading
3 - Your writing should be professional, clear, and streamlined (avoiding unnecessary words). (puts writers on alert that I am looking out for fluff and filler crap)
The other stuff in my template is project specific.
>Be as specific as possible
I can't agree more, excellent tip. I find myself being more and more specific over time in my order templates.
Quote from: 4Eyes on December 09, 2010, 08:48:15 PM
QuoteIt's probably just has hard to spin it well as it is to write it in the first place
I couldn't disagree more.
It is FAR harder to spin than it is to write - nah, worse than that, it is MASSIVELY harder.
I'd buy that. That's actually the direction that I was going with that comment, having talked myself out of the original premise that spun content may be cheaper. there was a subliminal "if not harder" in there for me.
sorry jangro - I knew that - wasn't having a pop at you - was and attempt at humour
Based on what Heather and James put this is what I've gone for as my 500-word template at Textbroker if it's any help to anyone:
"Hi.
My requirements are:
- the article should give an overview of [insert post topic].
- you are writing for an audience of [insert audience].
- you should write in an informative but chatty manner in the 3rd person. Above all the prose should be good English.
- please use subheadings and bullets wherever possible for easy online scanning/reading.
- please check for spelling mistakes because I will.
- please use the keyword [insert keyword] as the first word(s) in the article.
- please try and spread out the keyword so that it occurs in different paragraphs. In total it should appear a minimum of 5 times and a maximum of 7 times in the article.
If you have any questions, let me know.
I've got dozens of articles that need to be written in the following weeks, so if you do a good job, you'll be looking at repeat work.
Cheers,
Ed"
>Above all the prose should be good English.
*shudders* "good English" is... not 'good English.'
May I suggest:
Above all, the prose should be in American English (or British English or whatever) and written well.
http://grammar.about.com/od/grammarfaq/a/GoodEngKrapp.htm
:P
Fine fine fine. I stand corrected. But for some reason...the phrase 'good English' in the sentence sounds...wrong.
I stand by the part about specifying the dialect.
Its better than "well English". ;D