Where Can I Hire a GOOD Blog Writer on a Monthly Basis?
- Thread starter jetto
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Assuming he is talking about a relatively large contract (at least enough for part time work) pay of $0.03 per word is a massive overpay in this industry. "Oh but I am worth it", no you're probably worth $0.03 if it's on a short run of articles.
If it's for one site/niche you should be able to hire somebody and train them up/give them to material pretty easily and then you just need to pay them a competitive salary.
Let's assume 40k year, you Americans get fuck all holidays and benefits but we will be generous and say that that makes it 50k all inclusive. 365 * 8 = 2920 hours, that means they need to write less than 600 words an hr to be less expensive.
Most decent writers that don't need to do a ton of research (and they shouldn't if it's the same niche) can easily write 1,000 words/hr on a consistent basis. The best writers can do around 1,500-1,750 in my experience, that means you can get $153,300 of content per year at $0.03 word.
It should also be noted that a lot of people are willing to take a hit on their salaries as they are generally able to work flexible hours and from home (massive savings in terms of transportation needs, plus you can off set part of rent, ulities and computer on tax).
In terms of where to look, I'd say that local universities are a great place to start. Lots of english majors looking to get some semi relevant experience and some rent money. I'd avoid stay at home moms as they often seem to have a lot of excuses, but I've also had some amazing ones and if you find a good one they are more long term than the students.
TL;DR, no, don't pay $0.03 a word unless you're not doing volume. In which case you don't need a monthly writer, you just need a decent spec writer.
Pretty much everything he said, especially the part about college campuses and English majors, they are often just excited to be able to make money writing and won't charge you much at all for great work. Go put up some fliers at a university and ask for samples of their work. If you find a good writer then stick with them and offer a long-term position, you'll save money buying in volume.
I would also try posting in the marketplace on some writing forums instead of just browsing webmaster BST sections, that's where a lot of good content writers hang out and look for work. I got some amazing content for ~$.02/word from a writing forum that blows the $.02/word stuff on WF out of the water.
Another thing I'd like to point out is that research is actually a pretty big factor even if you get a specialized writer, you should take it into account when considering payment. 1000 words of standard informative web writing is not the same as a 1000 word in-depth feature article, it's like comparing EzineArticles fare to a high-authority niche blog article, there's a notable difference in quality because the latter was researched extensively and took a lot longer to put together. I'm an IT major but I still spend a lot of time researching tech-related articles when the client makes it worth my while, and it certainly shows in the end product.
For most folks on here the stepped up quality isn't necessary because you're running MFA's and that sort of thing, but big blogs have a lot to gain from the $.03/word+ folks.
This assumes 100% productivity during that 8 hours. Most people are not 100% productive and those that are charge a lot more per hour of actual production - like lawyers. This is why people will charge more per project or "piece" of work that is completed rather than hourly. To assume 1700 words per hour on multiple topics, say for multiple 500 word articles with different subjects, I mean, wow, I doubt many could pull that off.
I do not disagree that $0.03 is likely too much for what is needed in most cases, but I disagree strongly with your other assumptions.
It is so ironic that you mention the exact price you charge as the basis for high quality writing.
It doesn't assume 100% productivity at all, 100% productivity would be more like 3k words an hour. When you have something as easy to measure as words, it's easy to pay per word rather than per hour, that way you don't have to pay people who take shits six times a day on company time.
I also stated that my assumptions were based off only having one niche. I've got staff that do similar for me on a part time basis and it works out to around $1/100 words or a little more for top quality content.
The people who in the BST that have teams of writers that are charging $2/100 words are obviously operating at a reasonably profit level otherwise they wouldn't bother so I assume they haven't struggle with getting writers either.
Writing regular content isn't rocket surgery, most people can do it. If you're talking about sales copy that is a different kettle of fish.
I think it is a rare person that can sit down and write continuously for 8 hours per day, every day, pumping out even 1,000 words per hour, to earn $160/day $41,600/year. I think there are very few that can pull this off. If they know the niche then it would be a matter of the time it takes to constantly think of new topics, and if they did not it would be a matter of research.
If I am wrong, then so be it, I would be amazed to see that persons productivity.
There are those in BST that explain their background, education, work history, or even niche.
No offence, but this is not a debate. I have staff working at higher levels than that. In terms of finding new things to write about, once you are entrenched in a niche it's fairly easy to see where it's going, there's also a number of really easy ways you can find new stuff to talk about with a few search strings.
$41,600 per year is actually quite a decent salary, especially when you take into account the work from home aspect.
When I write (and I do all of the main money site writing for my sites) it'll generally take me 3-4 hours to research a niche and then I can pump out ~2,000 words an hr easily.