Best DP Article Writers?

Hey, everyone hanging around in this intriguing thread,

I am somewhat confused. I've read all the comments so far and I began to wonder - what makes really a writer the BEST DP writer? Or at least one of the best? What differentiates all these good and not-so-good writers?

Your opinion?

 

I don't really know that anyone can determine the "best" DP writer at all actually. There are too many types. Webmasters would be more likely to recommend people they've worked with, and that would often include the cheaper content writers. At the same time we have professional copywriters who charge thousands per project, so they won't likely have the same number of clients, and therefore potential votes, even though they may be much better writers overall. We have business writers, content writers, news writers, copywriters, creative writers, ebook writers, etc. You really can't lump them into one group and ask who's best, especially when the primary crowd here hiring them doesn't often understand the difference to begin with. So there's really no "best," but rather a thread of referrals, which is great to see writers doing networking-wise.

 

Good point.

Plus, those clients probably don't visit DP.

 

Jason

Hate to be all stalky but would you please check your PMs?

 

lol Very true. This isn't usually where the big money projects are. It's two different writing worlds, with just enough crossover to make it interesting.

 

I personally think the title of the thread is very misleading. The best DP writer like you said may be someone who is charging $200/hour for his/her time.

What you perhaps should have titled the thread is "Best value for money DP writer". Does someone churning out articles at $0.005/word give you better value for money than someone charging $0.06/word? Will you get a better ROI buying 50 poor quality articles than 5 high quality articles?

This depends entirely on what your business is. There are so many factors to throw into the mixing bowl such as reliability, consistancy, quality, price, communication, ability to understand your clients needs, flexibility, areas of expertise, research skills, turnaround times and ease in learning new subjects.

Even the category "quality" has many derivatives such as grammar, spelling, choice of language, variation of language etc.

If you're looking for the best DP writer I would recommend analysing which of the aspects I've listed above are most important to you before making your choice. There are writers at DP which would come top for 1 category but not for another.

Perhaps it's just the scientist in me that wants to break it down into all the categories which calculates who is the "Best Writer"

 

An excellent point, Weirfire.

 

Thanks Rebecca - Like I said to you in another message, threads like this are hopeless lol.

 

I have used several writers from DP, some were great others were crap. So, I decided to find out who was the best. Not only will the person get the prize but, I will hire them going forward for future writing contracts.

Check out the competition in my signature box.

 

The problem I'm seeing with your contest is that the "popularity" is entirely focused on Digg users. Cancelling the contest and prize if no one gets at least 250 Diggs or whatever it is isn't terribly realistic for anyone submitting in the hopes of actually winning.

 

I see your point, I really do. However, $1,000 is a lot of money and the contest is for the most popular article (the entire point is to write a popular article). What better way to determine the best writer?

 

I understand your side too, but relying on Digg is really the issue. You see... it has very little to do with the actual article and more in the timing of the Digg addition, your status with Digg to begin with, etc. as to whether or not you're going to get 250 diggs. On top of it, you're asking for things like tutorials, how-to guides, and essays as opposed to anything "newsy," which also makes it a bit less likely to rise up with the Digg crowd. It's a nice tactic for you to get some articles, with the possibility of not having to pay, or only pay if you get a certain amount of exposure. But from a writer's perspective, you have to admit that it has the potential of turning into a really raw deal, especially since you ask for exclusive rights even if you cancel the contest. If you end up not spending the money, or do something like it again in the future, it might be a good idea to look for a writer who specializes in linkbait, and who guarantees certain results, and this way you'll get exactly what you want out of the writing, without much risk of it being posted with no results for you.

 

Knowing a little about how Digg popularity works, what floats to the top of the attention for Digg users often has little to do with quality and everything to do with what's cool at that precise moment. A link to the trailer for the new Harry Potter gets 250 Diggs while articles sink to the bottom.

Plus, the contest holder gets exclusive rights to my article even if the contest is cancelled? No way. That sounds like too much work for too little reward if you ask me.

 

I would have to agree with Jen. From my experience the stuff that gets "dug" on a regular basis are things that make big news ie: politics, movies, what brittney is currently doing and anything else that is silly or catchy. The mainstream media has essentially focused the attention of viewers and indeed internet users to current events. If you have a look at the indexes of google searches for the past few years, the most searched terms follow the current stories on entertainment tonight fairly well. Digg is a hard thing to measure true "worth" against as the voting process is unpredictable at best. People dig stories if their friends do etc. The kind of content that you are requesting is fairly specific and will not be of huge interest to many people. Sure you can get other writers to digg stuff, but again that's not really a mark of popularity so much as it is directed traffic.

^^^my 2cents
Christian
Creative Copywriting

 

Your question will still be unanswered. All you'll accomplish is figuring out who got the most votes from those that participated.

The best course of action is to hire a writer for your needs. If they accomplish everything to your satisfaction, there you go. If not, try another.

Another issue is the why. It's an all or nothing contest.

I think you have good intentions, but all that will happen is $1,000 will be wasted.

 

Fair enough, thank you for the honest feedback. I've modified the competition based off your comments. Please take another look and share your thoughts.

I've eliminated the "even if cancelled" section and focused the competition.

 

Me, because my tearsheet list is scary: national newspapers, international magazines, television companies, MNCs, you name it.

 

Me what?

 

We've got at least a few others here with very similar credentials.

 

Can we base it on money you've made as a result of your work? We can exclude all fees collected for writing work too.

Or we could just base it on how many nights you couldn't get to sleep, because you downed too much caffeine.

Oh the horror.