So I started a thread a few days ago in the Content Creation forum. I had thought about contacting a few people who post in this forum who I knew would do a great job, but I also expected many of them to be on the expensive side (and rightly so, I am not against people charging for quality work). For the project I had in mind, I need a lot of content at at reasonable price - I'm not an experienced webmaster and my project might end up not making a penny, so I had to bear the risk in mind. I expected to get lots of unsuitable applications and perhaps after quite a while find one or two 'gems' amongst the rough. I was pleasantly surprised to find many more than I expected - I now have the tough task of choosing between 5 or 6 quality writers, from whom I believe I will get great value for money. Granted, even though I feel I explained my requirements very clearly (ie I wanted high quality English), I did get a few responses like "i m interesred" (er, no). At one extreme is a good writer who would do a decent job, and is willing to work for ~1c per word. I'd normally expect the quality of work at that price to be low, but in this case it's pretty good. Not a travel expert or a copywriting expert, but someone clearly looking to earn a few extra bucks to get along. At the other end, I have several experienced travel writers who can write in conversational, engaging English, looking for the 3-5c per word range. Now I know that some of you will think that even this is cheap and perhaps too cheap? But that's a level I am comfortable with for this particular project and I don't feel I would be getting 'slave labour' at that price. I have seen a few posts saying that DP isn't the place to find work, but if your prices are in this range then it might be worth looking. Though I don't know whether my thread and requirements are unusual - perhaps 99% of the requests are looking for the sub-1c range. Re-reading the above, I'm not sure whether my ramble has a point or is worth reading (apologies if you feel it isn't!), but I've written it now and so will post.
At the moment I only advertise my service in DP and it tends to keep me ticking over nicely. It's hard for me to take the time away from writing (paid) and work on a website offering my service (I'm trying though ) My 4 cents a word rate may not be seen as cheap to some people but the people that have hired me to do various projects often come back and recommend me to others. So this shows that the people who know how much difference it makes will glady pay for quality. Many new people will grab the 1 cent a word or less rates thinking they are getting value for money. They will later learn that you often get what you pay for and it does pay to have the higher quality content on your website. Especially if you plan on targetting humans and not just the search engine robots. Saying this I don't mean that anyone who charges a lower rate isn't worth it, you can often find the right person who is just starting out so needs to build a reputation up or can afford to charge less depending on where they live. With me living in the UK I need to get a decent rate to make my time worthwhile.
I've found DP to be a good place to advertise services at. Alot of times it seems everyone if after cheap, so when I want to make more usually I tend to list at Sitepoint (not always true). I've also found Craigslist to be good too. I was surprized when I found a lot of good jobs under 'Gigs' in my area. I still prefer DP over Sitepoint for most things, but at times it's neccessary to go to another source.
I've heard such mixed reviews about advertising on DP. Some people I know love it and get a ton of work from advertising here. Others say that it isn't worth the time. I've been thinking of advertising on this site, so I guess I'll find out...
As with anything, it depends on your service and target market. I don't advertise my personal writing business here, because my target market doesn't even know what DP is nor would they use it. And while there may be a couple members of my target market in DP, it's not enough to warrant me spending any resources. However, I do advertise other products and services (advertising sales, Web site sales, etc), because some members in my target market do reside here.
Thanks for the insight, marketjunction. I do agree about it not being worth your time if your target market isn't here. I guess I've just heard a few people say that DP is overrun with those looking for content for pennies. That may be true, but I'm choosing to believe that there are those who want quality content and see the value in paying a fair price.