It's getting worse

Thanks for pointing at such mistake... looks like my mind was elsewhere

 

The bottom line is guys, the quality of writing has dropped dramatically over the last 12-18 months. I would love nothing more than to find a quality writer to help with my content and that of my clients. However, all of my attempts to find a suitable writer if resulted in content my daughter could write better.

Sorry all - but until the content spinners and non-native writers move on - you're all going to get tarred with the same brush!

 

A while back I hired about 10 different writers from the content creation section I was selective and only hired ones that could compose a PM that was readable (many can't).
1/2 of the articles got thrown away (yes I paid for them because I ordered them except for the ones that didn't pass copyscape or were spun)The other half needed serious editing, my editor said I would have been easier to start from scratch.

One person turned out to be a good writer and I still use them.

One out of ten after going through a pile of garbage articles, people trying to sell me stolen articles, spun articles, months later emailing me and trying to say I made a mistake and still owed them money. A lot of scamming garbage on top of very poor hack writers.

It was entertaining but Not again.. I will look elsewhere DP just has too many people looking for a quick scam.

I know that a lot of times you get what you pay for, this is true sometimes and some places. I can pay a little more hire local writers, with degrees. A lot of the people charging more on DP still suck and they are banned every other week for pulling scams.
Sorry for the good writers trying to actually get work out of this place, I am sure getting decent pay is probably worse then getting decent articles.

 

No hard feelings please. This reply is not directly directed at you, rather, it is an answer to your post. I too have observed that the rates paid by content providers have drastically dropped over the past two years or so. I agree that you might have been fleeced by a couple of writers, even after paying the average rates of the industry, but that does not imply that all of them are the same.

Regarding the question of non-native writers, I presume that the website contents of leading IT giants were written by professional natives? Even then they have quite a sprinkling of grammatical errors in them. I have found some of my best clients through this forum and they are quite satisfied with the work of this non-native writer.

Please forgive me, if my words were harsh.

 

You just echoed my sentiments. Read my previous post and you will understand what I mean.

 

Chocolate Lime, finding good writers is not hard at all. They are all around you. Go to sites like Yahoo, MSN, About...any site that has articles on the subject you want, be it Askmen, Women, or Mens Health, there are a line of writers there who are looking for sidework. Send them an e-mail.

If you need a totally different read that is edgy, and both offbeat and upbeat, send me an e-mail. If my rates are too high, maybe I can point you to someone who may be cheaper.

You also have sites like Guru, Elance CraigsList....

 

you get what you pay for, writers get to eat too you know.

 

Chocolate Lime, I noticed a grammar error right off the bat on your site.

Your first sentence is:

Put "is" in place of "are."

Sorry, just thought you should know.

Good luck in your search.

 

Take it for what it's worth, but my advice to anyone looking to hire a writer is to only hire writers with an actual website or blog. Having a website doesn't guarantee that you will get a pro; it shows the writer is serious about their business and it provides some writing samples to review.

To those complaining about the lack of professional writers here on DP...if you are looking in the BST section, you are looking in the wrong place.

 

I rarely watch videos, but that one really made me laugh. It really sums up the attitude some (not all) potential clients have. Some people really know how much something is worth, and they still want to try to convince someone that they are doing someone a favor when they offer less than a service or product is worth.

 

I have hire writers from all over craigslist, various outsourcing sites, google etc. The reason I never hire writers from the DP copywriting section is there seems to a popular thing with advertising prices here in that people don't. They just go on about how it is worth more to pay more..
Seriously? We all learn that at an early age when our .99 cent toys break. We know that.

Most professional writer sites I go to they list their degrees, expertise, basic price structures and previous work. Then you know what they are experts at, how much it will cost to hire them and you can see what kind of articles they have written.
To get a simple price I don't want to play games with someone and have them "teach" me that paying more money is good.

If I am paying top dollar for content I am going to hire an expert if I want an article on F16 fighter jets I will hire a writer that has flown them for years or a article about divorce law in the U.S. I will hire an experienced U.S. divorce lawyer who is also a writer.
On DP most a lot of writers are horrible hacks with 3rd grade English skills and no reputation and history. I think a lot of writers on here compare themselves to such low standards and then get a big head about their writing skills. When someone has no expertise listed or simple average skills that your common average Joe has then they start raving about how if you pay more money you get better articles? I am not going to waste my time contacting them to get a highball bid for and average article.

Maybe that kind of advertising gets some people jobs but it turns me away immediately.

Just an outside perspective on why I personally don't ever buy articles from this section. The BST section is poor and seedy but it is a market where prices are real and advertised.

 

Well, as the other members are saying, you get what you pay for. If you want quality articles, prepare to offer more.

 

averyz, unfortunately price alone does not guarantee anything when it comes to web services. I can't speak for anyone else, but I don't give out prices until I know more about the project. Factors include but are not limited to...

• Who does the SEO research?
• Who does the competitor research? (I always do some but some clients have a great understanding of who they are competing against which can save a lot of time on my part.)
• How much original research is required?
• How much information I can get from my client vs how much I have to find on my own?
• How competitive their market is...i.e. to come up with a unique approach for a web design company is in some ways much more difficult than coming up with a unique approach for someone selling something that doesn't have literally millions of other people offering a similar product or service. Conversely, finding the right keywords becomes a challenge when the marketplace is small.
• Are they using one site to sell two distinctly different products or services that require different approaches? (Think of a Realtor who is both a buyer's and a seller's agent.)

While it might be easier for a buyer if they know a set price up front, from this side of the table I think it's a mistake to hire a writer, for a site you hope to make money from, who treats every writing project the same.

You are certainly correct when you say that many here in the Copywriting section are puffed up about their rates vs the folks in the BST area. But, the reality is that many people offering writing services in the BST trade area are selling stolen, badly written and poorly researched content. One earlier poster to this thread reported a 10% success rate with writers from the BST area. I would be willing to bet had they used Google and searched for a writer they would have seen a far different result.

I have no doubt if you posted a request on the BST forums for articles about flying F16's you would receive plenty of replies from folks who have never even seen one, much less piloted one. The real writers on DP, would either recommend places for you to look to find someone with that expertise or recommend someone they know who does. The penny a word peddlers wouldn't do that.

 

I didn't mean puffed up about price I meant puffed up about skills. It is pretty easy to get puffed up about your skills when you compare your self to people of very low skills.
I have used google (and other methods) yes the world of professional writers is much different when you get away from DP So is the world of web design and graphics. DP is like a big flea market to buy cheap goods and services most of the goods and services are stolen, scraped or spun. I agree the BST section is not the place to get good content (to say the least).

I was just giving you guys some outside perspective on why I don't inquire about content when it is advertised with no price and a lot of times with no website, or references just "pay more money".

 

I've learned a great deal from my own clients and comments made by folks here on DP about perceptions of writers and the services they offer. Some of that information has proved invaluable to marketing my own services and learning more about my own USP. I appreciate your perspective and hope you did not feel I was attacking your earlier post.

And yes, there are many writers who have joined these conversations about pricing who have a highly overinflated opinion of their skills. One "writer" who hasn't been around in a while talked about how much time he spent researching articles for his clients and then admitted his primary sources were Wikipedia and EZine Articles - not my idea of real research.

The thing with DP and the whole flea market mentality is that every now and again there are offerings of great value to be found at discounted rates. I used the Contests forum to get a logo for a client. He absolutely loved being able to see ideas from different artists and see how the feedback to one allowed everyone to pull closer to what he wanted. For him, it wasn't the price as much as the collaborative nature of the process. He ended up with a logo he absolutely loves from a very talented artist. I wouldn't hesitate to go that route for another client.

 

I didn't feel attacked at all I just felt like it was conversation/discussion I do web design and graphics and have to deal with advertising and pricing also so I like to study customer buying and pricing habits and other professional advertising methods.
I struggle with trying to advertise prices because I find clients want a price or they won't waste their time calling but how to create a price when all projects are different? Then they want a set price but always want to add more work into the price. Never ending struggle, but I am always learning and improving my system and it gets better.

I am not a writer but the copywriting section is one of the few places on DP were there is some real discussion from time to time instead of a lot of nickel dime scam talk.

I don't buy much on DP but I have learned a lot watching and looking at stuff on DP. It is a fast paced market you can see thing come and go in a matter of months people pile into the lasted fade or scam then it is played out then onto the next. Always trying to bet the lasted game and then the players that try to play the people trying to bet the latest game.

I do know where the writers are coming from on this board because I watch things I do like logos go for nothing ($5 or a hope to get $20 in a contest) for me living in the U.S. I could not even buy lunch with that much less pay rent. But it is the same deal as text content a lot of it is stolen or scraped some people buy logos then get a lawsuit next year because the "artist" just traced some clip art that belonged to someone else. Just like cheap writers spin content cheap graphics people trace clip art and play contests all day. You can get lucky and find good stuff for cheap but it is a gamble. Just life and times in the BST markets of DP. lol

 

I'm lost... my mind is blurred... will someone please help me?

 

Uhm, not me. Doesn't hurt me a bit to turn them down.

 

Yup! And it gets worse everyday.
I actually had one person telling me to write for him because he gets...
"Quality Articles" from writers who are very happy when he pays them...

$1 for 500 words!

LOL!

Unfortunately, what I had to say to him...
Can't be said here!!!

 

Quality post. Chocolate Lime ARE a family based entity - hence the use of 'are'. Had we been a singular entity - then Chocolate Lime 'is' would grammatically be correct.

I was just about to respond to your offer of work as well...

Keep up the good work!