I think within the next year to 18 months I would be able to take on a writer for articles/blogging/twitter postings/product reviews and website copy. I have battled with so many cheap mediocre copywriters, and I write a lot of copy myself. I think what annoys me the most is that I can churn out copy at about 1000-1500 words an hour, so I'm not prepared to pay mega bucks. How much copy do you think a good, reliable, intelligent UK-based writer can produce working from home in a 30 hour week, and what sort of hourly rate would I be looking at paying? The reason why they would have to be UK based is that I would want to be able to have meetings with them once every couple of months so they understand the business needs etc...
Then don't you think you should put an ad in your local paper, and looking at other local spots? You can also try the colleges in your area. I'm sure there are many students who may be a good fit.
Thanks for the advice, this is undoubtedly where I will advertise, but how much copy do you think a writer can write in 30 hours, and for the UK what sort of pay would a writer want (I'm guessing about £12/$18 an hour?)
I wouldn't be looking at how much a person can cook up in an hour, but rather something like how good or how effective his/her copy is. Copywriting isn't a skill that comes easily to many- I'd consider you to have got a bargain if you landed a good copywriter at £12/hour. Having said that, I'm not sure whether copywriters would prefer to work on a per hour basis. Most freelancers would quote their rate per project, because copy isn't something you can spit out like a factory machine.
Did you also do a search for them? http://www.google.com/#hl=en&sugexp...=1&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.&fp=ff3e2739446bc197 Pick a few out of that lineup, and give them a call. Then again, are you even sure you need a copywriter? A good article writer and/or book author may be an option. A copywriter is a salesperson. They can sell ice to an Eskimo, but very few of them can write good, storytelling articles on a regular basis. An article writer, an author can do this. They are a different breed of a writer. Make sense? If your content is interesting, helpful, gets them to smile now and then, you've got them. In most cases, you won't even have to sell them at that point. Just show them. All you need is a link that reads something like: "check this out," and that's it. But, if you are looking for a REAL copywriter, very few of us charge per hour. We charge a flat fee per project. And, yes, you can find a copywriter who can also writes good articles. I can do that. I love to write, tell a story... ...but we are few and far between. Very few copywriters can sell like crazy and also be creative and imaginative enough to write good articles on a regular basis. So good luck on your search. You can't really go by how much we can write, in say, 30 hours. It is all about coming up with ideas within those words in that copy that grabs the audience's attention, and then getting them to read the whole damn thing. It is the, IDEAS, that makes good copy. It can take a couple of hours to write a good piece, or it can take a couple of days. You say you can do 1000 to 1500 words in an hour? Any Tom, Dick and Harry can do that, but how many readers will come back, time after time after time? A good writer can keep the audience coming back for more, and it takes ideas within those words to do that, and many times it takes hours to come up with ideas. So, it isn't just about writing, it's about coming up with ideas. Quite often we spend more time away from our computer coming up with ideas, than actual writing. That's why magazines pay up to and well over $1 a word. JohnChow.com, a once very popular blog with well over 300,000 monthly readers is now down to well under 100,000, simply because it got boring, it turned to useless fluff. Had Chow hired a writer, or a couple of them, I would be willing to bet that his blog would have stayed at and may have went well over 300,000 monthly readers, all without doing any advertising. When you hire a good writer, consider it as an investment, because you can use that info, time after time after time after time... If you can't find what you are looking for, send me an e-mail. I'm leaning more towards being a syndicated writer, which means I can charge a flat $20 fee for a 750-word piece, when it would normally be up to and over $100. That's another thing...look for syndicated writers. They charge a hell of a lot less. Regardless, good luck to ya.
You sir, are a man of great taste and wisdom. Here's a plug for the boys and our fallen brethren...YNWA [video=youtube;tTDiyX3fEQs]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tTDiyX3fEQs[/video]
I can't decide whether you're looking for a copywriter or a content writer. The guy a few posts above me is right though. If you hire a copywriter, results matter more than hourly word output.
perhaps you need to look at a "Per job" rate rather than a per hour rate. Then also - perhaps a uni student or highschool student looking for some extra hours and training and guidance. I'm in australia and there is NO WAY you'd get a decent copywriter for those rates here. They all charge per job and know that results speak louder than volume. Perhaps a reassessment of your pricing structure (upwards) would help you to resolve this issue too.