What kind of price should I expect to have high quality articles written?

Hi! I just wanted to stop by and ask a question concerning having articles written. It seems that a very big issue article writers face out there is being paid a reasonable sum per article. I'm currently working on a website, and in the next few days, I would like to have 3 excellent articles/blogs written for the products I'll be promoting.

So I guess my question is... what steps can I take to make sure I obtain high quality, reputable article writers?


Thanks for your time

 

It's very simple. The writer sends you one article. You like it. You pay for it. Then the writer sends you another article. Simple and fair deal.

 

Nate, it essentially boils down to how much you're willing to spend. This is as cliched as it gets, but, you get what you pay for - or thereabouts.

First thing you must remember is, most of the writers that you see in the market, are freelancers, in every sense of the word. Hiring them is a hit and miss proposition. If you're lucky, or your screening/interview method is good, you will get a decent piece of work, for a very decent price. But if you're really looking for a professional writer, one whose work that you do not need to proofread, inspect with a plagiarism software and excites the googlebots and human readers alike, be prepared shell out some good money.

That said, as a general rule of thumb, articles that costs in the single digits are almost always rewrites or spun using a software. There is no way, absolutely no way, for a normal human being to produce an original piece of work in a couple of hours. A real writer knows this, and a buyer should too. Excessive demands with miniscule rewards will always end in tears.

So, how much should you spend, you ask?
Only you can answer the question, Nate.

 

Wow. I didn't consider the other side, I guess. This is a great answer, and thanks for the great advice. I think when I get ready to have these articles written, I'm going to look for you.

 

I'd have to disagree with Thales when she says there is no way for a "normal human being" to produce an original piece of work in a couple of hours. I think it can easily be done if you have great researching skills.

 

Researching is not a matter of picking a few sites randomly and using bits and pieces from the site to be reconstructed into another article, I assure you.

Research implies scouring the available content, either online or offline (in text, audio or even video format, and at times, phone calls), analyzing/rejecting/accepting the assumptions, double cross-referencing to confirm the facts - and then, you can start drafting your outline, writing the actual article and finally, fine tuning it.

I can do a maximum of two articles a day on subjects that are familiar. Otherwise, it could take a whole day. I wrote an article on cloud computing two years ago. It took me three days to gather the data, verify it and then dumb it down to the level of the intended audience, the laymen.

If you could do all of this in two hours, then I suggest you approach an agency to represent you and you will be an instant legend in the world of copywriting/content providers.

Oh, and it's a he btw.

 

Oh come on now. Really. And you get how much for this painstakingly researched work? The folks I write for are extremely happy with my internet-only researched articles. If I were to only write two articles a day on 'subjects that are familiar' I'd be on the street.

 

There have been so many threads here comparing how fast people can churn out articles. They read like the game show "Name that Tune" where each so-called-writer claims a greater output than the previous ones. 'Oh, I can complete a 500 word article in xx minutes.' Where it got really ridiculous is when folks started claiming proficiencies that left barely enough time to type the words much less research the topic. IMHO, those threads function as a great reference point on DP for who NOT to hire.

Sure, you can knock out a piece of copy in an hour or two if you simply rely on tertiary sources like Wikipedia, don't care about the competition, don't confer with your client as to their intended audience or USP, don't take the time to do at least some keyword analysis and don't work on coming up with a unique approach that matches the person/company you are writing for. Most copywriters I know and respect often require days of conversations with the client, extensive research and just thinking time before the first words hit the paper.

You could even knock out an essay in an hour or two, particularly if you are familiar with the topic. But, again, are you using yourself, Wikipedia and EZine Articles as primary sources? Have you even bothered to find any trade journals and see what's important within that industry? Are you taking the time to see if there's an extra keyword or two that your client might have missed (assuming the client provided a list for you to target)? Are you taking the time to craft a unique hook that makes your piece more worthy of reading or could make it function as link bait? Or are you simply rewording your own material or material where someone else did the original research?

This is a big part why the whole "must pass Copyscape" requirement becomes a farce. Any half-way decent writer can take a Wikipedia article and quickly write something that would fool Copyscape. But, it would still be just a copy. Original words? Sure. Original research? Hardly. Why should anyone visit your client's site when they can get the same exact information on Wikipedia? And, why should anyone pay you more than a pittance if that's all you are offering?

So going back to the original question of price expectations for writing, much of pricing depends on how much work goes into each piece. If your only concern is passing Copyscape then you could probably find someone to write for you for less than $20, maybe even less than $10 a piece. If you want a bit higher quality that might include a bit more effort on the writer's part, then at least double those figures. But, if you are looking for original ideas, true sales copy and/or something to make your blog stand out, be prepared to spend in the neighborhood of $75 to hundreds of dollars depending upon length, complexity of subject matter and the purpose of each piece. If you've got the budget try for the top two tiers. If you don't perhaps use more than one writer and try to use more well-researched pieces as link bait and the cheaper articles as supporting filler.

A good way to evaluate the better writers is to look over their essay pieces for previous clients. Are they not much more than high-school essays? Do they incorporate particular keywords to the point where the piece screams, "Hey, Google, look over here! This widget article is about widgets. I've got so much darn widget information about widgets that you just have to place my widgets article at the top of the SERPs for widgets cause I've used the word widgets so many times that it's obvious to your computer that widgets is what this here widget article is about." With even simply essays are there at least a few invitations to read other articles on the site, buy a product or sign up for a newsletter?

I guess if your clients are looking for content to feed Google and are willing to accept a reworded version of what everyone else has, that's fine. But, if your clients are looking for something to help grow their business in a meaningful way, they're likely to be disappointed by a piece that took only 2 hours to write.

 

I think it depends on your definitions of "high quality" and "reputable".

 

The quality of writing depends more on who you hire than what price he is charging. Higher prices don't necessarily mean a better writer, but that is usually the case. If someone is charging a high price for his articles, he most probably has good confidence in himself and his ability to deliver. You can also find good writers who settle for less than what they probably deserve (For one reason or another).

 

If you are looking for a technically proficient article, then you will get one just like any of the millions of articles which millions of people will not read beyond the first ten words. If you are looking for something that is a one of a kind, then I have suggestion. Troll the forums. Forum posts are a good gauge of how a person thinks and writes. When you have found someone who has something meaningful to say and says it in an engaging manner, contact him to see if he will write for you. The price? Anything that you can afford and the writer is happy to accept. Can be anything from one to four digits.

Hope this is useful.

 

I just wanna make it short and simple. If you want a high quality article which will drive high amount of traffic you need to spend high for sure and you will definitely get the best contents for your site. If you're looking for contents at the cheap rate the content will be merely rewritten only and it can never be high quality and when it comes to driving traffic don't expect too much....

 

This is getting awkward. Sigh.
All I will say is, I'd lose my hard earned reputation, my client base and my publishers in a blink of an eye if I ever turn in work based on internet articles.

 

For 500 word original articles on most topics I usually charge between $7 and $15. $15 seems to be the going rate on the larger content broker sites. I would aim to pay no more than $15 for most articles.

 

I think that there is more to online research than Wikipedia and article directories. There are some reputable sites and plenty of online newspapers and research papers. You only need audience and USP particulars when you are writing sales copy. Most of the stuff that people on here require are informational articles on a particular subject or to promote a particular keyword I can usually research, write and proof a 4=500 word article of this nature quite quickly, but then I am also a Pitman trained typist.

 

I think you talk too much about research and forget one important aspect of the problem: experience. Some i*&^#s (sorry, I can't call them otherwise) consider that compiling a list of features and adding a few extra words to bring those features together is a software review, for example. So many people fall for this and I almost feel strange when asking $50 or so for a competent review that involves me working with that program, stressing it to find bugs if any, checking it from head to toe, taking screenshots of my own, writing about MY OWN experience with it. Now, no intention to advertise for my work here, but isn't $50 a real bargain for a review like this one(http://reviews.download3000.com/reviews/softcolor-photoeq-1-0/) or even this one(http://www.download3000.com/need-for-speed-world-review-61946.html)???

Oh, yeah, one more thing - @natethegreat7037: I sent you a PM a few days ago.

 

I normally tend to look the other way when I spot mistakes in sample works posted here, but since you see it fit to criticize, then let me return you the favour.

I read the first three paragraphs of the review for Need for Speed, and there were nine errors; syntax, word context, spelling and punctuation.

 

Would you be so kind to name them? I don't have a spellchecker checking my work, so I can only avoid typos and try to keep the rest in place as well as possible. I can't claim my work is perfect, but when I get to notice errors in various blogs of people who are native English speakers, it really makes me wonder where is this whole Internet content quality going...

P.S. I just remembered that the NFS World review was checked by a friend of mine who's teaching English (had a one year contract in the UK to teach there, too, now he's workin here as a teacher) and he didn't find anything bad - one of his "secret pleasures" is to read my work from time to time and grab my ear if something's wrong. This makes the amount of errors you found even more troublesome and intriguing.

 

I'll PM them to you now

 

In reply to the original question it's a very subjective thing. There are some not-so-good copywriters who charge a lot for their work and some great ones who should be charging more.

In my opinion you should look at a copywriter's portfolio and if you like what you see, ring them up to discuss what you need done. This way you'll get an idea of how professional they are and how much they really want to work for you.