When you put in an order for an article, what do you expect? I would like for you to tell me the whole process, from first PM to payment. You might include: Delivery dates - Do you set these? Do they matter? What if they are late, how do you continue? Quality - Do you pay more for quality? What if someone doesn't meet your standards, how do you continue? Word counts - What do you usually go for? or do you just want whatever makes a 'good article'? Dependability - Would you hire a company of writers to do work for you? Why or why not? If you have, what was your experience? Would you do it again? Payment - Do you pay when your verify the articles are to your quality, or do you send half now and half later? If you send half, and are not satisfied, what do you expect? Content - What do you usually need done? Blogs, articles, essays, etc? Sorry for all of the questions, but I am attempting to get all the variables down for a writing company I am getting together. If you could help, I would be much obliged.
Let me give you a different perspective.. from a writer. A) When it comes to payments, the provider generally sets the terms, unless it's really cheap or you're desperate for work. If you're desperate though, you should rethink the business plan (I know you're not at that point if you're just starting up). You need to set your own standards, refund policies, etc., and then customers either accept it or they don't. If you're talking about a larger group of writers in your company especially, you can't be constantly working out different terms with different clients. B) There are a lot of types of writing needed online. Be prepared to offer several, instead of simply looking for what's most popular in the moment... it can always change. Also, you need to decide where you want your company to stand ethically. Do you really want to be the type that writes academic essays that students will buy and claim as their own (unethical)? Or do you want to build a reputation as an expert writer or company within a certain niche or industry, so clients come to you and refer your work because they respect you? There's a big difference in the kind of work you'll land over time, the amount you can make, and the kinds of referrals you'll get. C) Whether a client cares about quality or not, always offer it, and always charge what you think is appropriate for it. You won't get every client, but you'll get the ones who understand the value, and more importantly, you won't risk damaging your company's reputation by being viewed as a poor quality provider.
Thanks for the insight. I would have constant rates, and am looking to offer just about all forms of writing. Drawing up a business plan soon. Thanks again.
I'm on both ends, so here's my own take (as a buyer). Delivery Dates: I have an idea when I need the content. I talk to the creator and hammer out the details. Quality: I'll just say that quality is subjective and leave it at that. Word counts: Just speaking in general. The content dictates the count. It helps if you know what you need. For instance, if you need to fill a 500-word space, don't ask for or try to write an article about WWII, because it will be terrible. The topic is far too big. You need to drill down. Dependability/Hiring Companies: I'd never hire a plain vanilla company to do serious writing work. Why? Writing (whether it be copywriting, press releases, articles, etc) is an art form. Companies in the middle to upper segment of the business world know this and that's why they don't use plain brown wrapper companies to fill their needs. They use specific people. Many in the lower segment of business contract out to any general company, because they've yet to learn. Payment: This varies wildly in the industry. Some creative workers want payment up front, some 50% and the few living on the edge take payment after the work is done. Yep. If you're visible, you'll get lots of offers for less than your work is worth. If you take one of these offers, you still need to provide the content as you would if your top rate was being paid. Personally, I think the best policy is to just thank the person/company for their offer and move on. And that's a whole discussion in itself.