Choosing a freelance writer to write your articles and web
content can be one of the most painstaking and painful processes
that a webmaster can undertake. Webmasters understand the value
of creating good content for their sites and understand how
this content can increase their search engine rankings. Keyword
articles are a common example of how webmasters utilize article
content to increase their traffic and search engine rankings.
How Do You Choose A Writer?
Many webmasters are turning to the bidding war on sites such as
http://www.elance.com and http://www.freelance.com to find a
writer that will do their job quickly and inexpensively. This
can be more work than the webmaster could have ever imagined.
Some of the difficulties with these sites are that the webmaster
must manage the whole project, the quality of the work, rewrites,
deadlines, payment, etc. This creates a situation where the
webmaster could have probably wrote the articles themselves in
the same amount of time that it takes to manage the project, and
if they had just done it themselves, they would not have needed
to pay out any money. Fielding messages from the potential
writers about the project, signing up with the site, and
choosing the best writers from a bidding process can be quite
time consuming.
Problems with Bidding Sites
Some of the problems with the writers at these sites are that
most bidders claim to be "professional" writers. What does this
mean to the person who is making the claim? Does it mean that
they have been paid once for one article? Some claim to be very
well thought of by their writing clients. If this is truly the
case, then why are they still writing articles at $5.00 or
$10.00 a piece?
In my experience of dealing with writers, I have learned that
you generally get what you pay for. A webmaster can save money
by going to one of these bidding sites, but whom is the webmaster
getting as a writer? Many of the bidders on these sites do not
use English as their first language and this results in many
problems. Not knowing the difference between "there", "their"
and "they’re" is an example of a common problem when using cheap
overseas labor.
Understanding the Complexities of the Project Management Process
The mistake most webmasters make, when they list a project on
the bidding sites, is to underestimate the amount of time that
the process will require of them. Once you list your project at
the bidding website, you will be bombarded with people bidding
on your project. On the surface, this may seem like a good
thing, but it is only the beginning of your headaches.
Which of this multitude of bidders is best able to perform the
task you desire to have completed?
When employing unknown writers, many clients want to read samples
from the bidders to ensure the quality of the work that the
writer is able to provide. The best way to describe this process
is TIME-CONSUMING and sometimes scary. You would be shocked to
see what some people are trying to pass off as "professional"
writing!
Once writers are selected, sometimes you can find yourself
ensnared by an individual who submitted someone else’s work as
their samples. You will know you have been duped when you look
at a final product that does not present the same skill level
that the writer’s samples promised to you. And then when you
refuse to pay for shoddy work, the bidder proceeds to smear
your company’s name in any way he can see fit to do.
And, suppose you just don’t like the work or would like the
content to be edited or polished? Sometimes, this part of the
process can be like getting blood from a turnip. In the end,
you will often find yourself doing the editing and polishing
work yourself. This is the point where many people dig out the
aspirin bottles.
Alternative Solutions
There are companies that have been designed to help webmasters
create keyword optimized content, without all of the headaches
and frustrations of using the bidding sites to complete your
project.
These companies often employ their own writers who have already
proven their skills to the company editors and managers. These
proven writers are not writers who will work for a mere $5.00 or
$10.00 an article, because "they know the value of their work."
If you are seeking quality content that reads well and captures
the attention of your prospective clients, then you are going to
pay a bit more money for that kind of quality. As always, you
will get the kind of quality you have paid to receive.
By eliminating the bidding process and employing people who have
proven their skills as writers, these content creation companies
will permit you to receive a better quality informational
product. The content that they create for your website will
deliver better search results, higher traffic to your website,
and better visitor retention rates. All of these factors
contribute to your website’s ability to sell more products
and services.
At the end of the day, there are many reasons to employ a content
creation service to develop keyword optimized articles for your
website.
* You will save yourself time and frustration in getting your
content developed.
* You will not need to manage the project while trying to
maintain your normal work schedule.
* You will know that you can count on the content creation
company to deliver a good quality product.
* You will know that the finished informational product will
build and maintain the good image of your company.
* You will be able to trust that your finished and deployed
content will deliver tightly targeted visitors to your
website, with higher visitor retention rates.
* You will be dealing with a vendor who has proven his
commitment to your needs, since most content creation
service companies will guarantee their work.
* You will know that your service provider will be able to
complete the project within your schedule requirements.
Most of these providers can deliver your project on a quick
turn-around, pre-determined time schedule.
Many webmasters consider content creation services such as these
to be a real good value. When they calculate the time that they
will save by handing the project over to people who engage in
this kind of work on a daily basis, the time savings is usually
enough to justify the added cost of hiring one of these
value-added services to do the tasks for them. When webmasters
consider the additional value of having hired writers who were
interested in creating content that goes beyond attracting
search engine traffic, to creating content that increases reader
retention and visitor conversion, then they know that the have
made a very good investment into the profitability of their web
enterprise.
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