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There are many different ways to hire bloggers and writers. One of those, that seems to be relatively popular, is through bidding websites.
The question is whether you should use these sites to hire your writers. Is it best just to go directly to the source?
What Are Bidding Sites?
Before I get into the pros and cons of hiring bloggers through these types of sites, you need to know what they are. As a client, you sign up to offer projects that you need completing. Freelancers then bid for that work, and you get to choose the writer(s) who best suits your needs.
It is possible to find good writers, but they tend to be few and far between. Due to the rates that people bid, there are a lot of low quality/unreliable writers out there.
Getting Work for Cheap
The idea of getting bloggers for a cheap price appeals to many people. We all want something for as little as possible. Why hire a blogger who charges $50 for 500 words of content when there are writers who charge $5 for the same amount of content.
There are some problems with this. Remember that saying “you get what you pay for?” That plays a part right here. If you’re going to hire someone for $5, you can expect $5 worth of work. You will get much better quality for someone charging $50.
Why? Well, for one thing, the writers aren’t having to work for hours each day just to make ends meet. They’re able to spend more time on your content, so it will be perfect. They’re also going to communicate with you better before, during and afterwards.
The Risk of Low Quality Writers
It’s very hard to tell if a writer is any good just from a profile page. When you hire bloggers directly, you get to have a conversation with them first. You’ll see samples of their work, and find out more about their experience.
This is much harder on bidding sites. Most sites forbid communication outside of the site, which means that you can’t get into lengthy email discussions or Skype conversations. You need to go off the minimal communication you get in the private messaging on the site.
There is also an issue with seeing samples. Unless the samples are sent as links, how do you know that the writer actually produced the work himself?
You Get the Writing Teams
When you’re hiring bloggers on bidding sites, you’re not usually hiring an individual. There are a lot of writing teams passing off as freelancers. This will cause a major issue for you.
That sample you received will usually be from one of the best writers. However, you’re not guaranteed to get that same writer. There are high chances that you will end up getting someone who is willing to work for slave wages. Their grammar can be extremely poor, and they won’t necessarily grasp your industry.
There’s also no guarantee that you will get the same blogger or writer each time you send that “person” work. The quality will be all over the place, and you don’t deserve that.
While there are writers on bidding sites, they’re not necessarily the ones that you want. As a client, you deserve the best quality and the best way of finding that is by dealing with bloggers directly.
I hadn’t thought about hiring a ghost writer. Interesting idea. I think I’d prefer to use my own voice though for my coaching biz. =)
That would make sense, and if you like writing then it works for you. I know some business owners who can’t stand the idea of writing, and aren’t that great at it either. Plus some just have no time.
Great points Alexandria! Particularly the inconsistency – you really don’t know if you’re working with the same person. One of the major benefits of working directly with a writer is the writer can really get to know you and your business. When a writer can get your thoughts into words because they know your business – that is almost priceless. You’ll never get that for $5.
Thanks for your thoughts, Jan. I think the unknowing part is the most worrying aspect of the whole thing. I know someone who ran into some trouble because he’d hired an agency without realising. The quality one day would be brilliant and the next absolutely appalling. You definitely can’t beat the relationship with an individual freelancer.
I’ve tested hiring writers through sites like these. The quality has been so variable from outstanding to regionally wrong (wrong cultural perspective) to bad grammar. In the end I got to honking it’d easier to do it myself but at some point one needs to outsource to grow.
Outsourcing is important for growth, but bidding sites doesn’t seem to be the way for you. Maybe you could try researching the type of work you need and working directly with individuals.
I’ve never used a bidding site to hire a writer and probably wouldn’t. The heads up about writing teams is something I’d never thought of. Thanks for the tips.
You’re welcome, Crystal. I only mention it now because I know of people who have complained about it. And they have every reason to be annoyed.