Forum Moderators: not2easy
As in most things, you get what you pay for. It's when you pay low wages that you really start to run the risk not only of bad writing, but also someone who has simply cut and pasted stolen content to create "new" content.
If you are willing to pay for professional services, you are far more likely to get a writer who:
1. understands all the nuances of web content versus web copy, and which is more appropriate when
2. has experience writing on a broad variety of topics and in a wide variety of styles
3. takes the time to do research using credible sources, not just looking at two or three other web sites on the subject
4. knows how to identify experts and obtain interviews to get you current, expert information
5. can document her sources
6. can write in a manner that will engage the reader at whatever level you require, to pull the reader in, keep the reader reading, and keep the reader on your site.
7. can ultimately help your business to grow
No professional writer is going to be insulted if you ask to see samples and ask for references.
Writing good copy, whether it's for sales or just content or anything else, requires time, effort, and practice. That's why the good writers expect to get paid appropriately for their work, just like any other skilled professional. If you want content that will be good for your business (and not harmful to it) and you don't want to spend the hours it will require to research and write that content well, you need to budget for a writer.
And like most things in life, you'll usually get what you pay for...