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I'm fairly new to the 'money from PPC Ads/Aff marketing' game and I'm now setting up a nice big site related to my niche.
This niche happens to be a hobby of mine, but I'm no expert at writing - I will write a few articles but it would be nice to have a bunch of quality content.
So... I'd like to buy some content.
How is the best way to go about doing this, and how much should you expect to pay?
If it makes much difference there are a few good widget sites related to my niche that have good quality news articles, etc.
Thanks,
Craig
Hire a journalism or english major from a local college.
Agreed. Go paste flyers around the school, and a lot (50-100). You'll get some good responses. Then ask them for a writing sample.
The going rate for short articles on writing boards is about $25-$50 for 2-3 pages (500-750 words) on a topic that the writer doesn't have to research much. Add a bit more for research or extra length. This rate won't get you Pulitzer-winning work, but many established, experienced freelancers will be willing to take on a job here and there to fill in the holes in their schedules. (You'll also get snowed under with newbies.) If you're willing to take a cut in quality, $5-$15 will get you 200 to 500+ words, mostly written by newbies. And if you want basic keyword articles, $2-$5 will buy you 200-500 words and no quality whatsoever.
About rights: Writers are picky about which rights they sell. The fewer rights you want, the lower your fees can be and the higher the quality of your top-end submissions will be. For your purposes, "exclusive for one year" is reasonable, and means that the author can't resell the article for one year after it appears on your site.
Try to avoid asking for all rights. It simplifies things for you legally because the writer loses all rights to the work, but many writers consider it sleazy, so the number and overall quality of your submissions will probably drop. The exception is if you're buying keyword articles, which are almost always all-rights-sold affairs.
(Double-posted because for some reason I couldn't edit the previous post.)
One thing that niggles - my niche is fairly specialist - I mean, most people know a bit about it, but not enough to write about it.
What do these copy writers do? Do they just study up on it then write, or what?
Also, one more thing! ;-)
What's a ghost writer? (just been checking e-lance and the phrase crops up a lot).
I just want to make sure i do the right things, ask for the right things, and get some decent content!
Thanks
Craig
hdtp00,
Also, when you find college students, how often can can they, or is it easy is it for them, to write about your particular topic? Do they typcially tend to be flexible about different topics? Better at certain ones?
Also, when you find college students, how often can can they, or is it easy is it for them, to write about your particular topic? Do they typcially tend to be flexible about different topics? Better at certain ones?
Offer $8/article and don't go past $10. Hit up a school with 30,000 students and you'll easily find plenty of good writers that will do stellar articles for $10 on something they may have no clue on initially. As long as it isn't extremely obscure 5-20 minutes of research is what I would expect these guys to do.
One thing that niggles - my niche is fairly specialist - I mean, most people know a bit about it, but not enough to write about it.
What do these copy writers do? Do they just study up on it then write, or what?
If you're lucky, you'll find a pocket of people who already know about your niche. Writers who don't know about it will probably websurf for a bit to pick up the basics, then dig a little deeper (again on the web) to pick up a few details for the specific article.
What's a ghost writer? (just been checking e-lance and the phrase crops up a lot).
Someone who writes an article or book to your specifications so that you can put your name on it and claim it as yours. Most celebrity autobiographies are ghostwritten, as are more self-help books than you or I want to know about, and more academic articles than anybody wants to know about.
i guess it depends on how long the person has been working for you...
