Finding Writers for Web Articles and Content

I've been spending a lot of time writing my own web content lately but whether you just don't have the time or don't know the subject finding writers online is the next best option. There are lots of places to look and the quality of the articles varies tremendously.

The old saying “You get what you pay for” generally holds true but I’ve found if you look hard enough you can get some quality articles for not a lot of cash.

Here are some of the services and places I’ve gone to find writers. Mostly I’ve been looking for lower quality articles for some of my niche sites but I’ve also gotten a few higher quality blog posts for the couple of authority sites I’m working on. Couchable is still 100% my sloppy writing.

iWriter

I have gotten a bunch of articles from iWriter. The quality ranges from laughably bad to sort of good. The trick to iWriter is finding the writers on there who are decent. Don’t expect to get articles back that require any sort of research or expertise. I use iWriter for very basic web content. 500 words about peanut butter, or something similar.

At first I felt bad rejecting articles but seriously a lot of the stuff you get looks either badly spun or badly translated and probably a combination of both.

If you plan on using iWriter make sure every time you get a good article to add that person to your Favorites list. 500 word articles start at $3 so after you buy 20-30 articles you’ll have seen a number of writers and developed a good list of the better ones. From here on you can have your Favorites write for you at that same $3 an article, which ends up being a pretty good deal in my opinion.

Make sure to specify exactly what you are looking for or you could get some pretty random stuff in return.

One of the best things about iWriter is you get articles back almost immediately. I’ve submitted 10 article requests before bed and had them ready to review in the morning.

oDesk

oDesk is a great way to find writers of all skill levels and price scales. For writers it can be confusing because they provide an hourly rate but it isn’t clear how much they can write in that hour. So it is best to contact the person and offer them the job at your given rate and see if they will accept or not.

oDesk is one of the better places to find specialists. There are some very low quality writers here as well but I’ve been able to find people who are actual experts on a topic, which is a lot harder than you would think.

The great thing about some of the authors on there is they tend to not value their expertise as highly as they should. We probably do the same thing. I could knock out a couple articles about web design pretty quickly and without any research, so I might not charge a ton for it. These guys can be the same way.

Odesk may take you longer than iWriter if you actively search out a specific writer, but the quality can be better. I’ve gotten a few good articles here.

Media Piston

Media Piston is owned by Odesk but is different in that they don’t allow bad writers and an editor reviews each article. On the flip-side, they cost a lot more, around $18 for a 500 word article.

If you need a lot of research done or an expert you probably wont find it here but the quality of the articles is very good. I would feel comfortable using their articles on a client’s project. The turnaround is also really good. About a day or two.

Warrior For Hire

This is absolutely my weakest link right now. I am planning on launching some products sometime this or next year, so I’m working on it, but until then the Warrior Forums is probably the best place to go to get sales copy.

This is the one place I wouldn’t go cheap. Find the best and pay them.

You will have to wade through a lot crap on those boards to find someone good, but they’re in there. Maybe don’t even bother looking in Warrior for Hire. Just browse the general forums and Copywriting Forum and find someone posting who looks like they know what they’re doing or who wrote a helpful guide.

Other Article Services

There are many other article writing services or places to find writers. The ones listed above I’ve personally used so that is all I am going to give an opinion on.

Here are a few other places to get articles or find writers.

• Text Broker
• Craigslist
• Elance

TLDR;

If you just need cheap, general, articles fast, go with iWriter. If you need more quality but still general articles Media Piston is a good option, especially if you don’t have a lot of writer connections. If you need sales copy go with a writer from Warrior Forums. If you need an expert, start with oDesk or look around the web for writers in that niche or niche specific forums.