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Hiring a content writer for my blog when I have no capital

Thread title: Hiring a content writer for my blog when I have no capital
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07-08-2008, 12:31 AM
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  Old  Hiring a content writer for my blog when I have no capital

I have a science and tech blog that needs a ton of work as I try to monetize it.

I want to get a content writer, so I can concentrate on fixing the blog, optimizing adsense, SEOing it, etc.

But, I don't necessarily want to pay up front per blog entry.

How can I hire someone?

I thought about a % of adsense revenue (I already have about 50 blog entries). Would 25% or 50% be good, or that a bad idea? Is there some way to make the adsense revenue dependent on the traffic generated by the specific blog entries the content write creates?

If I do end up paying up front by blog entry, how much is one entry worth? (maybe 1 hours work = $20-$30??????).

These are short entries (several hundred words, if), preferably current developments, with many links.

Here is the blog so far -- (so you can get an idea of the length and scope of each entry if you want):
http://www.scitechy.com

07-20-2008, 10:37 PM
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rferrall is offline rferrall
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You may be able to "hire" a writer in exchange for some benefits.... maybe you can give the writer a dedicated "about the author" page along with a short bio or at least byline at the bottom of each article created.

As far as Adsense revenue share - that's a possibility, but you would probably want to make it so that the author only receives credit for their own posts. However - your blog seems like it's kind of new (or at least not very visible)... I don't know what the likelihood is of grabbing new writers based on revenue share when you don't have much, if any, website traffic.

By the way - it is possible to have revenue share for a single post, you just have to talk to your programmer about that.

As far as how much a blog post is worth... that's really dependent on how much value it'll bring to you. Based on a cursory look over your blog it seems your posts are quite short, have a lot of links and the occasional image. While the writing may not take a lot of time in and of itself - the research to find the links and images may take up some time... you're probably looking at 20 minutes to 45 minutes per post, depending on the writer.

Most writers I know charge by the project, not by the hour. If I were to bid on this myself with the information I have now (which isn't much) - I would probably say around $17.50/post if it was a long-term gig and more if it was a handful of posts (maybe $20/post). However, I don't really know what the market rate is for writing services - I'm a writer but I don't necessarily charge the market rate, I charge what I feel comfortable with and find people willing to pay that price.

I think your best bet, though, is to find writers who need to establish themselves. Give them a byline or a short bio and you may be able to get a regular writer for a season until your cash-flow situation changes.

07-22-2008, 06:32 AM
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One piece of advise for you, as my experience tells me. Anybody who'd be willing to work in such a sphere would be lacking good knowledge, just a personal experience.

I mean think about it, why won't I start with my own blog instead for writing for someone. And what will be the security that my content won't be used wrongly by the owner.

First you'll need to get user's trust. And you may not pay up front, but tell him that we can mutually do partnership in this regard or something. Hiring 'good' writers is not an easy task. You can get posters all over the web, who'll be interested in these kind of jobs, but they won't be going for quality works, believe me. Take my advise, first spend a week monetizing and then start posting yourself or hire someone good with some revenue.

Don't shatter your blog hiring people who'll fall for such schemes.

And about Charges. Depends on the writers - Most good writers charge about $5.00/100 Words but there are ones who'll charge below that. You need to search.

07-22-2008, 12:03 PM
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Originally Posted by Xavier_3D View Post
...I mean think about it, why won't I start with my own blog instead for writing for someone. And what will be the security that my content won't be used wrongly by the owner...
Writers may write for "free" for a couple of reasons:

1) To build links to their website
2) To get hands-on experience
3) To improve their brand recognition (name)

A writer who is unfamiliar with the ways of the internet may not even know about blogs and a writer who understands things online knows full-well that getting their name out there on a bunch of different websites can help improve the visibility of their brand.

As far as "security" - the security of the situation doesn't change when content is paid for with cash versus recognition. If you paid $500 for a 500 word article, how would you know the content wouldn't be misused or reused by the writer? This is a rhetorical question - you cant; the situations are the same as long as the rights to the content are laid out ahead of time.

I just wanted to clear the air on these things - there's no need to scare the guy. Sure, there are jerks out there - but there are perfectly legitimate reasons for a writer to write for recognition.

07-24-2008, 09:11 PM
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Thanks for the answers, they are quite insightful with quite a bit of useful info.

I just have to think about where I want to go with that blog some more.

07-27-2008, 04:00 AM
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Here's another reason people may write for free is to establish their 'expert' status. Most of the time these are small business owners or staff of small or home businesses. It is much easier to find these bloggers in more common topics like (but not limited to) parenting, health. Many of these businesses will jump at the opportunity to 'guest blog' or be a resident blogger in a special topic in exchange for exposure. Of course, if you're asking the business owners crowd, they'll usually want to know stuff like your traffic and readership. They like numbers to justify their time investment. Good luck!

08-09-2008, 05:18 AM
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  Old  content writing

well then you have to think of something in exchange for the writer, like script installation, give back a dedicated link (with keywords and DoFollow attribute) to the author if he/she has a website and many others ...

with adesne revenue, you just got little ad at the top
how much you think this will generate?

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