Content is an essential part of search engine optimization and a key to link building and visitor retention. Both search engine spiders and visitors thirst for new articles. Satisfying both is not an easy task, as it requires time and some experience in the industry about which you’re writing. If you can't meet this challenge yourself, you might consider hiring freelance writers to do it for you. This article will tell you what you need to know to find the right writers and keep from getting burned.
If you don't have the time or the will to write your own content you can outsource it to professional writers. In this article I will review the options you have when it comes to outsourcing and give you some tips on where to find writers, how to hire and what to look for.
Where to Find Writers For Your Website/Blog
Freelancers' Marketplace
There are a number of specialized websites where you can hire freelance workers for almost any task, including copy writing. Pricing models vary depending on the website. Some sites let workers decide their rate (per article, per project, hourly etc), while others have a bidding model where employers post jobs and people looking for work bid. The idea of the bid model is to pay the least amount of money to the most experienced person.
Marketplaces have a system which catalogs past projects that you can review before hiring a writer. You will not see the actual articles that a particular writer wrote, but the people/companies he or she worked for, volume of work, satisfaction score and comments (sort of like eBay feedback). Usually the more positive history a writer has on a job marketplace, the more he will charge, while newbies are willing to work for less in order to establish themselves. Don't get greedy here; there are many writers willing to do the job for $5 per 500 - 1000 words, but you get what you pay for.
Here's a list of job marketplaces:
Elance
People Per Hour
Guru.com
Go Freelance
Get a Freelancer
oDesk
iFreelance
SoloGig
ContractedWork
Project4Hire
FreelanceWork
AgaveBlue
FreelanceJobSearch
FreelanceAuction
Mac Freelancer
WriterLance
Hirelancer
Payment methods vary depending on the website, but you can pay using various systems including credit cards and PayPal. If there are disputes you can consult with website managers to resolve the problem. Again, it is important to hire writers with a good history and a couple of references (preferably with examples of their work).