Writers Hiring Writers – Where Are You Sourcing Content?

I was recently contacted by Aric Mitchel, whose friendly face you can see posted to the left. Aric was having trouble finding a way to attract writers to work under him. He was considering Craigslist but was concerned it might look like a scam, not to mention the $25 you have to shell out to post a job ad there. Being new to hiring writers, Aric had tried Constant-Content and Absolute Write with limited success.

I couldn’t add Aric’s listing in the top ten because I am working to help established writers find the best-paying work. But it is also important to me to help fellow writers in other ways as well. The solution was to help Aric by letting him place a free ad there for a while.

Sourcing Content

This interaction with Aric got me to thinking. I hire writers under me as part of my Content Management and Editing gig over at billeater. While I had found my writers at Craigslist, I started to think that maybe I could have followed another course more affordably. After doing a little research, I found that I could have gotten work from the same sources where I got my start as a writer.

Where to Find Writers on the Cheap

I have a little bit of personal conflict writing on this topic because I want us all to make better income as Web writers. But we all have to start somewhere. I was writing for less than $4 to $7 per article when I started at Textbroker, making just $2-$3 an article. I even wrote for passive income sites, making pennies, just to build a portfolio and practice my craft. Each job does lead to a better one and each job makes you a better writer so that you can get those high paying jobs more easily. Add to that the understanding that many of us are editors who need to source content, and I think I really should cover this topic.

Textbroker

I have to say this is the best source I have tried for the money. I’m not saying I found the best writers, but I did find writers who could do the job well enough that I could edit and make them work. A $10 article needed about 15 minutes of editing, with most of the research I wanted already done. For $15 I was able to secure an article that needed very little editing on my part. Each of these was delivered within hours of my request, which was just astounding. In retrospect, this might have been the better way for me to go, instead of using Craigslist, but that would require a lot of follow up and I’d have to come up with articles and post titles myself.

Constant-Content

As a writer, Constant-Content has been hit or miss for me. I do best around the holidays, probably because bloggers are too busy to write their own stuff, making them willing to pay $60 for an article. After the 35% commission, I ended up making $35. There are some articles available for $10 or $20 but I’ve never seen an article with enough depth for that price to use as a source for content.

Absolute Write

I have not tried AbsoluteWrite. I know the forum is a little rough, not the type of encouraging atmosphere I believe writers should provide each other. I’m also turned off by the “nothing but ads” above the fold of the forum. You can try it out and see how you do.

Craigslist

I received an avalanche of responses to my ad on craigslist. I heard from writers of every ilk, from published professionals to beginners. Within seven days, I had three people I needed. One ended up being a hit and run writer, delivering once and disappearing. The other two are still with me, one is excellent, the other is good enough. Either way, it worked out for me. I have them come up with their own article ideas, sending me the pieces I need on established schedules so I don’t have to chase them down. It works well.

eCopywriters

I see eCopywriters having trouble getting orders filled on time regularly, but I do not know how they handle it, since I have never been on the hiring side of that equation. I would hope they would have some staff writers who get that stuff done on time. Because they do not publish their rates, I have no idea if they can source content affordably.

Writers, what has your experience been with these services? Let us know via your comments below!