When you hire a freelance writer, you get what you pay for, just like anything else you buy. One forum I visited tried to look like a place where experienced internet marketers hang out. Someone who enjoys helping new internet marketers and showing how things work. Lately I’ve seen a lot of misinformation and generalizations about hiring freelance writers who won’t take advantage of you. Frankly, I hate that they think all freelance writers are looking for you.
So let me be clear about this. When you hire a freelance writer, you get what you pay for. It’s very easy. If you go to a parking lot and say you want a Mercedes, but can only afford $1,000, the dealer will sell you a Mercedes from the back of the parking lot that was meant to be sold for scrap. If you go to the grocery store and tell the butcher you’re only willing to pay $1 a pound for a filet mignon, he’ll sell you the leftovers he’s prepared for the dog hanging out the back door. You can guess what happens when you go to a freelance job board and tell a writer you need a 20,000 word ebook but only want to pay $100. You get waste. Even if you don’t get anything.
If you want to outsource your articles, ebooks, and other web content, here’s what the “helpful, experienced, and successful” folks on this forum tell you to do:
Firmly tell them that a 500-word article is only $2. Don’t worry, there are plenty of people who will work for this price.
Pay nothing in advance. Don’t pay a freelance writer until you’ve gotten everything you want and are happy with it. If freelance writers want money before they start working, they may be trying to scam you.
Don’t take a job until it’s exactly what you want. If the author is not willing to make as many changes as possible before the work is perfect, find someone else.
Let’s talk about it backwards. First, infinite change? You only need to make one change. You should be able to tell him what you want before he starts writing. Which search terms do you want to use? Who do you want to contact? What do you want from the article? If you tell your writer exactly what you want, you can get what you need with just one edit. If that doesn’t work, you’re not doing your job.
Why not pay a little in advance? First, why should a freelance writer trust you? You don’t trust them, that’s for sure. Why are your needs more important than mine? Second, even if you find a Mercedes for $1,000, you still have to pay something if you want to drive it out of the parking lot.
If you’re determined not to pay more than $2.00 for 500 words, then good for you! Hold on to what you believe. You can set a price limit based on how much money you have. But remember, when you hire a freelance writer, you get what you pay for, just like that Mercedes and that steak.
