Recently, I have been hit with something interesting when it comes to hiring entry level people to write some content for me on my blog: hiring a writer is better than hiring a blogger.
Before anyone gets defensive about this, please let me explain my experiences, and understand that I have nothing against blogging as a career, especially since I’ve been employed as one over the last three years.
I have hired various bloggers before, and they were all just starting out, nearly all of them had only been experienced in writing on their own sites, and so they started off very excited about the job. They over promised and under delivered. They didn’t know how much time and effort it took to consistently push out great content. They fizzled out fast, and eventually, I had to thank them for their time and move on.
In hiring writers, even ones that have only written a few articles, they seemed to better understand the writing process. They weren’t in it for big money or fame, but instead they were looking for a steady pay check. Sure, some of them have over promised and under delivered as well, but all in all, I have had a better experience hiring freelance writers versus freelance bloggers.
Could it just be luck of the draw, or something more inherent in the titles people choose to define themselves? In either case, I suggest that people hire writers rather than bloggers. They might not know publishing platforms, or be very good at promoting the content they write, but if you have talent at those things, they will provide a steady stream of content at a reasonable price.
Note: Again, this is just my personal opinion based on recent experiences. This is in no way meant to imply that being a blogger is bad, but instead an observation that novice freelance bloggers might want to use as a way to self-analyze, as well as an insight that blog owners might want to consider when looking to hire content producers.
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Scott Fillmer
September 10th, 2008 at 9:00 am
I don’t think it is a problem with bloggers or not with writers but the individual… you said it, most over promised and under delivered. I always try to think the opposite… always always always put forth the effort to over deliver what you promised. I don’t really believe in under promising, but nothing will kill your rep faster than under delivering.
I just looked back and I have about 400 posts on my blog now. Some, not all that great, but there are a few that I wrote specifically with writing in mind. The problem: it takes time, effort, some grammar skills, and an ability to do research. Not many people want to take the time to do that much work, and that is what writing blogs posts is, work (IMO).
Alex Cristache
September 10th, 2008 at 9:12 am
I agree with you. Even if I cannot compare, because I only once hired someone, that person was a freelance writer and I was very happy with the results.
Kiltak
September 10th, 2008 at 3:08 pm
Couldn’t agree more with you… I hired a few bloggers, and 2 pro writers in the past… and in almost all cases, the quality of work done by writers way exceeded what bloggers could offer me.
There’s a few bloggers in there that are / were an exception to this though
Kevin Muldoon
September 10th, 2008 at 6:11 pm
I have to agree with a lot of what you said. The bloggers who I have hired who dont have their own blogs (ie. they are contract writers) have produced very good posts.
I think many of the bloggers who are looking for writing gigs are just starting out. It’s hard to find an experienced blogger who works freelance.
It’s a bad time to buy a blog but it’s a great time to sell!
September 12th, 2008 at 9:01 am
[...] you have to spend additional money on promotion, paying writers or prize money to maintain the blogs [...]
David
October 22nd, 2008 at 5:02 pm
I think its a good advice, however can you recommend any site to hire quality freelance writers?