I am often asked about outsourcing content and if it should be done.
The answer is simply…
It depends.
People have different business models. Not everyone is a blogger or creates a website on a passion/interest.
For example, your core business may be podcasting, and perhaps that vehicle drives most of your sales. However, you could also have a website with a lot of general, fact-based content that supports your podcast, but is not essential to generating sales.
In this case, outsourcing certain kinds of content may be appropriate.
Personally, I prefer to write the majority of my content — especially on this blog where I often share my personal experiences, experiments, etc. I can tell you now, you won’t see any outsourced content here.
However, since my business has diversified a bit to the offline world, I have discovered instances where outsourcing is necessary for certain kinds of informational content.
For the record, I don’t consider guest posts to be outsourced content. I am talking about having someone else write an article as if it’s coming from you.
Where to Go for Article Writing
There are many places to outsource content: Freelancer, oDesk, Elance, iWriter, etc.
However, I want to talk about Textbroker.com (no affiliation) because you don’t hear as much about this site compared to the others, and I was pleasantly surprised with how fast and efficient the entire process was.
How Textbroker Works
First of all, it only takes a few minutes to setup an account. They are compatible with PayPal, so they use the escrow method where you deposit funds into your account to pay the authors once the work is complete.
After the quick account setup, you’re ready to submit your article request.
Choosing The Order Type
One aspect I like about Textbroker is the selection of order types. So far I’ve only selected the Open Order, which puts your article into the pool for any author to grab. The order types are explained below…
Choosing The Quality
I also like that you have control over the quality of your articles. There are 5 levels, with 1 being the lowest (cheapest) and 5 being the highest (most expensive per word).
A level 5 article is more than double the cost of a level 4, and since I personally tweak the content to fit my voice, I’ve found that a level 4 is sufficient for my needs.
Just to give you an idea, a level 4 article that contains roughly 750 words is going to run around $16. Obviously there are cheaper services out there, but you often get what you pay for. I’m not necessarily looking for the cheapest solution, especially since I don’t use these services often.
So far, the grammar and spelling in my articles have been perfect. Also, the authors have done a good job of following my directions for how the article should be written, organized, etc.
There’s even an SEO option that allows you to set “required keywords” for your article. I prefer to handle my own SEO and see no reason to use this part of the service — especially with all the changes to SEO in recent months.
Completing The Order
If you’re not happy with the article, you are free to send it back for corrections/revisions. Once you are satisfied, you can rate the work and release the payment to the author.
The Key to Outsourcing
If you’re like me and prefer to write the majority of your content and want to ensure your voice is consistent throughout your site, I think you should use article outsourcing very sparingly.
As I’ve already mentioned, I prefer to tweak the article and add my own personal flare to make the content my own.
If a big part of your success has come from writing in your own tone and voice, you don’t want to tarnish that by going overboard with outsourcing. The key is knowing when to do it and ensure the content flows with the rest of your work.
Having said that, outsourcing a few articles here and there has really been a big time saver for me now that I am continuing to diversify and work on other projects.
What about you? Do you outsource any of your articles? What has your experience been like? What service(s) do you use?
I have outsourced articles many times for my website from freelancers.. This is good option for time saving and you can get quality content with minimum cost..
I don’t have any articles yet but lately I was amazed on how one can make noney out of it. I am trying to work now and trying to get the concept naturally about the course. Outsourcing is a very good way that one who is potentially do good at writing will make more money on it, Depends on how they run through it.
Outsourcing has been a good way of getting well written content from professionals. I think is time to invest more on it.
Lisa thanks for sharing
hey Lisa,
plz do respond to this comment.
First of all, I am a big fan of you. I watched your video and agree with your thoughts about creating a niche website on a narrow topic but I wanna create a brand like cnet, techcrunch etc.
I read what you think about article outsourcing and I really wanna outsource a lot of article for all different projects I create but the problem is that, If I want to create a niche website around let’s say Hair Styling, but I simply know nothing about that topic.
My question to you is that, even If I hire someone as full time worker but If the writer know nothing about Hair Styling then, how could I aspect him/her to produce a master piece content which could really help by visitors.
Plz help me!
Thanks.
The problem with heavily relying on outsourcing is your site may come across like an encyclopedia. The days of outsourcing ghost writers to write about topics they aren’t familiar with and expect to rank in Google are over. If you are engaged in the topic you have a much better chance of being creative, unique and developing an angle that will help you stand out. Don’t aim to compete with large sites like Techcrunch. Their brand is too strong. Narrow your topic down to a specific niche and try to pick something you are interested in.
Hi Lisa,
I have never outsourced my contents before, I usually write all my articles by myself. I will probably start outsourcing when I get really busy up to th point when I cant find time to write regularly.
BTW, I have heard of textbroker before and I think its a great service.
Hi Lisa
This is something I have considered myself as I struggle for time but always open to new ideas.
Thanks for the post.
Hi Lisa,
Thank you very much for your information. I am from Bangladesh. i read your information really it is very helpful for me. I was apply for data entry job several time in Odesk but no response.
http://www.xclusivelink.com
The decision whether or not to get involve in outsourcing article writing depends on your interest. For me, interest on something you are doing is imperative and serves as your measurement of success. Of course, you will not be doing certain thing for long time when you’re heart desires something else. So if you love writing, this would be a great source for a living then.
Hello Lisa, I think you are doing a fine job; I also think you are right about your suggestions (or opinion rather) about article writing and where to go. But have you ever thought of working with other experts who can provide other perspectives on issues you discuss on your blogs? For example, have you heard of a new website called hostpublic.com? By the way, no affiliation whatsoever, but I happened upon the website and I was pleased to know that the blog goes beyond web hosting. I found the information on the website very interesting. May be you should look into a possible collaboration with the website. Also, could you focus or write a piece about the criteria that informed your decision to choose whatever hosting company you currently have, or do you own your own server? Just my thoughts.
I also currently write all my own content. I used others a couple of times; the quality however wasn’t up to scratch. Must admit, when one’s not making money yet, you cannot afford 5* authors. I decided to concentrate on excellent quality content for now; convinced that this will eventually pay off, and then hopefully I can hire the experts to do my writing so I can concentrate on other things.
I have just recently started outsourcing content to save time. However, I always tweak these articles, add a few more paragraphs, data etc. as I see fit.
Thanks for the info about Textbroker, I’m going to try their services.
I never outsource any of my writing work when it comes to writing for my own blog. Rather, I use this for guest posting.
I used everything from Fiverr to Elance, Odesk but never find quality in the articles. Most of the writers never research about the topics & they never care about what the readers of their articles will gain from this.
Most of the writers now a days just Google the topic & re-write the content. Its much better to hire a re-writer than a writer as they are cheap & quality is better.
I guess i do not agree with the outsourcing articles. Who is going to write a good article better than you? You know your business better that anyone so i guess this is a task that the owner must do for itself. Also, i had bad experiences finding good articles writers, it’s just spending money and th give you a 9899 spinned article identical to another 300 articles.
Thanks
I like to write my own article,and not take it from outsourcing article writing
Outsourcing can be helpful, specially if you want to expand your website either in size or topic area (and no one is an expert on everything). Though I still think it should be avoided as much as possible.
I have never outsourced articles because of two reasons:
1. I want to write the articles myself.
2. I don’t believe I could afford to hire someone who would produce a decent article, my price range would only attract poor content.
I am happy to be on the other end though and have earnt a nice amount of money writing articles for other people to take credit for. 🙂
For me that is the route I want to take in a few years..I would like my blog to consist of a many writers because I always have many posts on my mind but i can only manage to write a few..so having some people to help with content writing I hope will help my blog grow
Even though I have outsourced drawing of cartoons to my daughter. But really it is something to ponder on when we have scaled up.
I agree with you when you say that the answer to outsourcing for content depends. I find that the niche content I look for in general does not have decent writers that understand the market. If I want good content I usually need to write it myself otherwise I end up with the same ol same ol redone in a new and boring way.
Outsourcing is great; as you can do a number of things…however, its important to outsource from a firm or individual who understands your niche so well.
I think that if you’re trying to run a big business brand then it probably would be ok to outsource your writing. However, if you are just running a single blog, then it could pose a problem because too many outsources articles could make your blog lose it’s voice.
Find this one very helpful as I am thinking of considering outsourcing for my articles. Been a bit busy this past weeks and find outsourcing might be helpful especially when you run out of time doing your personal assignments.
I’m working as a content writer on oDesk and think that this is much more better than blogging, thanks for the post 🙂
Lisa, great article on outsourcing with a realistic approach to utilizing this strategy.
I wrote about this recently (I go through Nicole’s PLR program) and had similar sentiments in terms of avenues for usage. For this to be effective it must be used sparingly and more importantly strategically – for example, using it as a base from which to create an email update or a newsletter issue.
Overall, outsourcing in general, not just with article writing, has helped me tremendously over the years in growing and maintaining my portfolio of niche websites. It’d be impossible to do it myself – I’ll be the first to admit that.
Thanks, Sunil. I was hoping to hear from you because I know you have used this for quite some time. Can’t believe it took me this long. It has really helped — especially now that I’m learning when to use it. And as you said, it’s about using it very, very sparingly. I would never want my sites to lose their unique voice.
Hey Lisa, Thanks for the tips. Since last two months I’ve left doing just blogging and started outsourcing my content writing work. I didn’t get the expected success yet but now I’ll go with the tips you mentioned. Really THANKS. 🙂
Hi Lisa,
I enjoy your throughts on outsourcing articles I myself have been using iWriter and so far everything is going well, If a person has the time and knowledge to write their own articles more power to them. But I feel that article writing takes to much time, but again if that person has that edge good for them so Lisa thanks again for the great post.
Have a great day!!!!
Tony
As much as I can, I try to write the content myself. I control the quality and I’m hoping my efforts into create a value-added copy that is unique will help me in the long run, SEO wise. But then again, I don’t produce nearly as much as larger blog sites that have several posts per day!
Exactly, it depends. I personally would never do it, as often article writers doesn’t go deep inside the topic nor have enough knowledge about particular problem, but sometime I have to concentrate on more important tasks.
Thanks for info about Textbroker.com
I do all my own writing for my business website because I know a lot about the subject and want to help other people with my knowledge and also build a longer term relationship. I have a few affiliate sites and get the articles written for them because I want to generate affiliate sales from one-time visitors. It seems to work well.
I think I’m with you in that IF/WHEN I outsource written content, it would be very rare and only for specific scenarios. Sometimes I feel kind of overwhelmed by the time involved in creating each blogpost and the interaction with my viewers by email and social media, but when it comes down to it, I really do connect with people on a personal level through my site because of my writing and my interaction and I just can’t see replacing that- like you said- it’s my voice and the knowledge that I personally have that is not basic at all in nature that people appreciate about my site, so as busy as I am, I still can’t fathom for this particular site at this time having someone else write my content. There may be a time and place in the future, but definitely would have to be carefully chosen.
This is very helpful, Lisa. At the moment, i do prefer to write all my own content but as things start to get more busy, it’s good to know that outsourcing is not equivalent to swallowing a poison pill Lol
Lisa, can you give us links to some articles you’ve outsourced? I’m interested to see if I would be able to tell the difference if I didn’t know you outsourced them.
Thanks for sharing your experience Lisa on outsourcing articles. You have re-sparked my interest a little.
I paid for an article to be written from someone on Fiverr that was an outstanding return on my investment. Then I ordered from, “supposedly”, the same person and the grammar was awful. For a moment I thought I’d discovered a real deal for having high quality content written.
That was my first and last experience. If you want something done right, do it yourself.
I have had good and bad experiences with outsourcing content writing. I have used it when building niche websites to bulk them up a bit. I have used both iWriter and Textbroker with mixed results. I will say that typically the quality that I have received from Textbroker is much better. However, you cant beat the price of iWriter. It really depends on what is more valuable to you, your time, or money. Which do you have more of?
I also agree that if you are running a personal blog or website that expresses your true personality there is no need to outsource content. I see it as a good thing for niche websites, article submissions, etc.
Yep, couldn’t agree more. Never tried iWriter but I did notice there prices were WAY cheap. That definitely made me wonder about the quality.
I want to say something from the other side of the coin (as a writer). I often see bloggers blogging about outsourcing their writing. They talk about writers as if we don’t deserve to be paid for our work. Most bloggers won’t work for $5.00 per hour, yet they expect the writer to provide great work for that amount.
I’m glad you said you get what you pay for. This is true. Writers deserve fair pay for their work and bloggers should realise this.
You tell ’em Anne! 🙂
Ya’ know, Lisa, I used to to write for Textbroker back in my content mill days.
They do indeed have a solid process in place in how they gauge their writers and the ratings they give them.
If I were outsourcing my content creation, I would definitely look to using their service as I find it easier to use than the other platforms you mentioned. Plus, the pricing is rather decent for a quality article.
As far as outsourcing content for my own blog, I would NEVER. I believe the my writing style and tone is unique and not easy to duplicate. Plus, I’m sure it’s a large part of why I’ve been able to attract the reader base I have.
Now, for the future blogs I plan on building, I def would outsource. Because those blogs won’t be completely branded to me and I don’t want the daily operations to depend solely on me.
Thanks for sharing your experience with us. 🙂
Ti
I didn’t know that! Man, I would certainly have you on my “Direct Order” list with your writing skills. 🙂
But yes, I agree. I can’t imagine outsourcing content for this blog but for other ventures, I’m finally learning when and what to outsource and it seems to be working well. Never thought I would do it but goes to show how business evolves.
Thanks for stopping by!
Perfect comment Ti- that’s how I feel exactly but you put it so well!
Hi Lisa,
As a newbie, I would prefer to write everything on my own. Even though I have outsourced drawing of cartoons to my daughter. But really it is something to ponder on when we have scaled up. For now I want to have my OWN Voice(My Cartoons)on my blog.
Thanks for this great share.
Sapna
HI Lisa,
P.S I was trying to tweet the post, but VIA is missing while tweeting.
Sapna
Thanks for letting me know! I accidentally uninstalled and re-installed that plugin and forgot to add my Twitter ID back in. All done now. Thank you!
Good morning Lisa. I don’t think there is a problem with outsourcing articles at all, but, only for sites, as I do, that are my money sites. My personal sites I write every thing, but have so many other sites that I find it ok to use outsourcing to help and save time.
I made a rookie mistake a long time ago when I used Fiverr.com to outsource with out checking out the seller, that was an experience, though I have found some excellent article writers on Fiverr, just need to find the right person or company when outsourcing. Great time saver.
Agree, Stephen!
What do you think of using FIVERR for articles and proofreading?
well there are so many writers who outsource their articles their thoughts
and they get handsome amount of money for it
every one found its way to earn money
Good topic Lisa,
I’ve seen this used as a part of a content development strategy and in that case I think it works well.
1. Buy cheap articles on requested ides
2. Re-write/combine articles and finalize.
3. Schedule remixed articles for publishing.
I’ve outsourced a little before and in instances where I COULD have done this off the bat, I opted instead to write the content myself. The reason being, I always like to do things myself in the first instance so when I DO outsource , I know exactly what I need, what the problems are and what the solutions will be.
I’m setting up websites that deal with local issues specific to my town. I like to get the sites running first and start to get user generated content published.
Hi Lisa,
I personally like to write so outsourcing is not an option for me. Beside that, I feel that people can “hear my voice” in the articles and when it is outsourced they might recognize. I know, it’s tempting but I guess it’s part of my business to just do it myself.
Hi Lisa,
Like you, I cannot bear to outsource my content, however having said that, 24 hrs is not really that much to do everything one wants to do. I enjoy writing and love to wrap my content in my own style, and in a previous life I was an English teacher, so I enjoy writing……… a lot.
Thanks for sharing the info about Textbroker, I’ll look into signing up to write articles for others.
I think folks whose primary language is not English (as well as those whose time is very limited) can definitely benefit from outsourcing their content.
Thank you.
Hey Lisa,
Just like you, I rather to write most contents for my blog as well. But outsourcing is s great way as well to have different writing patterns on your blog as well.
I haven’t done any outsourcing as yet and not sure if I will venture into that field for now.
Thanks for the post.
Thanks for the info. I need to check out http://www.textbroker.com.
I’ve outsourced a few times. I think My Blog Guest has an excellent program as far as recommending posts and infographics. I can also edit a few things and respond back to the author so it’s a mutual consensus on a blog post.
Yes, it’s a good option. As I said, I’m not a fan of doing this often but outsourcing def has its place…. especially as your business grows.
Thanks, Lisa. I never thought about outsourcing before. I’m a new blogger so I tend to write most things myself. But I understand what you mean about outsourcing certain content. For example you might not have much experience with a topic you know needs to be addressed on your site and it’s better to outsource stuff like that.