Split content BST section into freelancers and agencies

[macdonjo3]

Just a feature suggestion.

Personally, I hate working with content agencies. The content is never the same. You can never speak to the writer directly, check if they're knowledgable, get consistency, etc.

In my experience, the best results come from working directly with the writers - the one man shops. They exist on here, they're just hard to find.

I find the 1-man-shop threads get pushed down pretty aggressively because of their smaller volume compared to the agencies that take on each and every client.

What do you guys think about splitting the content section into freelancers and agencies?

 

[BrandingCat]

I found a good one and scarce on Freelancer, do fantastic work. First time I was skeptical... Was from India but she claims were native American. I test her with few $$, and I received fantastic work; I realize after I pass them via Grammarly premium, of course, small errors occur, but Grammarly give me a yellow card was `` Americanism``. It`s hard for me because I am not even good at medium English and I can`t smell which is true or not.

I am pretty sure @Nerva can do a proper job, he does for me a lot of times and was brilliant. But he charges too much for me, and I need tons of repetitive work, he takes just project 2-3k a bunch.

What it`s annoying, most of the writers, even in BHW don`t use fucking Grammarly, which is like a hammer for a builder. I mean...really?

And the other 3/4 are more unskilled at English than me.

I think the key it`s to test,again...and again. Until you find 1-3 good writers on your budget/tat.

 

[whiteblackseo]

Yeah, but you can never completely verify if a thread has been opened by an individual or an agency. And what if the thread expands to more than one writer on the team and they don't report to mods they have increased in size?

 

[mzonas]

As a heavy content buyer myself, I would find it useless. I would need to go to Freelance sub-forum and then Agency sub-forum ... waste too much time. Now, we have all under one forum section. If you don't like a certain writer, you can ignore his/her/their thread and move onto page 2 or whatever.

 

[Stavro]

I think the key it`s to test,again...and again. Until you find 1-3 good writers on your budget/tat.

That's the problem though, I've bought test articles from agencies that were perfect, but the follow-up articles are full of broken English and obviously Indian phrases.

Wirth a freelancer, the quality will be consistent on the second, tenth, and hundredth order, but agencies rarely allow someone to request the same writer.

 

[macdonjo3]

Yeah, but you can never completely verify if a thread has been opened by an individual or an agency. And what if the thread expands to more than one writer on the team and they don't report to mods they have increased in size?

Ban the bastards. There are enough agencies to go around lol

As a heavy content buyer myself, I would find it useless. I would need to go to Freelance sub-forum and then Agency sub-forum ... waste too much time. Now, we have all under one forum section. If you don't like a certain writer, you can ignore his/her/their thread and move onto page 2 or whatever.

Clicking the back button and going to the next sub-form is too much time? It would have taken you less than half the time it took to write your reply. I think your argument is poor.

You should first decide if you want to work with a writer directly or if you have volume and need an agency.

That's the problem though, I've bought test articles from agencies that were perfect, but the follow-up articles are full of broken English and obviously Indian phrases.

Wirth a freelancer, the quality will be consistent on the second, tenth, and hundredth order, but agencies rarely allow someone to request the same writer.

Yes, writing agencies are a big issue on here. The quality is regularly hit and miss. This is exactly why I want the freelancer subforum so I can just go there and get reliable writers all on 1 spot.

 

[awesomewebsites]

I am in support of this suggestion.

 

[JamaicanMoose]

As a heavy content buyer, I fully support this suggestion.

 

[BassTrackerBoats]

That would be brutal on those of us that moderate the marketplace threads - getting proof of either would cause us to fly all over the world, stay in high end hotels and eat at fine restaurants to appear as legitimate business people, drink top shelf liquor only and dress in $3,000 Armani suits to handle the investigations in a proper manner all using @Diamond Damien's Black Amex card.

Wait... that makes it sound like a good idea.

 

[MisterF]

Not sure how easy this would be to handle, unless there's a caveat in the BST submission process to state they are a freelance writer and will handle workload themselves.

The pros of using an agency; A solid agency has a proofreader / editor. They'll have access to Grammarly and other tools.
Downside of using an agency; You're paying for their overheads and expenses too, not just for the writer.

Upside of a freelance writer; Better pricing as they aren't sharing payment with other colleagues. You are working with one writer,who understands your needs etc.
Downside; They may sometimes take on too much work, become ill etc and miss delivery dates. I've known freelancers actually outsource the work to other writers.



Edit; Based on BTBs comment above, I'm willing to take over as Content Marketplace Mod, no need for First Class flights, I do Business Class and it's fine for my needs.

 

[Take Action]

I have also struggled to communicate directly with the writer while working with the agencies. I am already on the lookout for freelancers where I can work with him and get what I want quicker. So +1 for this suggestion.

 

[macdonjo3]

That would be brutal on those of us that moderate the marketplace threads - getting proof of either would cause us to fly all over the world, stay in high end hotels and eat at fine restaurants to appear as legitimate business people, drink top shelf liquor only and dress in $3,000 Armani suits to handle the investigations in a proper manner all using @Diamond Damien's Black Amex card.

Wait... that makes it sound like a good idea.

We'll just have to pick the freelancers living in a city with a Shangri-La Hotel for your assignments.

I don't think it's a matter of validating, at least initially, as most of them claim in the thread if they are the writer or if they hire it out. A lot of agencies even brag that they're an agency (not sure why).

I wonder how Upwork does it.

I'd just like to see writers like @Sherb with their own section that is separated from the ruckus of outsource agencies.

 

[Deleted member 855230]

We'll just have to pick the freelancers living in a city with a Shangri-La Hotel for your assignments.

I don't think it's a matter of validating, at least initially, as most of them claim in the thread if they are the writer or if they hire it out. A lot of agencies even brag that they're an agency (not sure why).

I wonder how Upwork does it.

I'd just like to see writers like @Sherb with their own section that is separated from the ruckus of outsource agencies.

You know, it's weird... Good writers get business regardless of being tossed in the mix of BHW's content fiverr.

If you find good writers, you stick with them regardless of whether they're being bumped mercilessly with "order placed, samples please, order #xxxxxx, i added you on sk ype."

Best advice is to stick with the good writers when you find them, and buy as much of their time as they'll allow.

 

[fasttrak]

I am torn on this suggestion.

My experience of the agencies on BHW has been terrible, 100% of articles received do not match the quality of the samples and the rewrites take MONTHS to get anywhere close to what we are meant to be paying for. When I have worked with individual writers, the content has been great but they have ended up taking on too much work and it all goes pear shaped, quite quickly.

So based on the above, I would favour a sub forum, however, it could be hard to verify for the mods, but then again, I am sure the buyers would find out soon enough and could report any shenanigans to the BST moderator!

So, actually, I am not torn at all. Great idea.

 

[macdonjo3]

You know, it's weird... Good writers get business regardless of being tossed in the mix of BHW's content fiverr.

If you find good writers, you stick with them regardless of whether they're being bumped mercilessly with "order placed, samples please, order #xxxxxx, i added you on sk ype."

Best advice is to stick with the good writers when you find them, and buy as much of their time as they'll allow.

They come and go. I've been here since 2009. Do you know how many writers I've gone through in that timespan? In 6 years report back that

 

[Deleted member 855230]

They come and go. I've been here since 2009. Do you know how many writers I've gone through in that timespan? In 6 years report back that

Every single one of your good writers has come and gone? Sounds like content agencies are the preferred and sustainable platform for providing content...

 

[macdonjo3]

Every single one of your good writers has come and gone? Sounds like content agencies are the preferred and sustainable platform for providing content...

It's a bit long to answer your question in full, but to build a proper company, you have different tiers of writing quality. Each tier is assigned to a price point and that price point you have a slot for a writer. That's only one dimension. If you have highly specialized websites, you're going to need to find writers with backgrounds in those fields, that's the other dimension. It's complicated but happy to answer further if you need it.

Anyways, I have about 3 writers I work with right now, which is down from my normal 5-6.

 

[Deleted member 855230]

Thanks, but I didn't ask how to build a business, only how many writers you worked with. The content agency bit was a quip.

 

[macdonjo3]

Thanks, but I didn't ask how to build a business, only how many writers you worked with. The content agency bit was a quip.

Oh sorry, maybe 20? That's excluding back in 2010 when I sold micro niche sites, as I def hammered through a lot then. At the low level, like SEO articles, people quit a lot.

 

[BrandingCat]

You can find more than easily a team of ``writers`` on freelancer for example.
You post a project like a buyer, you start chit-chat with them, and you build your writer team, then resell here for example.
Make a test, put a project and wait for the bugs. In not even 5 minutes you have least 20 queries.

You can`t stop them; and of course, they start with: Dear sir, I have X years of experience in the field, Dear sir, please hire me.

PROFESSIONALS ALL THE WAY.