Freelance Sites

[URBAN COLOUR]

Time for a rant

I am tired of having work done on freelance sites and having to accept sub-standard work for clients then spending time myself to fix it and produce work of good quality.

All bidders in these sites are from across the globe but what I want is writers that can use the English language.

So, my question, does anyone here use freelance sites or even better, know of writers that can write to an academic standard

Contact me here or PM me

Thanks

 

[Daxo]

I completely agree with you about the quality produced by members on freelance sites. I myself have used the services of graphic designers on these sites and I must say the standard of work has been pathetic thus far.

Most of them are not actually designers, they are what I would call technicians, - people who know how to use the various design packages, illustrator, Flash, quark express and so on, BUT and it's a big but, they have ZERO creativity, they no nothing of typography, spacing, layout etc and they clearly have no creative intelligence. It is so frustrating that they should call themselves designers when they are just technicians. I've had to point out basic things to them such as the font used is illegible, or that they've cropped a picture so much you can no longer see the key part of the picture etc. They just don't have a clue.

I'd also point out that I always offer very reasonable remuneration for work I tender, I never try to skimp, I've just been thoroughly unimpressed with these so called "designers".

 

[URBAN COLOUR]

Indeed,

I think some people are pulled in by the 'cheap' factor but to be honest it is a case of you get what you pay for.

It beggars believe that someone can bid £50 and have project done in a day.. oh come on !!!

There surly is a market for top writers that dont cost the earth but dont produce rubbish

suppliers need to make a living, but customers are on a budget. there must be a middle ground

 

[BusinessDeli]

Coming from the other end of the freelancer, I've used 'people per hour' before to write a business plan for a client there. I won;t be using it again! The rates offered were pitiful and the whole process was shocking. I put that one down to experience lol
I also agree - you get what you pay for; there are decent freelancers to be had but you have to be quite specific in your brief.
What did you want the writers to write about?

 

[mit74]

I've used freelancers for dev and content writing. I've found they have individuals as a front person and the actual work is done by a team of junior devs/writers which is then proofed by the senior body. As you can imagine the work can be very sub-standard, can differ depending on the person used and communication is an absolute nightmare. In individuals many people who claim they're from the UK aren't and even though they speak good english can't necessarily write good english. As with anything you get what you pay for I suppose.

 

[bizrep103]

You could search for freelance copywriters on journalism.co.uk and check examples of previous work before hiring them.

 

[MancunianCreative]

Pay peanuts......

 

[Jet Virtual]

You know what I have tried the freelance thing too and it does get frustrating. You think you're saving money because your'e paying $5 an hour instead of alot more but you end up wasting so much time and still not getting what you wanted in the end.

(rant over)

 

[Chance1234]

The old adage, you get what you pay for ?

 

[S-Marketing]

These types of sites are to let people who are not very good at marketing sell their services to people who are not very good at business.

You don't get someone who is good at what they do scrabbling for work on one of these sites.

 

[Andy777]

You can get super high quality stuff done by Freelancers on eLance.com

But you have to be ready to pay for that.

You can't pay $10 for a 500 word article and expect magazine quality. Magazines pay hundreds of dollars for each article, think about that.

 

[MortifiedCow]

Freelance sites are great for certain things - I regularly get dev work done to an extremely high standard. It's just a case of being precise with the spec and screening candidates effectively.

Good writers don't stay on there for long though, because it's a real race to the bottom price-wise.

As an alternative, I'd look elsewhere for native English speakers who're able to offer low rates because they're doing it as a part-time gig while they travel. If they're travelling in Asia they can afford to charge £20 for an article that takes an hour to write, whereas they couldn't if they were back in the US or UK. Same standard of writing though, obviously.

It'll take a bit of digging to find someone, but when you've got a winner you can just stick with them.

Here's someone I found in 30 seconds by searching "freelance seo writer digital nomad": http://www.completewritingsolutions.com/ (not a recommendation, just an example)

And here's a list of 16 people who have the terms "freelance writer" and "nomad" in their Twitter bio: http://followerwonk.com/bio/?q=%22freelance%20writer%22%20nomad

 

[SketchSlate]

Well I run a web design company and tend to use another web design company (square blueberry ltd) for any written or 3d modelling content. They have never let me down I've been using them since July.

 

[NitroSEO]

Rather than using a freelancer site, its best to find a company that specialises in content creation, otherwise you will be going around in circles trying to find someone who can deliver. Ive had a right nightmare on freelancer sites myself and sometimes feel if i want it done properly, i might as well do it myself.

 

[csaba]

Indeed,
There surly is a market for top writers that dont cost the earth but dont produce rubbish

suppliers need to make a living, but customers are on a budget. there must be a middle ground

You can control quality by either sourcing copywriters from respectable places, or pushing the quality bar higher during prospecting.

For the former, I'd recommend textbrokers, they have a sliding scale on quality/price, and the high-ends are usually professional.

For the later approach, I'd recommend using leverage-based hiring selection during prospecting: the idea here is to insert a small-sized test for candidates directly into the job's description, and award the order based on what they'll pull through on this one. Eg. "write 3 unique paragraphs about the benefits of private health insurance".

Vast majority of candidates will give you their boilerplate quote (disregard those); but there are usually 1-3 freelancers, who actually pull through this. Check it against Google (for plagiarisation), compare, select the best. This usually works, and the kind of candidates you'll get are the ones hungry (and capable) for work.

 

[sarky]

Time for a rant

I am tired of having work done on freelance sites and having to accept sub-standard work for clients then spending time myself to fix it and produce work of good quality.

All bidders in these sites are from across the globe but what I want is writers that can use the English language.

So, my question, does anyone here use freelance sites or even better, know of writers that can write to an academic standard

Contact me here or PM me

Thanks

It might be worth looking at the Society of Freelance Editors and Proofreaders. Search its directory for 'writing' and there loads there. These people tend to work in the publishing field and tend to be reliable.

You might even find a local person who you can invite over for a chat to outline what you're after.

Prices reflect their skills.

 

[Edesio]

Try to find something here -forum.freelanceswitch.com/

 

[scotland74]

Hi there

Been on the site a few times. I'm a freelance writer, have contributed to national and local newspapers, as well as specialised magazines.
Be quite happy to help out. Drop me an email.
Thanks