In my daily course of business, one of the most important tasks I perform is to communicate with content writers. I have some regular writers who provide content for my websites and I am also on a continuous lookout for new creative writers. Since I own mostly quality content websites, ‘SEO’ writers is not what I really need. I am more after identifying and hiring writers who have creative ideas in the ‘Home & Lifestyle’ areas and can also make the articles search-engine friendly without making the article seem a pile of junk filled with ‘keyword-rich’ phrases on the topic.

It is a difficult process to identify such writers and get from them what I want. Many writers are not aware of their own creativity till they write for me. So I have to give almost everyone a chance to see if he or she turns out to be a perfect content-provider for me. Of course, I hit a lot of dead-ends in this proess. It is not rare for me to have paid for some articles and ended up not using those articles at all because they were of inferior quality or unsuitable.

I can classify my writers as:

1. Professional Creative Writers who enjoy doing creative projects at home and then writing about them

2. Amateur Creative Writers who craft and cook and decorate for their hobby and write out their instructions for publishing on websites.

3. Professional Copywriters who have a creative streak in them and give me a little more than just ‘well-researched’ articles by adding some original ideas as well.

4. Professional Writers who give me well-researched information written in a unique way. Fair enough! Sometimes I need just that.

5. Amateur writers who send me articles and tips gathered from their own experiences. These are not writers exactly. They are my website members and visitors and loyal ezine subscribers who send in their tips without even demanding any reimbursement for it.

6. Voluntary Bloggers who blog on my women’s blog site http://www.dcwblogs.com./ I pay them a share of the revenue earned by their blog.

7. Writers who send in good samples of work but give me ‘original’ junk material that I never use. For example, I asked for a ‘Holiday Sales Tips’ articles and I received an article on ‘Shopping during the Holidays’ by a writer who said she was an expert at business topics. Needless to say, I do not go back to these writers beyond the first time.

8. ‘Professional Copywriters’ who give me plagiarised web content which I immediately recognize through http://www.copyscape.com./ What I do with these writers is simple. I sue them!

How Many Writers do you need?

I have various sources of finding good writers and that gives me a varied group of writers to work with. That in turn, gives me lots of creative ideas. Never do the mistake of hiring just one writer who seems to fit your needs. Always have 4-5 good writers working for you. That way, you will have more creative juices flowing and you will also have backups in case one of your writer has other commitments.

Where and How to Find Good Writers and Content Providers

Some of my sources are:

1. Freelance Sites
2. Search on Google for Writer/Photographer/Content Provider
3. Buy/Sell Areas of Webmaster Forums
4. Posting Requirements on my Websites and Newsletters