In the past, I did some outsourcing and hired ghostwriters. This gave me the chance to look at TOO MANY professional writer sites, "shopping" for a writer to help me. It was maddening for sure, but I learned a few things from it. It gave me the chance to see ghostwriter sites from the others side, not as a writer but as a buyer of services.
The Front Page
For the front page, I think it's a good idea to limit how much text you have. If it looks like a Dostoyevsky novel or Ben Franklin's autobiography, nobody's going to read it. Sparsely placed text that says a couple of simple things (after all, it's the internet!) works best.
If you don't end up reading everything on the first page (or even if you do), you're going to scroll down to see how much the prices are. Lots of ghostwriter sites don't list prices on the front page or anywhere, and when I was shopping for a ghostwriter, I just skipped those. If a potential client has to email you and wait for your response about the price, that's just one more thing that's going to deter them and hire somebody else. On the other hand, I totally understand why lots of folks don't want to quote prices. It's not convenient for everybody to have a "one price fits all" way like I do.
It's also good to have a picture and anything else that shows your personality. All this does is put your site a little ahead of the others, and it tells the buyer that you've got some creativity, which is one thing they're looking for.
Client Feedback
If a person has no client feedback, that doesn't mean they suck. They may be just starting out or they may not know that they need it. If they have some client feedback, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're a great writer. They may have just written free articles for folks to get it. But if they have feedback (and the more the better) it kind of shows that they're serious. In other words, they went through the trouble to get it, and that shows that they're building their business.
If your site has a client feedback page but none yet, maybe because you haven't gotten around to it or whatever, I suggest you get some on there as soon as possible. It looks a little weird to have a testimonial page with no testimonials!
Samples
When checking out samples, I looked for two things. First of all, how is their writing style. Second, was there any actual content in the articles. I figured that the samples people put on their site must be what they deemed their best work, something to represent them, so the quality is a pretty good determiner.
The writing style just has to move from the top to the bottom. Basically, if I tune out what I'm reading in the first paragraph, that's not really a good sign. Of course, if the sample article is about upholstery cleaning, it might be my fault. My attention span also isn't what it used to be. But basically, if I get to the end of the article and feel like it couldn't possibly be 500 words, that means they're an excellent writer! Of course, I'm looking for grammar mistakes and if I see even one, I pass and look at the next site.
As far as the content goes, I use my sense as a writer to determine this. Is there anything of actual value in the article? If you've read lots of articles online, you know that lots of them ramble and ramble, but don't actually say anything of value. Make sure that it has some real content there; for example, several good tips that will really help people.
Price
Now, of course I look at price. But price is far from the determining factor. If someone charges $20 an article, I'm a little tougher with them. What I mean is that they'd better have some serious feedback and some great samples. Not that $20 an article is such an amazing thing to charge, but they have to be at least on top of their game and not a newbie. On the other hand, if somebody charges $5, I wouldn't mind too much that they have no feedback. If you're lucky enough to find someone who writes good content for that price, you should keep them a secret from the rest of the world though. It doesn't happen too much.
The Front Page
For the front page, I think it's a good idea to limit how much text you have. If it looks like a Dostoyevsky novel or Ben Franklin's autobiography, nobody's going to read it. Sparsely placed text that says a couple of simple things (after all, it's the internet!) works best.
If you don't end up reading everything on the first page (or even if you do), you're going to scroll down to see how much the prices are. Lots of ghostwriter sites don't list prices on the front page or anywhere, and when I was shopping for a ghostwriter, I just skipped those. If a potential client has to email you and wait for your response about the price, that's just one more thing that's going to deter them and hire somebody else. On the other hand, I totally understand why lots of folks don't want to quote prices. It's not convenient for everybody to have a "one price fits all" way like I do.
It's also good to have a picture and anything else that shows your personality. All this does is put your site a little ahead of the others, and it tells the buyer that you've got some creativity, which is one thing they're looking for.
Client Feedback
If a person has no client feedback, that doesn't mean they suck. They may be just starting out or they may not know that they need it. If they have some client feedback, that doesn't necessarily mean that they're a great writer. They may have just written free articles for folks to get it. But if they have feedback (and the more the better) it kind of shows that they're serious. In other words, they went through the trouble to get it, and that shows that they're building their business.
If your site has a client feedback page but none yet, maybe because you haven't gotten around to it or whatever, I suggest you get some on there as soon as possible. It looks a little weird to have a testimonial page with no testimonials!
Samples
When checking out samples, I looked for two things. First of all, how is their writing style. Second, was there any actual content in the articles. I figured that the samples people put on their site must be what they deemed their best work, something to represent them, so the quality is a pretty good determiner.
The writing style just has to move from the top to the bottom. Basically, if I tune out what I'm reading in the first paragraph, that's not really a good sign. Of course, if the sample article is about upholstery cleaning, it might be my fault. My attention span also isn't what it used to be. But basically, if I get to the end of the article and feel like it couldn't possibly be 500 words, that means they're an excellent writer! Of course, I'm looking for grammar mistakes and if I see even one, I pass and look at the next site.
As far as the content goes, I use my sense as a writer to determine this. Is there anything of actual value in the article? If you've read lots of articles online, you know that lots of them ramble and ramble, but don't actually say anything of value. Make sure that it has some real content there; for example, several good tips that will really help people.
Price
Now, of course I look at price. But price is far from the determining factor. If someone charges $20 an article, I'm a little tougher with them. What I mean is that they'd better have some serious feedback and some great samples. Not that $20 an article is such an amazing thing to charge, but they have to be at least on top of their game and not a newbie. On the other hand, if somebody charges $5, I wouldn't mind too much that they have no feedback. If you're lucky enough to find someone who writes good content for that price, you should keep them a secret from the rest of the world though. It doesn't happen too much.
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