Ad I'm Running On CraigsList - Please Critique

[robinana]

What Do You Girls Think About This Article. I know the pay isn't high but do you think I will get any hits? My thinking is that I'd rather start out paying a bit lower, before I jump right in to top rates. I've hooked up with writers already that have provided difficult to read, run on sentences with very little research done.

Most of the articles are heavily plagiarized as if the writer just found any old article on another website, then copied and pasted most of it, adding useless, empty sentences in between. I know someone is going to say, hey...you get what you pay for, but what about some sort of short proving period before I pay a writer top rates. Once they send me that first article and I see that it's crappy, I still feel obligated to pay them and I'm tired of paying top dollar for articles I clearly can't use. Even when I send it back to the writer for corrections and editing, I KNOW it's going to come back just as unusable.

Someone who can provide creative, strong content is very hard to come by. I guess my question is-- How could I change this ad to make those who may consider answering it realize the caliber of writer I am looking for, and also that there is a future together once I find a couple of people who really click?

HELP! I'm wasting tons of time and money interviewing people whose work I can't use. Can anyone clearly see another angel I could take???? Any advice appreciated.

Anyway Here is the Ad as it Appears:

"I have owned and operated an Online Marketing Company which provides SEO and keyword rich articles for the past three years.Our team provides freelance and ghost writing, copy writing, web content article sets, and well researched articles.

If you are familiar with writing for the Internet, then you are aware of the regurgitated sludge and poorly written, boring and useless mess that can be found on many websites and blogs.
I am looking for a few intelligent writers who have the ability to craft fluid, engaging articles and blog posts. Ultimately, I'd like someone who is a self thinker, deadline-driven and able to write content that will be plagiarism free. We pass all articles through Copyscape while editing.

Pay for articles is generally $7-10 each. Most articles need to be 500-550 word count and well laid out with sub headings. If you would like to join our team, please check out Writers Elite (our newest site) and then drop me a sample of your writing abilities.

I pay through Paypal every Friday. If payment is needed sooner due to impending bills, this can be arranged. Email to: [email protected]

Please do not send an attachment. Copy and past an article into the body of your email. On the subject line of the email, please write: FREELANCER

Work can begin today if you have the skills we are looking for. After several articles are accepted, your name will be added to our website as one of our staff writers.

REQUIREMENTS: Do not contact if you do not live in the United States. Must be English speaking and educated in the United States. Deadlines are usually next day or sometimes the same day. You don't have to accept every article you are given, but the more you decline, the less you may be offered.

Please only contact me if you are a work at home individual. Most work needs to be completed during business hours. Our business has recently grown tremendously and I expect it to continue. In order to offer the highest level of customer satisfaction, we offer quick turnaround and engaging, smart content."


[email protected]

[josiemy]

It is very clear that you are looking for good writers. My only critique would be to add that the pay may increase once you are a proven writer. At a pay rate under $10 an hour, you generally aren't going to attract those of us with some experience, and if you do, you probably won't get the same quality we would give for a higher pay. If I can write a 400 word article for $15, I wouldn't spend the same time on a 500 word article for $7. If you write it as a trial period of some kind with a future raise, you may draw more experienced writers. We are always looking to diversify and I would personally be open to that opportunity if I knew the pay would increase after a given period of time.
I also wouldn't feel obligated to pay someone for something that isn't worthy of your site. Write in there that the applicants will only be paid if the article meets your standards. No reason you should be paying someone for plagiarized or terrible work. I would give them a 1 article trial and say if it is accepted you will be paid and given the opportunity to do more work. If it is not acceptable, you will not be paid or offered a position. There is no reason to waste your money on bad writing when you could use that money to pay good writers better rates.

Just my opinion on it- take it or leave it and good luck!

[robinana]

That makes perfect sense. Maybe I'm not as assertive as I think I am. I should just offer the rate that makes the most sense for each article and only a pay on acceptance basis. I guess it's like shooting myself in the foot doing it the way I'm doing. I don't even see the article on Craigslist yet so I am going to change it accordingly.

Thanks. Really I could do a $10 per article short trial period and then move on to a higher rate.

[RH Texas Gal]

Just do a quick spell check ... I saw a misspelled word "past" when it should clearly be "paste" in the paragraph just below where you listed your email address ... have to practice what you expect from others right?

It looks good to me and expresses what you want ...

[Del S]

I have a question: Can you tell from the samples the writers send what type of writers they are? I'm asking because I figure if someone is a strong, competent writer, their sample would reflect that, so I'm not sure how good samples end up turning to poor copy down the line. Are they sending you whole samples via email or are they sending you links to their writing? I think most established writers try to send links to their writing--it saves them time, plus they're normally cautious of sending whole samples (I know some think, rightly or wrongly, that their links to samples should speak for themselves).

Anyway, I agree with josiemy that the pay currently offered won't really attract high-caliber writers because they'll think it's too low for them. Saying that an increase in pay is possible after a while should help.

[robinana]

Originally Posted by RH Texas Gal

Just do a quick spell check ... I saw a misspelled word "past" when it should clearly be "paste" in the paragraph just below where you listed your email address ... have to practice what you expect from others right?

It looks good to me and expresses what you want ...

Good catch on the spelling. I would feel completely satisfied though if I could find an interesting and engaging writer who made a few spelling mistakes... =]

[robinana]

Originally Posted by Del S

I have a question: Can you tell from the samples the writers send what type of writers they are? I'm asking because I figure if someone is a strong, competent writer, their sample would reflect that, so I'm not sure how good samples end up turning to poor copy down the line. Are they sending you whole samples via email or are they sending you links to their writing? I think most established writers try to send links to their writing--it saves them time, plus they're normally cautious of sending whole samples (I know some think, rightly or wrongly, that their links to samples should speak for themselves).

Anyway, I agree with josiemy that the pay currently offered won't really attract high-caliber writers because they'll think it's too low for them. Saying that an increase in pay is possible after a while should help.

I appreciate the advice and actually the ad never showed up on Craigslist. It tells me that it's there but when I search for it...not there. I did receive a few solid responses from the ladies here on WAHMs forum and I think I may have two additions to my writing team.

[SuperSandraB]

Originally Posted by robinana

I appreciate the advice and actually the ad never showed up on Craigslist. It tells me that it's there but when I search for it...not there. I did receive a few solid responses from the ladies here on WAHMs forum and I think I may have two additions to my writing team.

I guess this would be as effective place as any to find writers! G'luck!

[Virtuous]

Has anyone here ever worked for Robinana? I was just curious about reputation and credibility purposes for payments, tis all. Thank you.

[Virtuous]

I have the information I need; I will definitely not apply to this one. Thanks to those who responded via PM