Too Busy To Blog? Pay Someone To Do It For You

14 Comment(s)

1. Ubertor | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   Many of our Realtors that we have blogging have their assistants do it for them. The agent gives the assistant the topic and the assistant runs with it. It is basically paying someone else to do it.

2. P Kitano | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   Blogging is a daunting task for the layman wondering whether they can write consistently, cleverly and creatively. However, I find it hard to believe that canned blog writing will pass SEO muster (RSS Pieces, affiliated with MyRealtyBlog, says as much). And contract writing for just one unique blog for a fee seems expensive - your article above is 150 words or so and at a low $.25/word, that’s $37. (see http://www.writers.ca/whattopay.htm.). Finally, the “blogger’s personality”, a key benefit to blogging doesn’t mainfest…

3. Jim Turner | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   We have been providing bloggers for the real estate blog for over 2 years now. We have some great advice for realtors and are able to give some great hints to help you drive traffic and ultimately leads to your business.

   Jim Turner
   http://www.bloggersforhire.com

4. Jim Turner | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   Oh and P. Kitano, I spend exactly “0″ on SEO and if you google hiring bloggers, you can see the power of “canned blog writing”.

   We do a flat fee and it is considerably less than you formula of .25 per word. We provide 200 to 250 words daily at a flat monthly fee that is both affordable and worry free. And yes, all our bloggers have a personality. We just fit it in with your business and plans for communication.

5. Kris Berg | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   I actually shared my similar frustration in a previous post at SanDiegoHomeBlog.com. Funny, “sad” was exactly the work I used. Why do it yourself when you can pay someone else? Geez… I cling to the hope that these faux blogs will fail miserably, as I believe one of the true appeals of the blog is the sincerity and the “real” factor. Ghost writers just can’t cut it.

6. Jenny | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   There are many of us that use services we feel need to be outsourced or provided by an outside company. Whether it be for blogging or any other business need. If I am paying for a service and getting what I expect how is that sad? I don’t know this company, but if they provided the service I wanted and the expected level of service I needed then I wouldn’t have any problem with them. Now if I were to pay for a service and they didn’t live up to their end of the bargain then I would be a bit miffed about it.

   I do have a friend that has done some writing for me and she does a great job, but she at times has a hard time finding work. She ended up signing up with a company like this one or the one the other poster Jim runs and now she has more work than she cares to do. I think she said she doesn’t quite get paid as much since she is a part of a service, but hey… she didn’t have as much work, and now she does. Anyway, for what its worth…

7. Jonathon Roberts | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   I’m not sure I can agree with what Joel is saying. I have used freelance writers and used a blogging service from time to time that provides me with a blogger(s). I don’t see this company as anything different than the site mentioned in the post. Looks like they are just providing a service… like the ones I have already used with expected results. Joel you have used some strong words for classifying them… does that mean the company I use should be seen in the same vane… does that mean I should be viewed in such a light because I use a service like that?

   I only glanced at the site for a couple of minutes and I don’t see a lot there yet, so it may be a relatively new business so I can’t speak much on thier practices, but the service I have used has served me as expected… and the key word here is what I expect. I lay out exactly what I expect clearly and that is what I am going to pay for. Not some 150 word fluff post.

   What I have liked about using a service… even over hiring a freelance writer is when I pay the service I expect them to provide a blogger that can blog on the topics I provide, I expect them to meet my requirements in post length, and whatever else I require. If they don’t meet those needs they have to provide someone else or I move on. I also don’t have to worry about training the person and what not. BUT… I always examine what is posted and I control whether or not it is made public or not. So I do NOT follow your thinking on this.

   Jim, Looks like you may be providing a service like this other company and one that I use so rest assured there are folks out there that like your service. I’ll check yours out for future needs.

   Now… Kris… I read your comment and post on your site and I will have to agree that I do like knowing that I am hearing from the owner him or herself, but I definitely would not hold it against a growing company to use hired bloggers. That would be like me saying I can’t use Microsoft products because Bill Gates is not the one authoring it. (Linux lovers… I like linux too)

   When I use Legal Firm for real estate law or a Legal Firm for any other purposes I realize the attorneys have hired hands that do much of the leg work or when I hire an accounting firm that many times the head honcho is not doing all the work. Do I not use these firms? Do I only go with the company that has a one man show where I know he / she is the only one servicing me? Sounds kind of silly doesn’t it.

   I guess I have come to your defense Jim and at the same time the company mentioned, but I expect if I just asked for some free bloggers or some bloggers that are willing to post for a couple of dollars a post then I would be doing MUCH worse than if I hired someone like Jim’s company that is being paid to provide a certain level of service and if they couldn’t do it I would move on.

   Joel, one of your statements was “Have trouble coming up with new content for your blog?”. I know some have run into this… I ran across a site called Problogger.net that addresses that question fairly well for those that are interested.

   I also noticed you said “… is a service that will blog for you. For a fee, of course…” Do you expect a company to provide a service for free? Hey Jim, I think I will check out your service, but there is one catch, you have to do it for free.

   I just saw where Kris said “faux blogs”. Hmmm… so you hope all businesses that may not personally post all blog entries on their site fails??? Now that is sad.

   My advice in any business dealings is to get to know who you are going to work with, I go as far as to try and get to know them personally, set expectations and put it in writing, and see where it goes. If they can’t provide what you want move on and don’t recommend them.

   I don’t know about the company mentioned here, but I know the few I have dealt with have provided a service I was looking for. I do like some of the freelancers out there, but they tend to be more costly… at least in my experience.

   Jonathon

8. Justin Smith | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   It doesn’t even look like the site is up and running yet. I pull the same conent on almost every page, and when I tried to contact them, that didn’t work either… they probably aren’t getting any new customers. lol

9. Joel Burslem | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

   I use the word sad, because services like these undermine what I think is the best thing about blogging. Letting your own voice be heard.

   If you’re paying someone to write your blog for you, then it’s not your voice coming through.

   Jonathan. Let me ask you this? Why do you blog? If it’s not to let your opinion, your experience or your voice come through - then why bother? Just to game the search engines? Do you have nothing to say yourself? You seem quite eloquent in your comments to this post.

   Unfortunately, you don’t even provide a link back to your site for us to have a look.

   I don’t have a problem with this company and what they do per say, I don’t begrudge anyone their right to earn a living. It’s Economics 101, where there’s a demand - there’s a supply.

   Still, the fact that there is a demand is just… Sad.

10. Derek Rey | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

    I could use this! kidding (partly). Been busy busy

11. P Kitano | Sep 25, 2006 | Reply

    Jim @ bloggersforhire, thanks for explaining your business model… I was speculating because I didn’t know your business… I’m still surprised there are a lot of ghost blog writers out there.

12. Jonathon Roberts | Sep 26, 2006 | Reply

    Joel,

    First let me clear up why I didn’t provide a link back to any site… One word “retaliation�. Joel, what is to keep you from saying the companies I own are run by snake oil salesman or hustlers or scammers just because I use hired bloggers??? Absolutely nothing! I am not saying you would deliberately slander me, but if you feel so strongly about a company providing that sort of service then I can only imagine how you feel about a company that uses that sort of service. You see what I mean?

    I realize that perhaps you are using a marketing technique in which you write something controversial or something that may bring opposing views to the table for the purposes of driving traffic to your site and to spur debate. Regardless of whether or not the post was made with the intention of initiating a debate, I guess I have been a willing participant.

    Speaking of this technique, I ran across by Joel Comm where he wrote a blog post that spurred a debate that went on for pages and pages and pages. I sat down one night to read the comments and before I knew it I had been reading for several hours. Unbelievable.

    In regards to blogging and “letting your voice be heard�. I understand where you are coming from and as time allows I personally blog, however I have a business to run that requires my attention and my time is very valuable. If I had a personal blog I would certainly not hire anyone to blog on it… it is my personal blog. But my different company blogs are a different matter. I am selling the services or product that I provide and one of the tools to help me do this is through a blogging format. In the past I would have a website that was updated somewhat regularly; however I have found that a blogging platform provides some very unique benefits that the web sites of the past cannot provide.

    As my company grows can I handle all aspects of the business alone? Absolutely not! I hire administrators to oversee day to day business, I hire marketing agencies to handle some of the larger marketing decisions, I hire receptionists to handle phone calls, I hire a multitude of people to help me provide the services I want to give to my customers… and I at times hire bloggers to help me sale… well… me and my services. And like I previously stated I still examine the majority of the posts that are made and respond to comments personally, but I simply do not have time in the day to blog all the time.

    I guess I should note, my company blogs are just that, company blogs. Not a personal blog. Anyone at any of my companies can blog and when I hire I have them blog on topics that are relevant and helpful.

    I know business associates that do all there blogging themselves and it seems like that is all they do. Perhaps they are doing too much, but I desire to take care of business and then have time for my family. After handling my core business responsibilities during the day do I want to go home and spend time with my son and wife or do I spend time blogging? Let me think a second, wife and son it is.

    In regards to “my� voice coming through… well… it’s simply not going to always be me personally, but nothing will go on the site that I do not agree with or give my blessings on. But at the same time when I have an employee / someone I have contracted that does their job and does it well I don’t sit there and hand hold them all day to make sure they don’t make a mistake. I allow them to build trust to the point where I allow them to do what they do best and what they get paid to do.

    Why do I blog? Well I have a lot to say, but I can tell you the time that it has taken me to make the 2 posts I have made here has cost me more in time and money than I desire. The better question is why do I have a blog at all? Frankly, I would be an idiot to leave this sort of medium out of my marketing strategy. I want my company to be found, I want to sell my services and goods, and I want to do it the best I can. I believe a blogging platform can help do this even better than a standard website, but it doesn’t have to be me doing “all� the blogging. Regardless of whether it is me doing the blogging, a staff member, or an outside firm I know one thing, I want it to be relevant to my potential clients, I want it to be accurate, I want it to be approved by me, and I want it to help provide new leads for my business.

    You mention… “just to game the search engines�. Well I could write or hire someone to write in such a way that makes the search engines put me on the 1000th page of a search list, but that would make much business sense would it?

    Here’s how I see it. Whatever I endeavor to do I try to do it the best I can. If I am not the best person to be doing it or simply do not have the time to do it all I make sure I surround myself with good people that can do it. And yes, I will make use of blogging technology to help market my business and try my best to provide an outstanding service for my clients. I don’t use scammers or snake oil companies to help do this, but I use resources and services that help me do this.

    Lastly… you say “still, the fact that there is a demand is just… sad�. I guess it is all in your point of view. I would like to have the time to be able to personally do everything in my business, but I would simply have to clone myself, which the last time I checked was illegal and I would probably get into too many fights with myself.

    Joel, I do appreciate your point of view and your freedom to state it in any fashion you desire. I just don’t agree with it from a business standpoint and I certainly don’t agree with how you categorized a company that from appearances is just getting started. Not to mention how it categorizes companies such as mine that use services like this. If I had any advice for the company being attacked here I would say make sure you don’t put your site up until you have it ready to be up.

    Jonathon

13. Justin Smith | Sep 26, 2006 | Reply

    Geez, now that’s a comment… Joel, a rebuttal?

14. Jim Gatos | Sep 28, 2006 | Reply

    Please check out my blog at http://www.gatosblog.com and notice that my blog (with my wife) is a personal undertaking. I designed it, I host it, I post on it. If a blog is meant to show the public yourself in a more personal way, I would NEVER pay anyone to blog for me because they are not me! I’m sorry, that’s not what I see my blog to be.. Maybe I don’t have the latest in updates, but I think I spread my personality pretty well throughout… At least you know first hand I do my own blogging…

3 Trackback(s)

1. From The San Diego Home Blog » Blog Archive » Blogging - The Twelve Step Program | Sep 26, 2006
2. From The Ethics of Blogging For Dollars | Mar 20, 2007
3. From The San Diego Home Blog » 2006 » September | Jul 6, 2007

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