New site for buyers and providers of content

[David]

Originally Posted by SharpClause

I think I love you.

Thank you

My biggest challenge right now is to get more projects on the site. In fact , I would love to get some freelancer's perspective on this as I don't really want the site to go down the, "I'll write for 0.01p per word on (insert topic here)", route if I can help it.

[SharpClause]

Difficult when you're competing against people who live in parts of the world where the cost of living is considerably lower in comparison to the west and for whom even $0.01 per word for 1000 words is acceptable. But what do you do about that?

Additionally, as a bid site owner, how do you begin to (or even should you?) make value judgements on the work being advertised? Do you accept 'we need top notch writers with thirty years of experience and a doctorate in nuclear physics to rewrite 100 x500-word articles on rat breeding in 50 different ways with no repetition and with GUD GRAMER AND NO SPELING MISTAKS so we can fool Google (plz write 3 free samples so we can see if you're good enuff)' which is usually offering small fractions of a peanut, for inclusion as well as one that asks for an article of 1000 words on organic gardening and pays three peanuts .. or do you set a minimum rate that Buyers must pay to anyone they hire. How do you encourage buyers to pay a good fee when they can get it cheaper elsewhere.

There again, occasionally you'll come across an opportunity that may not be paying well but is fantastic in terms of the subject interest and the future spin-offs in terms of referral to other people. You can't legislate for buyers to offer £100 for 500 words if they just don't have the cash, but I think writers can make a lower paying job work in their favour with a quid pro quo arrangement tied in (a byline for instance) and/or making sure that the buyer doesn't want to use anyone else when future business takes off.

Maybe it's down to marketing of the site so that Buyers know this is where you get proven writing quality. Maybe the writers need to be accepted on the strength of their writing so that Buyers will know what they're getting. Maybe the Buyers need to have their ads sifted / be asked to pay a minimum rate.

What does anyone else think ..

[robindog]

I really feel that you should concentrate on bringing buyer and supplier together and ignore the monetary content as this just tends to drive down prices and leads to idiots posting impossible bids for unprofessional work as is demonstrated by some of the terrible spelling mistakes in the quotes.

[SharpClause]

Originally Posted by robindog

I really feel that you should concentrate on bringing buyer and supplier together and ignore the monetary content as this just tends to drive down prices

(Do you mean it should simply be a contact site between buyers and freelancers ?)

A couple of things - is it possible to have bids in GBP rather than USD? And it would be good to have a private upload facility too, so that Tom, Dick and Harry aren't also able to read confidential material supporting a bid. Some of my clients are happy for me to show potential clients the work I've done as long as it's not freely available for everyone to read.

I'm being picky, aren't I ..

[David]

Originally Posted by robindog

I really feel that you should concentrate on bringing buyer and supplier together and ignore the monetary content as this just tends to drive down prices and leads to idiots posting impossible bids for unprofessional work as is demonstrated by some of the terrible spelling mistakes in the quotes.

Monetisation is core to the principle of the site; however, I do believe that, over time, it will find its own level. If providers are happy to write 500 words for $1.00 then I'm sure there will be a enough buyers with projects to satisfy their requirements. I do believe though that well-worded projects with a mid to high band budget will attract the competent providers.

[David]

[quote=SharpClause;6339}

I'm being picky, aren't I .. [/QUOTE]

Not at all. The site is still in gestation period so 'finding its level' will take some time. It's an interesting idea changing the currency to GBP as it may be that USD simply attracts the wrong kind of people.

[SharpClause]

OK scrub my comment on the private upload - you've done it! That's fantastic. I shall hie me there again and upload with confidence

Re the USD thing. If you do change to GBP it might encourage more UK buyers and providers. If you have to pay in USD it's a bit of a palaver, and as a provider it's a flippin nightmare keeping track of exchange rates on the invoice date (or payment date, or whatever) for the tax return, plus there's the charge made by the middle men who rake in a bit for currency conversion

OK scrub my comment on the private upload - you've done it! That's fantastic. I shall hie me there again and upload with confidence

No, as you were .. ;-) Can't upload without the pdf being available to all.

[thetopcopy]

The USD puts me off too.

Also when I see UK copywriters bidding just £30 for ten original 'high quality' articles (which would probably take me at least 15 hours) I don't bother looking at the project.

But of course I shouldn't complain as it's unavoidable in a competitive market!

[GTFC]

Lots of good stuff here in these replies. I did have a quick look at the site the other day when I found it via different means, but dismissed it immediately as soon as I saw someone bidding '$30 for five articles', or whatever it was!

As long as people are willing to carry out writing work for peanuts then these types of sites will never appeal to writers like myself. I charge £385 for a 1,000 word technology-related case study and I know that's considered quite a good price in my world. So there is a huge mis-match there.

Like the idea of calling them 'quotes' not 'bids' - and stressing that the cheapest one will not necessarily always win. In an ideal world something that was more of a 'dating agency' - e.g. match the perfect supplier to the client - would be more beneficial for writers.

Definitely agree on the GBP not $$$ thing as well!

[SharpClause]

Been looking at the site again today and it does strike me that there's definitely a need for a place to upload material to support a bid. You don't necessarily want everyone to be looking at the cards in your hand, so although it's possible to upload a file to a bid which is viewable by everyone, there would be value in having an upload facility in a private message.

It's finding the way to make it appealing to buyers and to writers who want to be earning a fair wage for what they do. O-Desk is one way, I guess, although the pay by hour / online monitoring set up is difficult to work with if you're a creative writer.

One way of stopping spam / automatic bids would be to have one of those password thingies (type this sequence of numbers) when you place a bid.

Ultimately, I guess it comes down to what the optimum balance is between the owner making money, the writer making a decent living, and the buyer understanding the value of what they're buying when they're selecting a writer.