The High Cost of Content Mills
Great!You've found a site that'll churn out as much content as you want for a penny or two a word.
What a great way to populate your site, run your blog, write your e-book, or, better yet, write your sales copy.
What more could you ask for? Except for one thing: you get what you pay for.
I wrote for some of the content mills for quite a while, and let me tell you, the quality suffers.
It's not that the writers there don't take pride in their work.
They do.
Content mills do have their standards, and bumbling English with a ton of mistakes usually won't cut it.
Here's the thing, though.
Writers who work for the content mills have to write - a lot - to make enough money to pay their bills.
It's not so much a matter of not caring about the quality of their work that's the problem.
It's the simple fact that they have to rush through articles to earn a decent wage.
Even if the work is error free, it's not even remotely what it could be if they could afford to give it their best.
What does this mean for you? People judge you by the content you provide.
Whether it's blog entries, e-mails, articles, or e-books, your readers are paying close attention to what you have to say.
Comparison shopping for anything is easier than ever, and if your writing isn't what it up to snuff, people can find someone else who provides more value with a couple of clicks.
Everything that you put out with your name on it becomes part of your package, and the reputation you build with it is your reputation.
Nobody's checking to see whether you personally wrote your content.
They just associate it with you.
If your writer(s) is just slapping stuff on a page, with or without a quick Google search, it's going to be readily apparent to anyone shopping around for what you have to offer that you're not providing much value.
That's when they go looking for someone who is.
Saving money is important to any business.
Reputation is more important.
When you have somebody write something for your company, you want to make sure that it's well researched, well written, engaging, and useful for readers.
Invest in quality writing in the short-term and you'll reap the long-term benefits.
Skimp on it and you might be more profitable in the short-term, but eventually it will catch up with you.
What a great way to populate your site, run your blog, write your e-book, or, better yet, write your sales copy.
What more could you ask for? Except for one thing: you get what you pay for.
I wrote for some of the content mills for quite a while, and let me tell you, the quality suffers.
It's not that the writers there don't take pride in their work.
They do.
Content mills do have their standards, and bumbling English with a ton of mistakes usually won't cut it.
Here's the thing, though.
Writers who work for the content mills have to write - a lot - to make enough money to pay their bills.
It's not so much a matter of not caring about the quality of their work that's the problem.
It's the simple fact that they have to rush through articles to earn a decent wage.
Even if the work is error free, it's not even remotely what it could be if they could afford to give it their best.
What does this mean for you? People judge you by the content you provide.
Whether it's blog entries, e-mails, articles, or e-books, your readers are paying close attention to what you have to say.
Comparison shopping for anything is easier than ever, and if your writing isn't what it up to snuff, people can find someone else who provides more value with a couple of clicks.
Everything that you put out with your name on it becomes part of your package, and the reputation you build with it is your reputation.
Nobody's checking to see whether you personally wrote your content.
They just associate it with you.
If your writer(s) is just slapping stuff on a page, with or without a quick Google search, it's going to be readily apparent to anyone shopping around for what you have to offer that you're not providing much value.
That's when they go looking for someone who is.
Saving money is important to any business.
Reputation is more important.
When you have somebody write something for your company, you want to make sure that it's well researched, well written, engaging, and useful for readers.
Invest in quality writing in the short-term and you'll reap the long-term benefits.
Skimp on it and you might be more profitable in the short-term, but eventually it will catch up with you.