Hiring people to write directory listings (?)

Marketing Guy · 07-06-2007, 08:08 AM

Hey folks,

I'm about to launch a new directory (lo and behyold the world is now complete!

) and I was considering hiring people to write listings for it on a category by category basis.

So for example, I'd assign a few categories to a person and would want 10 or sites listed in each category (following my editorial guides).

I'm still not entirely settled on this idea though and I wanted to see what folks thought about this?

Another factor is the pricing - I reckon I could probably find 10 sites in any given category and write titles and a 30-50 word description for each pretty quickly (while ensuring all the sites are decent). Maybe 30 minutes to do 10? But as an SEO I do have a kind of second nature when it comes to spotting spammy sites so that speeds things up.

What sort price would you charge to write 10 directory listings? Are there even many people who would want to do this kind of thing? I have a vague figure in my head about how much each listing would be worth to me, but although I have a decent budget to spend, I'd rather keep costs to a minimum as this is more of a hobby project than a business one.

I'm not looking to start with work just now - this is more of a rhetorical post to discuss the topic a little - I'll stick another in the marketplace forum if I decide to go ahead with it (but if you are interested feel free to PM me anyway).

I'd appreciate any input folks have - either if you have done work like this before or hired listing writers or just have an opinion on the matter.

Cheers
MG

DimlerJ · 07-06-2007, 08:47 AM

If you want cheap work, you can count on rentacoder.com. I used to work there as a coder, but I gave up. No matter how low was my bid, there always were people with no or low ratings that would bid less. I recommend you make bigger projects for 40-50 listings, you'll get a better price that way.

Marketing Guy · 07-06-2007, 12:12 PM

Thanks.

I was planning to offer larger batches later on, but initially I'd like lots of small batches from a lot of different suppliers so I can pick and choose who I want to work with. I might try some freelance boards and see what I get back.

Cheers
MG

mauiman · 07-09-2007, 12:20 AM

Quality writers are very hard to come by imo. Although I'm an optimist in general I think you're going to find it very difficult to outsource your site review/link description project on a large scale affordably.

I also think your estimated time per listing is low to make matter even worse.

If you come up with an offer you might try posting on forumposters.org or some of the work at home mom forums/sites. You'll find some good writers and perhaps some Website owners willing to trade some writing for linkage.

Good luck and success to you!

mauiman

Jsny · 07-09-2007, 09:29 AM

As a beginner directory owner I'm thinking about it too, so I would love to hear the price your willing to pay, and if anyone is interessted. Please keep me posted.

megri · 07-09-2007, 11:14 AM

We are into directory making since 1999 and can do work for your. What is your budget?

LennyP · 07-09-2007, 03:24 PM

Unfortunately, 99% of the freelance "writers" that you will find to do this type of work are uneducated, third world people with a very weak understanding of the English language and an even weaker work ethic. If you want quality writing you are going to have to pay a lot more than what these people work for.

Obelia · 07-13-2007, 07:15 AM

A more accurate estimate is 7 or 8 listings per hour, assuming that your editor actually visits the website and reviews the listing properly. You have to check a few pages to be sure things aren't broken, after all. And then there's the question of where you will be getting these lists of websites. 90% of those from the submission form could be spam.

So you could consider a rate of 7 or 8 websites per hour, if you can provide your editors with relatively clean lists of urls to work with. If you can't get a good list for your niche and guidelines, you'll need to raise your prices.

Marketing Guy · 07-18-2007, 03:28 AM

Thanks for the feedback folks!

I've had quotes ranging from $20 to $300 per 10 listings after posting the job on a freelance job board. Strangely though some of the lower quotes actually had much better examples provided and were prepared to reduce the cost further for high scales of work (500-1000 listings). Although I did offer revenue share options to sweeten the deal.

I haven't decided on budget yet - it's not a huge concern for me as I am happy to pay to get a solid directory launched, but I'll probably look at allocating around £2,000 or so to the project.

I've had a bit of hold up on the design side of things which has delayed the project a little, but I hope to get the system live over the next couple of weeks and start getting the copy done then.

Thanks again for the feedback folks.
Scott

DimlerJ · 07-22-2007, 03:06 AM

Your budget is quite big for promoting this directory. I really doubt that it is worth it and that you will get a decent revenue to cover the initial cost. Paid submissions are scarce, Google ads don't work for directories and affiliate programs need a lot of traffic until a visit converts into a sale.

Best of luck, though!

Qurratulain · 07-22-2007, 06:07 AM

Rightly said by Obelia, whoever you hire, you cannot keep everthing on writers' part, and must have to keep a close check.

jhnrang · 07-22-2007, 06:48 AM

Hi
Best of luck with your project. If you POUND 2000 includes design+ coding mods+ Promotion --I think its medium budget. Might not be enough to compete with the biggies--but good enough for a jumpstart.

To come back on the topic --you may please contact my friend http://www.v7n.com/forums/members/tantantin.html ( a former DMOZ editor and now owner of this high quality directory -- www.dirsensei.com ) -

He does not edit for others --but he employs two high-class --hugely experienced editors for his directory network. Those editors are employed with some of the big names in the industry too.

Their charges is also reasonable. So you may contact him for more details. Just give a reference to me if needed.

Marketing Guy · 07-28-2007, 07:08 AM

Thanks for the responses!

Budget wise, I'm so far £2k for design / coding, with perhaps another £2k earmarked initially for copywriting (and some more for promotion, but I haven't decided yet - I tend to do that relatively low cost).

I do realise the issues around monetising web directories, but I'm fairly confident I can recoup the costs easily enough and I have done some medium to large scale directory work before.

MG