How to Order an Article for a Blog
- 1). Understand the nature of the job. Blog posts are not the same thing as articles. Blog posts are designed to attract readers from the search engines. They are designed to engage conversation amongst readers and other blogs. They are written in under than 500 words and require a more casual and down-to-earth tone. Articles, on the other hand, are written in a more formal tone, often include quotes from first-hand interviews, and are longer in length—often ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 words. Articles are also written without the search engines in mind and often do not require validation from other sources.
- 2). Locate a blog writer. Visit websites that cater to blog writers for hire (See Resource section). Depending on the site, you may have to pay a nominal fee to list your request to hire a blog writer. Be specific but brief. State your name, blog address, contact information, what you are looking for and request a resume. Once you’ve received the information, view the resume to narrow down your prospects. Once you have a list of your top ten prospects, ask for clips (examples) of work that relates to your blog’s niche. Look over the clips to determine the top three candidates. Next ask for references. Some blog writers won’t be able to give you the names of the blogs they’ve written for due to confidentiality clauses, but they should have a few clients you can speak with to make sure the blogger is reliable.
- 3). Discuss your needs. Once you’ve found your candidate, get on the phone and discuss your needs. If your blogger is shy, he may request that all information be handled by email. That’s fine as long you understand that whatever you say in your emails can be construed as legal and binding so type your words carefully. Talk about what you want your blog to do for your business, what you need the articles to do for your blog, and what type of posts you have in mind: length, timeframe and style.
- 4). Sign a written contract. After you and your blog writer agree on the specifics, write the terms down. Include things like disclaimers, confidentiality clauses, purchase rights, word count, content expectations, fees and due date. Your contract should also include a negotiation and a termination clause and whether or not you’ll pay a kill fee. Make sure both parties sign and date the contract and that both parties have a copy of the contract for their records.
- 5). Understand the difference between all rights, work-for-hire rights, one-time rights, first rights, reprint rights and indefinite archival rights. All rights or work-for-hire rights means that you own the work once it has been written. You can specify if the writer gets to keep his byline on the piece or not. One-time rights means that you can use what the writer wrote only once. You cannot print the piece anywhere else, not even in your newsletter. First rights means that you are the first person to print the piece, but someone else can still buy a reprint of that piece. Reprint rights means you are paying to use the piece after it has already been published elsewhere. Indefinite archival rights means that you are paying to have the piece kept on your blog indefinitely. You usually buy these rights when you buy one-time, first or reprint rights.
- 6). Receive your article. Depending on your system, you can receive your article via email, snail mail, or direct upload to your blog. Once you receive your article, read it over and make notes for changes you’d like made. Resubmit the article to your blog writer and give a deadline for when the changes must be completed. Once the article is returned and written to your satisfaction, let the blog writer know when and how to expect payment.
- 7). Send payment. Depending on your accounting system, you may choose to pay your writer by bank draft, company check, money order or through an online system like paypal.com. Make sure that your payment is not sent until the writer has fulfilled his obligations.
Source...