Where to Hire Blog Writers (5 Options)

In this industry if you want to compete with the bigger sites and potentially make more money, then you eventually have to hire writers to take some of the workload off of yourself. If you’ve realized this but you still need to know where to hire blog writers that are experienced and can help you achieve your goals, then keep reading.

In this article I tell you a few places that I have personally used to find writers for my own portfolio of niche sites.

Where to hire blog writers

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of reputable places online where you can find content writers. These are just a few of the ones that I have used, currently use, or would use in the future. I’m not going to list options that I wouldn’t use myself. Some people have had luck with writers on fiverr.com. I personally would not use fiverr for written content so I won’t be recommending them in this article.

Enjoy!

1. Upwork

Upwork is a massive platform for freelancers. I’ve used Upwork for everything from content writers to graphic designers to software developers. If it can be done via freelance online, then you can probably find someone to do it here.

The range that freelance writers demand for their content ranges all over the board here. Just keep in mind that if this is for a blog this isn’t considered copywriting and all of those people applying to your job demanding 10-20 cents/word you can just ignore. They are used to doing sales copy where the higher cost/word is justified.

We just want blog content and that is much cheaper. I can’t tell you how much you should pay because I don’t know what you’re requirements are. I will say that you can usually pay lower with the promise of increasing the rate if you end up with the person on a regular basis. You can express something of this nature in a private chat with them before you hire them.

Always be sure to look over an applicant’s profile for portfolio works and also ask if they have any additional portfolio work that you can see. You may also ask for a paid sample. For example, you’ll pay them $30 for a 1000 word article on [your topic]. YOu’ll give them detailed instructions and a content brief.

Based on their first submission you can tell a lot about a writer.  A lot of what you need to know really. If you think they’re pretty good and have potential, then give them notes on their submission. Tell them what you would have changed in detail. Then give them another similar topic.

Based on the second topic you can tell something crucial about a writer. Can they be trained? After a second sample topic with a writer on Upwork, 99/100 I know if they would work out. If the second submission was satisfactory, keep giving them more topics and more notes. They are being trained as they go and will eventually need little direction and can just take topics and give submissions.

Pros

• Great place for publishers to outsource content who are new to the process
• You can find really good writers here and good rates if you are good at hiring
• There are so many writers here that you can find one that is an expert on just about anything

Cons

• Upwork now has a ton of fees that can be costly
• You can’t do teams, one on one with your writers can be messy with tons of chats going
• The platform itself is kind of buggy and has errors all the time

Verdict

Despite the things I don’t like about Upwork, I still use the platform and will likely continue to use it. There are so many freelancers at your fingertips that you can find someone to do just about anything for you, including writing blog content.

*Note – There are many other freelance platforms, another popular one is freelancer.com 

2. WriterAccess

WriterAccess is another platform that brings employers and contractors together, much like Upwork. This platform is targeted more at writers and content publishers.

On this tiered paid platform, you can find a number of skilled content creators. The good thing about WriterAccess is that there is a better way to manage your writers and content production built into the app. I guess this is part of what you pay for each month, aside from the cost of the content.

Pros

• Much better content management with ability to have teams and bulk upload orders
• Messaging is much better and easier than Upwork
• Website design seems old, but site is not buggy and functions better than Upwork

Cons

• Fees – monthly SaaS fee and fees from content orders
• Not as huge of a selection of writers as Upwork
• Writers often demand higher rates here for lower quality of work – always be testing

Verdict

I order a lot of content from WriterAccess. How much really depends but I usually bulk upload 20-30 topics at a time and let my team have at it. I love this feature, it let’s me go straight from Google Sheet to all articles instantly assigned to writers in the click of a button.

I recommend WriterAccess and I plan to continue using them for the foreseeable future.

3. Problogger

Problogger.com is a job board that brings employers and and writers together. I have not used this website yet but it has been on my list of ones to try for a while now. I know several people who have used Problogger with great success, so I thought I would at least list it here as an option for someone who wants to hire a writer that isn’t attached to a platform.

This way you can manage your writer yourself and pay them yourself with something like PayPal. I have several writers that I work with outside of any platform and there are many advantages to doing it this way, if you can find the right writers.

Pros

• After the initial fee to list your job, there are no more platform fees
• Should be able to find professional writers with specific expertise
• Build a long lasting relationship with a writer and not be tied down to a platform

Cons

• Significant fee for employers to list a job
• Will have to do extensive interviews to find the right candidate

Verdict

Again, I haven’t personally used the Problogger job board, but I do plan on trying it at some point. Right now I have all the writers I need using the other options on this list. With that said, I’ve heard from several of my peers in the industry that they have had pretty good luck with this website.

4. Onlinejobs.ph

Onlinejobs.ph is a website where you can hire Filipino workers as VAs, writers, designers, developers, or whatever else you can think of really. It’s a quite large online job marketplace, similar to Upwork, fiverr, or freelance.com.

However, you’ll only find Filipinos applying to positions here. Filipinos are hard working people and many are very skilled at what they do. There are some things to know before diving into this world that I can’t really cover in this short description, but just know that you can find some excellent employees (writers included) if you know how to hire from this group of applicants.

The language barrier is often a dealbreaker here, if you can’t communicate with your VA then it’s not going to work out. More importantly, if your Filipino writer isn’t native-level at speaking English, then they aren’t going to make a good content writer for a website targeting a U.S. audience.

It might be a chore to find them, but if you can locate a good Filipino writer that will work for much less than a U.S. writer you’ve struck gold. I’m often surprised at how some of my U.S. writers have worse grammar and English skills than one of my Filipino writers.

Many of these applicants will be college educated, have high IQs, and most speak at least passable English. There are some tasks in your business where having perfect English skills may not matter. So keep that in mind.

Pros

• Can find excellent writers for cheap (compared to U.S. writers)
• You can often hire full-time employees here, rather than pay by the word
• Filipinos are trustworthy, loyal, and generally have good attention to detail

Cons

• It’s going to be more difficult to hire the right candidate here, but the payoff is worth it
• Platform is not very monitored, it’s kind of a free-for-all – employer beware
• Hiring process is cumbersome – you’ll have to give multiple tests and sample projects to applicants

Verdict

Onlinejobs can be a real goldmine if you put in the effort. It can also be a real hassle if you aren’t cut out for hiring and interviewing. While you do get some help and some indicators that you can use, it’s up to you to find the unicorns here.

5. Facebook groups/other

This route of finding writers in my experience is riskier. If you can find a writer’s group on Facebook or some other community of freelancers that are already actual writers, you’ll have a better chance.

I recommend that you don’t try to take people who aren’t writers and turn them into writers. Even if they are experts in your niche. Sometimes it can work, I’ve done it many times. Most of the time though, it’s not trying to train someone from from scratch on how to be a writer. It’s too much work.

Instead, take a writer and train them how to write for you. You can find people like this in various places all over the internet, just be careful. Treat it like you’re hiring someone for a job at your company. Give people sample jobs, make them fill out Google forms. Do as much as you can to weed out the applicants who stink right off the bat.

Pros

• You can really have a lot of options and cast a wide net
• Find people with very specific skill or knowledge
• Reach out to specific people in an industry/niche and ask them to write for you

Cons

• More admin work involved in finding and onboarding writers
• Good writers are harder to find in a much larger pool

Verdict

Exploring Facebook groups, forums, subreddits, or other communities can be a good way to find writers in some cases. Other times the quality of work you receive back just won’t be as good as going through a platform where everyone has at least some qualities of a writer. I rarely if ever go this route when looking for a content writer. Just personal preference.