The Power of Craigslist
Craigslist has such tremendous reach and with it the ability to connect writers with people that need something written. If you post a job looking for writing or editing help, you can expect to get upwards of 50 responses from almost any market in the US. The self reinforcing feedback loop of Craigslist keeps users coming back looking for writers and writers constantly checking to see if there are any new jobs. The upfront part of the connection funnel is extremely powerful and in the next 5-10 years (if not longer) it’s hard to imagine anyone dethroning Craigslist at its game.

The Rise of Writer Marketplaces
Where Craigslist facilitates upfront connections for writers, it does an awful job of handling tasks and projects and that’s where writer marketplaces come in. Writer marketplaces such as Text Broker and Writer Access sprang up to fill the void or the opportunity that Craigslist never cared to pursue: connect freelance writers with people who need content on a per project basis. If you need to hire a writer full time start with Craigslist if you need to hire a writer to produce content for your blog create an account and peruse a writer marketplace.

Content Management Tools
Content management tools are useful for tracking all of your writers and projects in one location. Effectively manage writers by controlling the articles they work on, message them, make payments and notes about your favorites. The most popular tools will allow you to approve, reject, edit and Copyscape articles and then export them into the format you require (hopefully into RTF or WP to make your life easier). Expect reporting features to allow you to track status, total writers and articles and communicate progress to external stakeholders.

What happens when you Combine all 3?
So far no one has fully put together all 3 pieces of the puzzle. There are many job boards taking aim at Craigslist and there have been successes. Writer marketplaces are sprouting up rapidly and are connecting contract writers all over the world with writing projects. Content management tools are newer to the game, but they are gaining popularity as companies all over come to grips with the difficulty of creating and managing content. The first site to harness the volume of Craigslist with a writer marketplace + content management tools will be the big winner, so far no one has come close, but the opportunity is there for the taking.