So, you’ve decided that it’s time to add a couple of content writers to your marketing team. This can be one of the best and most affordable ways to add “oomph” to a tired campaign, or to enhance your in-house team of writers. However, with all of those writers out there, how do you choose the right one? Well… it’s a lot like online dating. If you’ve ever browsed the listings at Tinder (or OKCupid, Match.com or eHarmony), you know the drill. Consider these four ways that your online dating skills can make it easier to pick the right writer.
Pictures Don’t Matter as Much as You Think
You might think that pictures are vitally important when you start checking out the online dating scene. However, you’ll quickly see that what you see in the pictures is not always what you will get. The same is true when it comes to photos of writers. The best pictures do not always equal the best writers.
Sadly, People Lie
While the vast majority of people on dating sites are forthright and honest. There are liars. The same applies when it comes to writers. If you desperately need to work with a writer that has a particular educational background, do your due diligence and check out those references.
Chatting is a Good Thing
While you can learn a lot about a potential date or writer from a profile, you can learn a lot more from exchanging a few messages or talking on the phone. Any writer (or date) that doesn’t want to talk to you before formalizing an arrangement should send up a few warning flags.
Not Every Match is a Good Match
Just like not every date will wind up turning into a marriage, not every writer that you hire to complete a blog post will be “the one” that you will turn to for work time and time again. Don’t be afraid to tell the writer or the date that “it’s not you, it’s me” and cut the relationship short. There’s no need in stringing anyone along.
As you can see, finding freelance writers does not have to be that difficult, especially if you compare the process to the same simple task of swiping through matches to find someone to meet you for coffee on Saturday night. Who knows, it could be that the process is a quick one, and you find “Mr. or Ms. Write” on the first try!
Tracy S enjoys competitive pool (8 and 9-ball), reading, yard sale “picking”, cat photography (mainly working with sleeping or unwilling feline subjects), traveling, board games and home improvement.
