When it comes time to hire a marketing content writer to represent your company, you’re in a position to be a choosy as you want. While there are a lot of freelance content writers with exceptional talent and drive, you’ll want to choose a writer that fits your company’s goals, work ethic, and passions. So how do you find the right writer for your company among the dozens that apply for the job? Here are a few helpful tips to follow that will help weed out the mundane and show you the way toward that shining star.
Review writing samples
This is where you should start. By reviewing the writer’s writing samples, which are a representation of the writer’s best work, you can quickly decide which writers to shortlist and which writers to eliminate. This is a personal preference based on the style you’re looking for. It’s also a good idea to have the samples reviewed by a few different staff members and then work out a consensus.
Check references
Once you’ve shortlisted a few candidates based on their quality of writing, email or call a list of references to determine the writer’s work ethic. Do they make deadlines? Are they easy or difficult to work with? Do they keep up with communication? How do they handle constructive criticism? These are all important questions to ask to predict whether or a not a writer will be a valuable addition to your team.
Ask the right interview questions
When it comes time to interviewing writers, make sure you ask the right questions. To start with, determine the writer’s experience with SEO and social media. You’ll want a writer who keeps up with the ever-changing world of SEO. Ask them how they do this? And ask specific questions related to the current SEO best practices to test their knowledge.
Content writing is more than just blog posts and articles. It comprises social media as well. Therefore, ask the writer about their social media experience and ask to see some of the social media campaigns they have designed and implemented. The amount of likes and shares the campaigns have received should tell you a lot about the writer’s effective and engaging use of social media.
Finally, ask the writer what ideas they have for blog posts, articles, and social media campaigns that will reach more potential customers and really sell your idea, product, or service.
Don’t be afraid to negotiate
When you’ve gone through the above steps, it’s time to talk money. And as with any other service, you get what you pay for. While you don’t want to go cheap, you also want to get the most for you money. Paying your marketing content writer fairly upon an agreed hourly or fixed price will get you the loyalty and quality you’re looking for. A writer who requests too little may not produce work worth publishing, while a writer who asks for too much may break the bank. You can also consider using incentive bonuses for writers based on shares, likes, comments, and clicks.
Jennifer B is a freelance writer and mother of two. She lives in sunny Arizona where the bright skies and warm weather give her plenty of inspiration for the numerous blog posts and articles she writes on every topic under the sun.
