5 things to look for when hiring a freelance writer for your blog

Supporting Contributor Post

A lot of people nowadays decide to hire a freelance writer for their blog. However, the fact of the matter is that not all writers write the same or fit well in every available niche. This is precisely why you need to be careful and critical when finding the right writer for your blog needs.

Just like you would go through the whole interview process with a regular employee, it’s essential that you take the time first in order to learn what kind of a writer you’re actually looking for. In the end, a writer who is renowned for their lifestyle blog posts may not deliver as effectively when it comes to business and marketing topics. Not to mention that content is still king, and your blog can definitely make or break your online presence.

That said, it’s time to learn about the essentials that will help you with hiring a freelance writer for your blog.

1. Good writing

Writing blog posts and articles may seem like a job anyone can do. After all, everyone can write. But, the reality is quite different. Not only is it necessary for a great freelance writer to have good grammar, but they also need to have a passion for writing; the ability to tell stories in a helpful and understandable manner.

Of course, every writer’s storytelling is different and it highly depends on the niche they’re writing in. But, this is why you, as an employer, need to know what you want in order to hire the best freelance writer for your blog. Therefore, don’t hesitate to check the previous writing samples of your potential writers and see whether the tone and approach they use suits you.

In the end, even if someone writes perfectly well, you may still want a writer who shows more passion in their writing style. On the other hand, you may be interested in a more formal, corporate writing style. Blogs may not be books, but just like there are genre and style preferences in literature, the same exists in blog writing. You need to be well aware of yours in order to find the right freelancer to create your content.

You can find and hire talented freelance writers at FreelanceMyWay.

2. Experience and expertise

As mentioned, hiring a freelance writer for your blog means that the said writer will make your blog authoritative, meaningful and helpful. In that respect, expertise in the specific niche you’re dealing with is an absolute must. So, when posting your listing on the job board for freelancers, make sure to include the niche. For starters, this will make your job listing more specific and will save time for both your and the writers thinking to apply.

With that said, it’s important to look for a freelance writer who actually has sufficient experience within that niche. Of course, experience is not everything when it comes to writing. But, if you want to play it safe, someone who already has a full portfolio of writing examples that fit your needs may work better for your particular business and blog. To speed up the process, don’t forget to ask for their resume or at least a couple of sentences they should share about themselves including their experience and expertise.

Always check the writing samples though, because you never know. It’s not unheard of that writers with little experience can turn out to be true gems for your content marketing, but the complete opposite is also possible.

3. Research skills and SEO knowledge

When hiring a freelance writer for your blog, make sure to keep the following things in mind: their research skills and knowledge of SEO. After all, if you want to make sure that your blog content provides useful, up-to-date information to your readers, your writer should be able to delve deep into the topic in question in order to deliver the best possible content.

Naturally, some topics may require more research while others not so much. Again, this all depends on the nature of your business and the direction you want to take your blog to. If you want to minimize your own work when selecting the right writer, make sure to leave topic examples of what you’re looking for and expect the writer to research on.

Of course, even the best articles will go unnoticed on the Internet if SEO is completely disregarded. Optimizing content for SEO is essential if you want your readers to find your articles when searching for related information online. In that respect, a writer who is not only good at researching but possesses SEO knowledge as well can be invaluable for your online success.

4. Professional and reliable attitude

Professionalism and reliability may not be the things that are easy to notice when hiring a freelance writer for your blog online, but there are still ways to check these things out so that you don’t waste your time.

If possible, check for the feedback from former clients in order to see whether the writer you’re interested in is regarded as professional. This means that the writer should respect deadlines and follow the provided guidelines attentively. If you plan to work with the freelance writer long-term, you can check just how professional they are by assigning them a sample article.

You need your writer to be reliable as well. There’s nothing more aggravating than thinking you have everything sorted out only to find that the writer you hired is simply not there anymore. This happens too often – they either stop replying to your emails or fail to deliver the piece you decided on. Because of this, the mentioned sample work can mean a lot.

5. Effective communication

Freelance writers have a lot on their plate and they usually deal with several different projects at the same time. This is just the nature of freelance jobs. However, you need to know that your writer will be able to tell you when something’s up or they have to postpone the deadline. Also, you need a writer who will openly communicate with you about your own plans and ideas for your blog, and even suggest their own. In that respect, conducting a Skype interview may be a way to see for yourself whether the potential writer for your blog is communicative, friendly and open.

If you want to work with them long-term so that they can grow together with you and your business, their character can and should be one of the deciding factors for hiring. No one needs to guess what the other party is thinking, and especially not in a business relationship such as this one, when the employee is a freelancer, possibly home-based, whom you cannot contact in any other way but online. If you need to talk to your writer often and want them to feel comfortable about asking questions when needed, you should definitely share this with them right from the start. In case you want them to be available for communication, it’s important to get that out of the way as soon as possible.

In the end…

Hiring a freelancer for your blog is not a process that you should take lightly. After all, the person you decide to go with will also represent you, your content and your business online. Therefore, allow yourself some time to go through the hiring phase in order to find the best fit for your business needs. Rushing this process and hiring someone who’s not suitable for you can cost your business a lot more.

Conducting your own research on writers that have caught your eye is also perfectly acceptable. In general, this is the best way to find the mark they left with their content online. Usually, just Googling their names will be enough. Also, don’t forget to post the job on a job board or freelance marketplace that protects both yours and freelancer’s rights. Otherwise, a Letter of Agreement may be necessary.

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