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Useful tips on how to find the right freelance content writer for your needs, so that you can focus on what you do best: making your brand soar.
You probably already know that having a steady content machine will bring huge benefits to your business. The more content you create on your website or blog (which also translates to more inbound links and more indexed pages), the more you will see your traffic increase. Which brings us to the question: who is going to write all that content?
Not only is creating content on a regular basis time consuming, it can also feel very daunting if writing is not part of your skillset. And what about all the times when you have ad hoc needs, such as ad copy for a social media campaign or a promotional newsletter?
Hiring a freelance copywriter seems like the logical step, but if you don’t know how to go about it you run the risk of wasting both your time and your money.
We’re here to make sure this doesn’t happen. In this post, we have gathered some useful tips on how to find the right freelance content writer for your needs, so that you can focus on what you do best: making your brand soar.
Source your freelance content writer through word of mouth
Although you may not have a pull of freelance writers at your disposal, you probably have a network you can call on for help.
Your business acquaintances and industry peers probably have had the need to hire a freelance copywriter at some point; perhaps they can recommend someone.
The pros
By utilizing word of mouth and referrals in your freelance content writer process, you minimize the need to vet your candidates. If your industry peers can vouch for a professional, it usually means that professional has been tried and tested and they are likely to produce good quality copy for your needs.
Another pro of finding a freelance copywriter via word of mouth is the fact that they will probably be on the same geographical area/timezone as you, which will simplify assigning freelance writing jobs. Furthermore, they will probably be well versed within your specific industry niche.
The cons
Unless you are a global organization, your network may not be big enough to yield any good candidates for your copywriting needs. Or you may rely on ‘bad advice’ about which copywriter to go for. After all - quality is subjective.
“Cold pitch” a web content writer
Sometimes, to create great content you have to go where the great content is. When you read a story or a blog post you like, and think something similar would work well with your audience, you can contact the author of that story and ask if they would consider doing some freelance writing for you.
The pros
Being familiar with the tone of voice of a particularfreelance content writermeans you can be sure of the result and the quality of the content produced. Which can be great if you really want your website/product to stand out — and who doesn’t?
The cons
This method is extremely time consuming. Not only do you have to do all the research to identify the freelance copywriters you want to approach, you also need to draft a thoughtful, personalized email to them to pique their interest.
It is impossible to predict whether any of the writers you reached out to will respond or not, which can be stressful; especially if you’re on a tight deadline. Another con of this method is that when you are cold pitching a web content writer, you have to be prepared to pay a higher fee.
Post your freelance copywriter vacancy on social media
If you have an engaged audience on social media, one of the first things to do is let them know you’re in the market for a freelance copywriter.
The best way to do this is to create a simple landing page (or a Google form) where interested parties can upload their CVs and a cover letter for you to review. To boost your post visibility you can add some relevant hashtags, or reach out to a Twitter account such as @Write_Jobs and ask them to retweet you.
The pros
By reaching out through social media, you ensure the people who apply are already at least somewhat familiar with your brand and tone of voice.
The cons
You have no way of controlling the quality of the applicants, nor whether the response will be substantial enough to provide you with an adequate pool of candidates. In any case, a lot of heavy vetting will be needed on your end.
Hire a website content writer via job boards
This method of hiring has gained a lot of ground in the last few years. Websites such as Problogger, UpWork, Fiverr, Elance and Textbroker offer you access to a very substantial talent pool: all you need to do is post a job, and freelance writers from all over the world can bid or apply.
The pros:
As mentioned, a very substantial talent pool. Through these websites you can find content writers located in the other end of the world, who may be a perfect fit for your freelance writing needs. On the same note, you can also localize your job posting so that it’s visible for instance, only to people who search for “copywriting uk”.
The cons
The substantial talent pool means you also have to spend a substantial amount of time vetting it! There is also a certain element of trial and error when hiring from job boards, since some freelance copywriters may look great on paper but turn out not to be a good fit for you or your brand.
...Or let Scribly.io take care all your freelance writing
You’ve probably realized by now that finding a great freelance copywriter for your company veers somewhere between “tricky” and “time consuming”. But what if it were neither?
Scribly.io is like having an on-demand content partner. You just tell us what you need. We will rally our team of over 50 diverse, talented writers across the globe, and find the perfect freelance copywriter for your particular task — no matter what that is.
With Scribly’s unlimited copywriting service and our competitive prices, you never have to worry about vetting writers or going over budget ever again.
