How to Hire a Freelance Writer
There are plenty of scenarios where hiring a freelancer is your best bet. Maybe you want someone to write blog posts on a monthly basis, you need a few writing projects completed for a campaign, you need to rapidly produce a blog, or you need basic web content to get you started. If you find the right fit, you might even consider using a freelancer for years.
Steps to hiring a freelance writer include:
Determine your writing workflow.
Choose your outsourcing model.
Interview your candidates.
Adjust the workflow as needed.
Because everyone can write from basic schooling, it’s easy for people to claim it as an expertise and fabricate experience. It’s easy to fall into a writing scam. Follow this guide to reduce your risk when hiring a freelancer and find the best fit possible.
Step 1: Determine your writing workflow.
What is your ideal process for working with a writer? Ask yourself these questions.
How many rounds of edits do you anticipate?
Are you planning on providing topics?
Are you planning on providing any other writing guidelines (in terms of style, tone, length, etc.)? Or maybe you’re looking for someone who can take off on their own.
Do you need help on demand? Or are you able to hold a weekly meeting where you pass along new assignments?
Does the writer need to coordinate with any of your in-house marketing experts? What do these marketers require from a writer?
Some writers like to have full autonomy of the topics they chose and optimizing their blog posts for search engines. On the other hand, some writers are inexpensive because all they want to do is write the copy, following your predetermined guidelines.
Hash out all of this information and include it in your job posting or method of reaching out. This information will help weed out unqualified candidates.
Step 2: Choose your outsourcing model.
There are several business models to choose from when outsourcing writing help. The best fit could depend on the volume of work, your timeframe, and how many individuals you want to be working with at once.
Freelance Writing Platforms
You may decide to go through a platform like Upwork, where you can compare many writers’ by rate, reviews, and experience. Upwork also allows you to browse writers or post a project and wait for writers to submit proposals.
This model is probably the fastest way to get connected to talented writers. But because there are no qualifications to get listed on most platforms, you will have to do most of the vetting all on your own.
Aside from speed, you will also benefit from low hassle and no commitment beyond a project.
Content Agencies
You could also try working with a content agency instead of a freelancer. Just be careful - it’s pretty easy for anyone to start a content agency.
If you go the agency route, look for services that offer some content strategy element (like a website audit, keyword research, or SEO). Otherwise, they're probably not worth it.
The benefits of an agency model include tapping into multiple specialists’ expertise and tapping into a group that can afford specialized tools to get the job done.
Beware of long-term contracts that are difficult to get out of if you’re not satisfied with their services.
Individual Freelancers (1099s)
So you decided you’d like to work with a talented writer and go straight to the source. But how do you find them?
You could try looking at keywords in Google. If a freelancer is able to rank for something like “cosmetic freelance writer,” they are probably well-versed in writing for SEO. However, they might be working with so many inbound leads (just like you) that you’re on a wait list. Or, their rates may be especially high.
Another option would be to look on media websites and pay attention to authors you like. For example, browse Medium.com for articles about content writing, or articles that fall within your industry. Once you bookmark a few authors that you like, you should be able to find them on Linkedin or leave a comment on their article.
Step 3: Interview your candidate.
As we previously mentioned, it’s easy for people to claim they have writing experience.
“What is your writing experience?” You may ask.
“I’ve written case studies, white papers, and blog posts.” They may answer.
Ask for samples, provide assignments, and ask the right interview questions to get the full picture.
Use writing samples to gauge talent and capabilities.
You should have already browsed writing samples or past work. Samples will give you an idea of past industry expertise, writing style, and grammar.
If you haven’t already gotten a hold of their work, make sure you ask them to include before scheduling an interview.
If you plan on partnering with a freelancer for a long period of time on a large volume of work, you should try a quick writing assignment. Give them a prompt and see how they would outline a blog post.
Ask interview questions to determine their personality, work style, and SEO expertise.
Ask the candidate questions about how they will fit into your writing workflow, and find out what kinds of topics they are truly passionate about. If you don’t have SEO resources in-house, make sure you ask them about their SEO tactics as well.
One element you want to really understand is their rates correlating with their speed. Some writers may charge more and carefully craft a valuable piece of content. Others may charge less money and try to crank out blogs as quickly as possible to increase their earnings. Understanding the amount of projects they’re juggling or whether or not they have a separate full-time job can give you some context.
Also, make sure you get along with the writer’s general personality. You will likely be offering them feedback and criticism of their content, and they may push back based on their writing expertise. You need to make sure you can have a respectful exchange.
Here are some interview questions that will give you a good feel of what it would be like to work with this writer.
How many clients or writing projects do you typically work with at a time?
What type of schedule do you like to work on?
How do you organize time and stay productive?
How long does it take you to write a blog post, starting with finding the topic and ending with full optimization?
What are some of your favorite pieces of content that you’ve written?
What types of projects do you most enjoy?
What ideas do you have for my business?
What SEO tactics do you incorporate?
Step 4: Adjust the workflow as needed.
Get started by giving your writer some initial projects, but make sure you are flexible to adjust the workflow.
If this is your first time partnering with a freelancer, you may find some gaps in the process. Maybe this particular writer needs more rounds of edits than you initially thought, and you want to schedule weekly reviews of their content.
Or maybe they blew you away with their talent and you want to give them more autonomy. If this is the case, you would benefit from reducing the review cycles and increasing content outputs.
Either situation could work well for you, as long as both parties are flexible to adjust. After all, you went through a lot of effort to find the best-fit writer; it can be frustrating to start over and continue going through the process to find new candidates.
Best of luck!
