Running a business is a challenging task, especially in this digital world. There needs to be more than just a website and social media presence. You need visibility on SERPs and higher engagement rates on social media platforms. And this is the BIGGEST problem that most businesses fail to solve.
It has been proven that websites with blogs have a higher chance of ranking on SERPs by 434%. However, average blogs have a bounce rate of around 82.4%. This is where Content Writers get the spotlight. For instance, [Company A] saw a 50% increase in organic traffic after hiring a content writer. Hence, every business should have a team of writers or freelance content writers to improve this situation.
Now, the dilemma is how to hire a content writer. With so much demand and so many in the market, it can be overwhelming to FINALIZE a content writer for your business. In this article, I will help you understand the role of a content writer and how to hire one.
Duties and Responsibilities of Content Writer
Content writers are professionals who write informative and accurate content for brands and businesses to help them reach their target audience. They are often responsible for creating content that attracts potential and targeted audiences to the landing page.
Their job is to help businesses achieve their dream state through their expertise in research and creating impactful content pieces. Businesses require different types of content, from blogs and articles to website content and even copy for social media posts and email marketing. Only some writers need the skill set to write all the forms of writing.
A variety of professionals are accustomed to various types of writing styles. The different types of content writers include:
- Web content writer,
- Copywriter,
- Creative content writer,
- Technical content writer,
- And even niche-specific writers.
You have two options when looking for a content writer: hire a freelancer or an in-house writer. Before you finalize that, let’s quickly examine the reasons for hiring a content writer.
Why do you need a Content Writer for Your Business?
In this digital world, every business needs a content writer to convey their message to the target audience effectively. While you may know how to run a business and even learn how to write content, content writers bring a depth of knowledge and expertise in crafting impactful content that can truly elevate your brand!
And that’s what makes them expert in their field! Let’s understand the need for a content writer for your business.
- Content is at the top of your brand. It represents the thought and expertise behind your services and products; content writers convey that through their insightful and informative content.
- Through content, you don’t just attract potential customers. You create a distinct brand voice that resonates with your audience. A content writer can help you craft consistent content for all your platforms, from websites to social media, ensuring your brand’s voice is heard and understood.
- Writing content is not enough; you must optimize it for search engines. Skilled content writers can curate SEO-friendly content for your website to enhance your visibility on SERPs and attract organic traffic. SEO-friendly content is written with specific keywords and phrases that your target audience will likely use when searching for your products or services. This helps your website rank higher in search engine results, increasing your visibility and attracting more organic traffic.
- Understanding the mindset of your target audience is an art, and content writers are masters at it. They can delve into customers’ psyches and create content that addresses their concerns or needs and provides solutions. For instance, a content writer might conduct surveys or analyze social media trends to gain insights into your target audience’s preferences and behaviors. This information can then be used to create content that resonates with your audience.
- As I said above, many types of content and versatile content writers understand the nuances of each platform. They can write content that effectively reaches your audience, regardless of the channel.
How do you find content writers?
You can find freelance content writers or even hire a content writer for your company in many ways. You can see the perfect content writers on various platforms, from job websites to Facebook and LinkedIn. For example, on LinkedIn, you can join content writing groups or search for content writers using relevant hashtags. And each platform has its benefits. I found the ideal writer for my website via LinkedIn.
The three different approaches for finding a content writer are:
Freelancer Platforms
If you want to learn how to hire freelance content writers, your research stops here. Many platforms allow freelancers to grab the project, like UpWork, Fiverr, Freelancer.com, and many more.
Once you are on the platform for hiring freelance writers, you can review different content writers’ profiles or post a detailed job listing. Your job listing should have all the necessary information as per your requirements.
Content Writing Agencies
Content writing agencies are the best when you want to outsource content writing services. You no longer need to hire the best content writers because these agencies have already done that for you. Outsourcing saves time and effort when hiring and ensures you work with a team of experienced and skilled writers.
Content writing agencies are the best when you want to outsource content writing services. You no longer need to worry about finding and hiring the best content writers because these agencies have already done that for you. They have a highly skilled and experienced team of content writers to ensure you receive high-quality content tailored to your needs. This hassle-free process and option provides you with peace of mind.
Since the agency will handle everything, you won’t have to worry about content quality and on-time delivery. However, before you finalize the content writing agency, review their website and client feedback and look at their portfolio or sample work. When evaluating a writer’s portfolio, consider whether their writing style aligns with your brand’s tone. Are their pieces well-researched and informative? Do they have experience in your industry? These factors will help you make an informed decision.
Networking and Referrals
Your connections in the industry and on social media platforms can also help you hire a content writer for your company. The peers in the industry are very well connected with the professionals and can help you get the perfect candidate via referrals.
How do you hire a content writer for your business?
You might be surprised, but around 75% of large-scale companies outsource their content writing requirements. Now, whether you are on a quest to hire freelance content writers or an in-house content writer, these step-by-step process will help you throughout:
Step #1: Create a Brand Style Guideline
Before you search for a writer for your company, ensure you have the brand style guide ready. In this style guide, you should add the type of content required, your target audience, and even the brand tone.
Decide whether you need content in a specific tone, empathic, authoritative, or both. This way, you can guide the prospect while taking practical tests and judge them accordingly. For instance, you could ask them to write a sample blog post or social media caption in your brand’s tone. This will give you a better idea of their writing style and how well they can adapt to your brand’s voice.
Businesses need help with consistency in tone across all platforms. And that is why you need to create a brand STYLE GUIDELINE.
Step #2: Write a Job Description for Listing
Once you are done creating the brand tone, start writing the job description. Ensure it is the same as the brand tone you created. It will also act as a guide for the writers sending in the resume.
Now, what should you ADD to the job description?
You should add every detail, from qualifications and required skill sets to the types of content the prospect should know about. Apart from that, you should also write about the company–its vision and mission- and give a little glimpse of the types of products you deal with.
Most Important Thing: When writing the description, convey your expectations and requirements clearly and to the point.
Following that, post it across all the platforms, from social media to freelance websites. You can send the same descriptions to the job boards, referrals, and industry peers.
Step #3: Look Through The Potential Prospects
As soon as your job description roams around social media, various job boards, and referrals, you will have resumes come in! For this step, you will need a dedicated HR or have some time kept aside for sorting through the resumes.
You may have gotten the resumes in DOZENS, and you must pick the ideal profile per your requirements.
While reviewing the potential prospects’ resumes, see their experience and work at previous companies. If necessary, check out their LinkedIn profiles, too.
And then, pick out a few of your company’s BEST and MOST relevant candidates.
Step #4: Conduct Interviews
Following that, send them mail scheduling the interviews. Ask to bring the necessary documents and have a portfolio ready. Ask them questions that can help you analyze their behavior, way of looking at and solving problems, management skills, and much more.
Here’s the detailed information on interview questions to gauge their suitability for the role:
- What is your total experience?
- What was your role in your previous company?
- What is your process for writing content?
- What do you know about SEO?
- What content writing tools do you use?
- How do you take feedback?
- How would you react if your teammate has issues with the task and asks you for help? And you also have a deadline that you need to attend to!
- And others.
Note: If you want to hire a freelance content writer, you won’t need an in-depth interview; it’s just a discussion to understand their knowledge.
Step #5: Test them for their skillset
The next step after the interview should be a practical test. Even though you might have seen their portfolio and writing samples, how do you TRUST that the provided portfolio is theirs only?
The practical test can help you assess their natural skill set. You need to provide them with article details like the type of content, topic, keywords, length of the content, references (inspiration), and the brand guidelines you created.
No training can replicate the years of experience. If the prospect completes the task as you requested and the content is not just SEO-friendly but fulfills the search intent of the given topic. While assessing the content, you must also consider accuracy, creativity, and clarity.
The BOTTOM LINE is that you need a content writer to write for your brand/business.
Step #6: Final the content writer
This is the most challenging step. Here, you have to filter out the best candidate for your company. But I would like to give you some advice: Don’t ever look to hire the best content writers; instead, look for the one who has the right skills and would be an asset to your company.
The writer needs to adapt to the new environment and acquire new skills quickly. We are in an ever-evolving industry, and we need to work according to our client’s requirements, which vary from client to client.
Once you have found the REAL diamond that best meets your company’s requirements, proceed with hiring.
How BlackBuckCS Can Help You?
There are now two options: hire a content writer and be prepared to pay all the post-hire expenses or use a content writing agency.
When you hire a content writing agency, you only have to convey your requirements, and you will get qualitative content. Our team of experienced writers is here at BlackBuckCS to help you curate creative, engaging, and impactful content.
Contact us today with your set of requirements.