The Most Common Pitfalls to Avoid When Hiring a Content Writer
When it comes to your business marketing puzzle, writing is a huge piece of it.
You need writing for almost everything: landing pages for your website, social media posts, blogs, advertisements, and more.
The problem is, you probably don’t have the time or specialized skills needed to write effective content that gets you noticed in all the right ways.
Enter content writers.
According to the Hubstaff Blog, hiring great writers is how you provide valuable content to your visitors. In turn, they repay you with their patronage and their business, which equals a high ROI.
This graph shows how the Hubstaff Blog tripled their peak traffic over the course of only a few months simply by putting out valuable, well-written content on a consistent basis:
Bottom line: you need us writers, but you also need us to be good at what we do. You need content that fits your business and your message to a T.
You have lots of options when it comes to content writing – after all, we’re living in the era of the content writer.
So, how do you get what you need? What are the secrets to hiring a content writer?
How do you avoid the pitfalls of making a bad hire, which can result in poor writing, lackluster content, and zero returns on investment?
We’re here to tell you what you might be doing wrong when it comes to hiring – and how you can make a small change to hire writers who are exactly right for your business.
Don’t Commit These 4 Mistakes When Hiring a Content Writer
These mistakes are easy to make if you’re crunched for time and money.
1. Failing to Review Their Samples
You can’t understand a writer’s qualifications unless you ask for – and review – samples of their work.
This means looking at a few different examples of what they’ve done in the past, and evaluating the depth and breadth of their skills. They should show you variety, flexibility, research chops, and, most of all, competent, engaging writing.
If you don’t do this step, or if you ask for samples but don’t bother to review them, you really won’t know what you’ll be getting into.
Since the written content for your business is so important, gambling with your writing talent this way is not a good idea.
2. Hiring a Content Writer with the Lowest Rates
Writers who ask for low rates may not have the skills to earn higher pay for their work.
You know the saying: you get what you pay for. If it seems like a writer is offering their services too cheaply, nine times out of ten, you can be sure they’ll turn in sub-par work. This means writing that’s riddled with errors, that aims for nothing more than a word count.
In the end, you’ll have to edit everything they send you, which will eat up your time. Soon you’ll be thinking, “Wait a minute, didn’t I hire a writer so I wouldn’t have to do this myself?”
Good writers may cost more, but in return, you get somebody who knows their stuff. You’ll get SEO content that’s formatted well, thoroughly researched, error-free, and engaging to read.
You’ll get valuable content for your readers, and that’s worth every penny.
3. Not Asking for References
You may want to hire a writer quickly and call it done, but speeding your way through the process without vetting candidates is asking for trouble.
Unless they’re an ultra-talented newbie, professional writers will have references from past work experiences. If you don’t ask to see them, you won’t know which candidate has the clout you want.
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4. Ignoring Grammar or Spelling Mistakes
One of the biggest mistakes you can make when hiring a content writer is overlooking spelling and grammar errors in their work and communication with you.
In fact, these errors, along with strange-sounding wording and poor sentence structure, can be a red flag that you’re dealing with a foreign writer. This is someone whose first language isn’t English. Hire this person, and your content will just end up confusing people – unless you also hire a very good editor.
A good writer knows that every word they write is under evaluation. They will do their best to edit their work before you ever read it. This applies to seemingly mundane things, too, like emails.
If you gloss over bad punctuation, poor spelling, and awkward syntax, then you shouldn’t be surprised when your content is peppered with the same issues.
So, How Do You Go About Hiring a Good Content Writer?
If the whole writer-hiring process seems like a big headache to you, don’t worry – we get it.
At the end of the day, wouldn’t it be easier if you didn’t have to vet your content writers yourself?
Guess what? You don’t.
In fact, if you work with our team at Express Writers, you’ll get quality writers at your fingertips who have already been tried, tested, and vetted.
How Express Writers Delivers the Content You Need
Our writers are real professionals who are just plain good with words. This content creation force is assembled by an expert management team who stay on top of your content every step of the way.
They’re a group of savvy ladies who know their stuff:
They personally guide your written content full-circle: from ideation to hand-picking the right writer for the job, to editing, to delivery.
It took months to put this winning team together, but, through trial-and-error, we figured out a formula that works.
This trial-by-fire is all part of the story of how Express Writers was born. View that very personal tale here:
Now that we’re on the other side, we’re moving full steam ahead. Our team can carry your writing needs from the hatching of an idea to fully-fledged content that soars.
But what about our writers themselves? How are they chosen?
How Express Writers Vets Expert Content Writers
Not just anybody works with us.
Instead, we’re dedicated to building a team of writers who can write.
We spend the necessary time to hire the right people. We work hard not to fall prey to those infamous hiring mistakes, and we pay special attention to samples, references, and great grammar and spelling.
On top of all that, we provide ongoing mentoring for our writers. We stay on the cutting-edge of trends and are constantly brushing up our skills as professionals in the content creation industry.
This means one big bonus for you and your business: when you work with us, you don’t have to worry about quality.
And, make no mistake: quality matters, especially when it comes to valuable content.
According to Yoast, quality content is accessible, easy for people to connect with, inspires trust in your brand, and keeps people on your site longer. All of these aspects help boost your ROI.
When you go with us, that’s exactly what you get.
What Types of Writers Will Be Working on Your Content?
At Express Writers, we hire writers at various levels to suit your budget and your needs. This handy table lays out the differences between what you get with general, expert, and authority content writers.
This flexibility is great for choosing the right type of writer for exactly what you need. However, no matter which level you choose, you can rest assured that the quality will be top-notch.
Dodge the Pitfalls of Hiring a Content Writer and Get the Expertise You Need
It’s crystal-clear: your written content is a major component of your business presence online.
It can say all the right things and lead customers straight to your door. It can make them want to invest in your brand.
Or, it can do the opposite: drive people away, scratching their heads. Five minutes later, they’ll forget you exist.
When you get great writers on your side, you can be on the winning end of this example.
How do you get great writers? You take the time to vet them. You pay attention to their written samples, their references, and their basic writing chops.
It’s true: hiring a content writer takes a lot of effort.
If you don’t have time to go through the headache of the hiring process, however, there’s an easier way. Count on us to do the vetting for you and provide awesome content to boot.
For a team of great writers at your fingertips, plus a management team that will nurture your content from hatchling to soaring eagle, work with us at Express Writers.
