When companies establish their websites and work on promoting their brand, they spend money on everything except copywriting services. For some reason these services are at the bottom of the to-do list, yet they’re one of the most important branding tools a company could ever use.
Your Copywriting Haste Means Company Waste
Think of your favorite brands. What is it that makes you interested in them? Most likely it’s their awesome taglines, catchy content, and unique play on words. Obviously, these companies paid for professional copywriting services.
A lot of brands, however, don’t pay enough attention to the copywriting that markets their company, and this is unfortunate. Today content marketing is crucial to attracting and sustaining customers; therefore, brands need to shift their attention from other marketing tactics and start spending it on content. If you’re not using copywriting services to market your company, you’re losing out on potential business.
#5. Copywriters Get It
Copywriters are real people. They have no affiliation with your product, no passion for your product and they weren’t there to build your product from the ground up. This is a good thing! They come from the outside perspective, and by taking on that perspective; they can communicate to a customer who is on the same side of the wall.
Copywriting services can tell a customer what you do, why you’re better at it, and why the customer should chose you over the other guys. They don’t use abstract reasoning – they use campaigns that deliver your message to the public.
Copywriters are skilled at delivering messages that are succinct and to the point, which produces results.
#4. Your Content Needs Help
Copywriters are writers. Writing is a skill and niche for them that comes naturally. They don’t have to force the words on paper (or screen) — it comes easily to them. By hiring a copywriting service, you’ll get a writer who can generate content that packs a powerful message and persuades readers to take action, but also you’ll get content that enhances your brand.
With Google having such a high emphasis on high-quality copy, it’s imperative your quality is better than the rest of the similar companies out there. High quality copy is what drives readers to convert into customers and a copywriting service has employees the writers who have that persuasive touch.
Copywriting, contrary to popular belief, isn’t just writing. Writers don’t just mash sentences together—they draft compelling content that gets the attention of readers, embeds product benefits into the readers’ minds and attracts your target audience.
Copywriting services stay up to date on the latest advertising and industry trends, customer behavior and what content marketing strategies actually work. They also understand how search engines rank websites and can tailor their content accordingly (for more information on how websites are ranked, visit this article by SearchEngineWatch.com). They deliver sales-driven copy that can attract your ideal customer. And, copywriters do this on a day-to-day basis — something you or your staff is unlikely to brag about. Therefore, they practice their skill and can hone in on techniques that you can only get from years of practice.
#3. You Need Consistency
Copywriters are consistent. They can generate content that appeals to your audience but also helps develop the appeal of your specific brand. After all, a brand is all about its personality, which means content needs to be written in a unified voice that promotes that brand. As long as customers read a consistent message and note a consistent personality, they’ll continue to follow a brand.
Copywriting services can revamp your entire website and all of your printed content so that it has a uniform personality and voice. This promotes your brand and helps customers connect with your company better.
#2. You Need to Enhance Your SEO
SEO is important, and often when a website generates its content, it either focuses on SEO or writes content — but rarely does a website have a healthy mix of both. Copywriting services not only provide your website with high-quality content, but they can integrate much-needed SEO so that your site is attractive to readers and search engines alike.
Copywriting services can integrate your targeted keywords into your content naturally, even difficult words, so that your content is reader-friendly.
#1. You’re Wasting Your Time and Money Writing Your Own Content
Sure, you might think you’re saving a bundle writing your own content, but when you stop and think about it, you’re not saving much. If you’re like some companies you’re actually spending more money writing your own content. How so?
A great copywriting service writes content that sells. Bottom line. If you cannot educate and sell a product to your customers with the content you’ve just written, then you just wasted time and money on a useless piece of content.
In addition, search engines require high-quality content. That means no grammar errors, spelling mistakes or improper use of keywords. If you’ve copied work from other sites, you will notice a significant drop in your search engine rankings. In addition, search engines look for value. Therefore, you have to be creative with your content and offer something readers can’t find sprinkled all over the Internet already.
With the release of Google Panda, a lot of websites (including sites like WiseGeek.com and Examiner.com) were dinged for poor-quality content. See a full list here at Search Engine Watch. These sites had poor-quality content, repeated information and even some copied information. If your site has committed any of these errors, it can be difficult to recover and cost you much more than it would have to hire a copywriting service from the get-go.
Bottom line, professional copywriting services save your organization time and money. They promote your products to the people you want buying your products. If you’re not using a copywriting service on your website, you might just find you’re losing money compared to the competition using copywriters.
Over the past decade, the incontestable power of the Internet has brought millions of business owners from all parts of the globe together in investing their time and money in cutting-edge websites and suitable web content, elaborated according to their needs, specifications and expectations, with the pen of a content writer making their content happen. When it comes to articles that actually draw visitors and serve a higher purpose, most company owners spare no expenses and do everything in their power to identify the best content writer or team of writers available. Here are 5 important things that you should know about talented, active, sociable, Internet-savvy and creative freelancers who have what it takes to guide you towards business success.
Your Ideal Content Writer Candidate Should:
1) Write On a Daily Basis
We’ve all heard this lesson a thousand times: practice makes perfect. A content writer who spends more than a couple of hours a day writing informative, educational, entertaining materials for different clients with different needs and requests will always respond better to new challenges, unlike novices or other freelancers who only write every once in a while.
2) Be well-organized, do a lot of research and always Google before they tweet.
Extensive research is part of the job and professional content writer always take this important phase very seriously. The worst mistake one could ever make is writing and distributing inaccurate, outdated, ambiguous content. In such cases, readers flag low-quality web material and start looking for trustworthy sources of information, so make sure you count on content writers who check and double-check the information before making it public.
3) Have an amazing, writing style which is audience-friendly and engaging
Your content writers should make the most of their unique set of skills and their inexhaustible talent and creativity to promote your brand, services and products in an engaging manner, while embracing a truly accessible writing style.
4) Be great at social media.
Would you really trust a freelancer who refuses to profit from amazing opportunities available on social media platforms? Would you hire a writer who doesn’t spend at least an hour a day on major social networking sites, like Facebook, Twitter, MySpace and LinkedIn, where all the important elements go viral and all the most relevant trends are anticipated and widely commented? Make sure you hire a social savvy writer.
5) Is proud of their masterpieces, charges the right price
Reputable content writers won’t hesitate to link their most relevant content pieces for you and promote their professional services in an effective manner. Perhaps in the near future business owners will be able to count on different ranking systems allowing them to determine the real value of a particular writer. Until then, Google Authorship will enable you to identify some of the most active, talented freelancers who might have what it takes to complete your writing assignments in a more than satisfactory manner.
Make sure you pay the right price for unique content writer to create your pieces; an insignificant fee could trick you into opting for low-quality writing services – a big mistake which could impact the profitability and popularity of your online business for a long period of time.
Neil Patel, a top Internet marketer, says that you should expect to spend $100-200 per post.
Conclusion
A content writer could be the biggest boon for your business this year and beyond. It’s the era of the Internet; and the Internet thrives on content. Don’t just throw this job on anyone. Make sure your writer meets the criteria above, and you’ll find yourself a good one.
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.
[clickToTweet tweet=”Thinking about hiring a content #writer? Make sure you avoid these four common pitfalls via @ExpWriters!” quote=”Thinking about hiring a content #writer? Make sure you avoid these four common pitfalls via @ExpWriters!”]
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?
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.
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.
Whether you run a professional blog, website, or ecommerce business, you will eventually need the help of qualified web writers to help you showcase your products in the best possible light. Many work on a freelance basis and most are unusually knowledgeable in regards to current practices and procedures of writing for the web. This includes thorough working knowledge of SEO practices as well as awareness of social media marketing trends, press release creation, guest blog post creation, and sales writing as well.
Although finding the right writers for your team can seem daunting at first because of the sheer number of options available, it’s far from an impossible feat. Consider the following tips in order to make the process as easy on yourself and your team as possible.
1. Standout Writing Samples
Before you hire your web writers, make sure you view a comprehensive selection of samples created for previous clients. Prioritize writers whose voices are compatible with the needs of your website or company and who can show you a comprehensive portfolio of relevant work. Sometimes it can help to have your writer produce a trial article or two before signing on for a long term working relationship in order to make sure the two of you are a good fit. Most professionals and writing teams will be perfectly fine with proving their skill in this way.
2. Solid Research and Web Skills
The best web writers are more than simply good with words. They also understand how to mimic different voices and how to appeal to various target demographics. They comprehend the importance of key word density, original content, and other SEO practices that will bring you more traffic through search engines. They’ll be crack shots at research and fact checking to boot. Value is the key when it comes to your web content, so you’ll want to make sure all of these bases are covered.
3. Testimonials and References
The best web writers aren’t just experienced and skilled when it comes to what they do. They also have excellent work ethics, are good at meeting deadlines, and have excellent customer services skills. They can show you references and client testimonials that back up their claims and abilities as well. Whether you’re enlisting the aid of an entire writing team or going with a sole freelance provider, don’t be afraid to ask for references from previous clients. Make it a point to follow up on those references as well and ask them about their experiences working with the individuals in question.
4. Consider Writing Teams Over Individual Providers
Many people find they have better luck and more beneficial relationships when working with an entire team of professionals. Not only are teams of web writers going to be more varied, increasing your likelihood of finding a good professional that is really a perfect fit for your needs, but the individuals who will actually be producing your writing will probably be pre-screened by the head of the team to boot, so a lot of the hard work and weeding out will already be done for you. The same team will also probably be able to help you with SEO writing, resume creation, blogging services, or anything else you may decide you need in the future as well.
Ultimately when you are hiring web writers, the key to success lies in covering all of your bases and paying attention to detail. Explore the possibilities for yourself today!
We are currently accepting applications for writers.
If you feel that you’ve got what it takes to be an Express Writer, please tell us a bit about you, and send us your resume.
