Are you thinking about starting a blog for your business? Maybe you’ve read the statistics that show that content creation is the fastest and most cost-effective way to drive traffic, and you’re eager to get started by hiring a content writer. In the ever-evolving world of internet marketing, there’s no time to waste: you need a content writer ASAP.
No Content? You Need It Yesterday
If your blog is completely empty, or only has a couple “placeholder” posts, odds are you’re not seeing it bring a lot of new eyes to your site. In fact, you may have noticed that just a couple posts don’t really do the trick at all. That’s to be expected, and that’s why it helps to have some outside assistance.
In order to see measurable benefits from having a blog or articles on your business’ website, you need to accumulate a few months’ worth of posts. Once you start to generate content regularly, there’s a cumulative effect that will bring people to your doorstep (not to mention: drive increased sales).
So You Already Know You Want a Content Writer
So: you’ve looked into creating a blog. And you probably also know you don’t have time to do it yourself (who does, with all the other urgent problems tapping on your shoulder?). The fastest solution is hiring a content writer.
But what qualities do you look for? How do you get a content writer who will get results? If you’re a general contractor, maybe you know what to look for when hiring someone in the home remodeling business. Or if you own a bakery, you know what makes a good pastry chef.
But the challenge of hiring a content writer? That’s probably not the bread-and-butter of your business, so let’s get you up to speed. If you’re going to entrust your blog to someone outside your company, here are the seven things you want the writer to do for you.
The 7 Things to Look For
These seven things are by no means an exhaustive list of everything that a great content writer can be. But if you’re new to the world of content creation, they’ll quickly show you what’s important. What matters most.
So what will a great content writer do for you? How do you know you’re talking to someone who will get the job done properly?
They Know What Questions to Ask
Any content writers worth their salt will work in a variety of fields, with a wide range of businesses. A writer may be creating articles for a childcare company one day, and a home repair site the next. In this case, adaptability is a survival skill for the writer, and the way this manifests itself is through asking questions.
A writer also knows that the purpose of their blog post is not to show off their superior writing skills, or to get too fancy or bury the reader with an academic textbook’s worth of information. The writer is facilitating an opportunity.
That opportunity is for people with a need (customers) to find you (the business owner) and to learn about how you can help them.
So the writer will want to know: what’s your ideal customer? What do you want them to do? If you have some sort of “call to action” in your blog, what will this be?
Odds are you have an objective with the material you’re creating. What is it? Get people to buy a product? Sign up for a specific service?
Any writer should be curious, and attentive about the answers that you give. They’re tailoring their work to fit your business… not the other way around!
They Research Your Business… and Your Industry
A good content writer also realizes that yours is not the only business out there. Sometimes a writer may have some expertise in your field. This is especially true of content writers who generate technical or medical content.
But whether or not that’s the case, any content writer should be able to familiarize themselves with your industry as a whole. They’re learn the jargon and terminology well enough that they can produce blog posts that are both natural and relevant.
They Have a Solid Understanding of SEO
This is one of the most important assets of any content writer, and something that most business owners aren’t experts on, unless they’ve been doing a lot of research on their own.
It’s also something that a new freelancer may still be learning, so this is where a little experience can make a big difference for you and your company.
Search Engine Optimization is what gets customers to your site to begin with. A freelance blog writer might be able to produce some very pretty sentences… but if they can’t also use the right sentences and keywords that attract the attention of Google, no one is going to read those posts.
What does that mean for you? That the task of creating effective content just got a lot harder.
Working on blog content in today’s online marketplace is a major distraction from the rest of running your business. One of the major reasons? Because it’s not just about “writing something good” anymore.
it’s about researching how internet searches are conducted. What the cost per click is. What the SEO difficulty level is, or the volume of the searches conducted (or when they’re conducted, and where.)
All that detail is part of a content writer’s 9-to-5. But unless you’re in the business of SEO, it’s probably not something you want to worry about yourself.
But if you get a content writer who does this every day? You’re going to be in very good shape.
They Always Have Something to Say
Now this one Is mostly about writing. This is the other side of the coin, where we look at the writer’s talent and understanding of customer experience.
There should always be a takeaway.
A short blog post (500-1000 words) is something that can easily be summed up in a few sentences at the end. There should be something for the customer. A nugget of wisdom, a suggestion or piece of advice. Something that ties the idea together.
They Can Write to a Deadline
Good writers ship their finished work. When we use the term “ship”, that’s when we mean we’re done. The product is finished, ready to be put in the mail (or email, or uploaded to a site).
If you have settled on a specific day for posts to go up, you shouldn’t be waiting for three, four days afterward, wondering when it will be finished. When hiring a content writer, you will want to ascertain that they can hit their deadline.
On time, every time.
They Write Engaging Content
And of course, the posts have to be content that your customers want to read. Something that will hook their interest.
To be honest, this often starts with creating catchy titles. It may sound superficial, but that’s the reality of our world. Your headline is competing with dozens (or hundreds) of other headlines for a click.
But what comes after is just as important. They may click on a promising headline, but if the material fails to hold the reader’s interest, they’ll hit the back button just as quickly.
When hiring a content writer, check to see their other work. Is it something you’d want to read? Or have your customers read?
They Guarantee Quality Editing
This simply can’t be overstated: quality editing makes or breaks the post.
There are entire blog posts out there that look like they’ve been thrown together without so much as a second look. And in some cases, this is sadly true.
But if you’re serious about creating long-term growth through content, you want posts that will make your business look good. Trustworthy. Knowledgable.
Some writers are great at doing their own editing. Some hire editors for them. But in the end, it should look professional. However they get that editing done is fine… as long as they do it.
So how do you go about hiring a content writer who has all these qualities?
Well, one of the best ways is not to hire one at all…
SteadyContent: The Team Advantage
Hire a team instead.
When you work with a content creation company, you get a ton of advantages that you won’t get from hiring a content writer in a one-on-one situation.
Hiring a Content Writer From SteadyContent
SteadyContent has a proven system for creating quick, effective, targeted posts for you… no matter your business!
The solution is simple. You get everything you need in a great content writer, because we hire only the top 5% of applicants, guaranteeing the best quality.
You get everything in a great SEO researcher, because our trained keyword professionals check out the landscape ahead of time, and include the information in the breakdowns for the writers.
You get everything in a great editor, because after the SEO content has been written, it goes to our team of 150 editors to be checked and approved for accuracy, quality, and readability.
What It Means for You: Reliable Quality
It means that you can get the most for your dollar. We handle every step of the process, from the initial planning to uploading the finished blog posts to your site.
Why worry about hiring a content writer, and an SEO researcher, and an editor? When you work with SteadyContent, you get all three. What’s more, you get them from a business that produces 5 million words of content for businesses, every month.
Check out our current discount, and see how you can triple your traffic (or more!) with great content at an affordable price, with SteadyContent.
