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You’re considering hiring a writer. On behalf of people everywhere who make their living typing up words for other people, Thank you.

Speaking of people everywhere who make their living as writers – there are a lot of us. As someone who wants to hire a writer, you have several things to consider before choosing which of us is the right writer for your project. How do you decide which writer to hire?

4 Questions To Ask Before You Hire A Writer

1. Do they know what you’re talking about?

Chances are, the writer you want to hire is an expert in writing, not widgets, or whatever it is you’re asking them to write about. But if you wanted a widget expert, you’d probably have one of your employees handle creating your content. A writer doesn’t have to be an expert in the field they’re discussing, but it’s helpful to know what frame of reference, if any, they have.

I recently wrote a ton of content about weight loss surgery. I’ve never had weight loss surgery myself, but I’m somewhat familiar with the process because a good friend of mine has had it done. This secondhand knowledge certainly made my job easier.

2. What is the writer’s voice?

A good writer has a clear, strong voice. It’s a certain tone that comes through in all of their writing. You should be familiar with the writer’s voice to determine if it’s a good match for your company.

More specifically, you should know if the writer can capture the tone you’re looking for. Are you going for funny, informal or authoritative? Ask the writer for samples that reflect the specific tone you’re looking for in your content.

3. Do you like the writer?

This sounds silly, but it’s important. You’re going to have to work with this person and have fairly regular interactions with them. Don’t hire a writer that drives you nuts or makes you cringe every time you see their name pop up in your inbox.

4. Does the writer have their own blog?

Some people (including many of my fellow writers) will argue that having a blog isn’t an important qualification. I disagree. If you’re hiring a writer to create web content, working with someone who uses a web platform on a regular basis will make your life infinitely easier. There will be much less training involved on your end and you’ll have some assurance that they already know how to successfully create web specific content.

Of course, these questions are just a starting point for when you hire a writer. You’re also going to need to discuss pay, deadlines and legal rights to the work that’s created. Sometimes it’s just easier to hire a content marketing agency to handle all that for you.

Britt Reints is a freelance writer from Orlando, Florida.  She’s awesome (and available for hire through her WriterAccess profile).

This entry was posted on Thursday, December 10th, 2009 at 2:08 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.