We’ve just talked about hiring a web content company. What if you have the strategies and team already in place and just need that solid online writer to carry things out? Besides being ridiculously good looking (ahem), what other traits does a good writer have?

Portfolio’s In Place
Ideally, a freelance writer has an online (or easily e-mailed) collection of fantastic writing. Experience in writing about the industry you’re in is also obviously ideal (and check out LifeTips.com for subject matter experts) but shouldn’t always be a deal breaker. Some companies hire writers for their distinct voice or style. Will that work? If you look at the writer’s portfolio and see that they’ve written for a number of different industries and audiences seemingly effortlessly, they’ll likely be able to research and write for yours.

Communication Pro
You’ve made an inquiry – how long does it take the writer to e-mail you back? And when they do e-mail you, what’s it like? Professional? Friendly? Clear and concise? You should expect great writing, but you should also expect great client service right from the get-go.

Time Is On Their Side
Some freelance writers have full-time day jobs but do freelance on the side. Chances are, you’re going to need to get in touch with them and deal with deadlines during regular working hours. A full-time freelancer will be better able to handle your work, jump on last-minute projects that come up and chat with you when it better suits your schedule.

References Offered
Past client experience is important and hopefully your writer has such thrilled ones that he or she will offer you the opportunity to speak to them yourself. Take them up on this offer (and if it isn’t offered – ask for it) and get the scoop straight from the client’s mouth.

The Right Questions
An experienced writer won’t accept a job as is. They’ll ask about things that perhaps you never thought of. Questions around copyright ownership, bylines or ghostwriting, deadlines, and the feedback or editing process are just a few matters that need to be discussed before an experienced writer will sign on to a project.

Keen on Keywords
I once asked a fellow writer about his SEO knowledge and he responded, “Oh, I’m not a programmer.” Eek. Online writers have to face it – SEO now comes with the job. If you ask a prospective writer about SEO and they look a little stunned, it might not be the best match. A freelance writer likely won’t have all the keyword tools at their disposal (which is a benefit to hiring a content marketing company that does) but they should have general knowledge and an ability to integrate your own SEO research into the work they create for you.

Have other tips on hiring freelance writer? Let us know!

This entry was posted on Monday, September 28th, 2009 at 1:10 pm and is filed under Content Creation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.