How To Hire Professional Writing Services

Do you feel stressed at the thought of writing a blog post, document or even something as simple as an email? You probably don’t have time to generate pages and pages of content that you need in this digital era.

These days, running a business requires you to produce a huge amount of content.

There is your website, your blog, newsletter, social media posts, sales copy advertising and press release.

Who is going to do all this writing for you?

Perhaps it’s time you consider hiring a writer.

Why Should You Hire A Writer? 

There are thousands of writing services and individual freelance writers available who can provide professional customized content or your website, news article, or even a full book that can be utilized in your marketing efforts.

More and more people are realizing the value of professionally written content which can be the key to a successful Internet strategy for your business.

High-quality content leads to more effective sales copies and improved visibility online which in turn provides better lead generation.

Hiring a professional writer to craft technical documents, catalogues, reports, and press releases makes a big difference in how you acquire customers.

What Strategy Should You Use For Content Marketing?

While writing quality content is important is only half the battle.

The other half is the outreach: how your readers actually learn about your articles. This is usually an after thought but it will determine who you want to hire so it’s better to think about the outreach first, before you even start interviewing.

How do you get your content seen by your ideal customers?

Content that just sits on your website isn’t very useful.

The easiest way (and most common) is through social media.

But which platform is best?

Facebook: this platform has over 2 billion users, and despite all the negative press, is still a massive influence on our society today. With so many users, it’s likely that your target is there, waiting for your content.

Facebook has many advantages, including being able to directly link your content so people can click on it and drive traffic to your website. However, these days organic reach is not enough anymore and Facebook is making you pay to deliver your content to your audience. You can cry and moan about it but that’s just how it is.

Thankfully you don’t need to spend a lot of money in order for your post to be seen. I usually put as little as $20 for each post on Facebook to ensure that it reaches its target audience.

Another important tool on Facebook is groups. You can start your own group or post in someone else’s’. But before you do so, make sure you read the group’s rules to make sure promotional material is allowed.

Twitter: I took a break from Twitter for the longest time and now it’s one of my favourite platforms. You can create lists with all your favourite friends, clients, industry leaders and whoever you want. 

While it’s not as active as Facebook, you can still promote your content here and get good results.  

Twitter ads are inexpensive and something you should definitely play around with. Again, don’t spend too much money but throwing a couple of bucks here or there will definitely increase your reach.

Instagram: This platform is an important tool for branding, especially if you have a visual product. However, because there are no direct links from posts to your website, it’s harder to drive immediate traffic.

You can, of course, use ads which allow you to drive traffic, but it is generally not as effective as Facebook. When I create a blog post I usually advertise it on Instagram using Canva to create graphics and quotes.

LinkedIn is also another great tool that is underutilized by a lot of companies can provide great value for those who know how to use it correctly.

Again it’ not as robust as Facebook or Instagram in terms of users, but it’s a great platform as it works similar to Facebook and as a business platform, you don’t have to worry about annoying someone for posting too much promotional content.

Remember that 98% of the traffic to your website does not convert so you need a way to bring them back which brings you a second useful tool to use — email marketing.

A part from social media, an email list can be helpful in driving a lot of traffic to your website if you use it correctly. The great thing about email is that it is free up to a certain point, depending on the provider. Even if you do pay for emails it is a very inexpensive tool that can yield you plenty of result

If you’re just starting out, I would recommend using Mailchimp as it’s the simplest and best option out there.

If you want to segment your lists more or want more customization options, Active Campaign or Drip are great.

Make sure you have a giveaway or a lead magnet to entice people to give up their email. What you use will depend on the type of industry you’re in but I would suggest a guide of some kind. For an indepth resource on how to build an email list visit The Content Marketing Institute blog post HERE

How Do I Know If My Content Is Successful? 

In today’s day and age, you can actually measure how successful your content is through Google analytics. Google has an abundance of free software tools that can help you measure the success of your marketing efforts.

You want to take a look at your Google Analytics at least once a week to see where your traffic is coming from, what your visitors are doing, and how they are behaving. This will allow you to check and adjust your strategy accordingly.

What type of content is getting the most clicks? Are the checking out your service page?

I always pay close attention to my analytics. You can see here my performance over the last month.

I was spending a lot of time and budget on my Instagram presence but when I looked at my analytics, I realized that hardly any traffic came to my website from that social media platform. And while an argument can be made that it helped me with getting my message out there (you do need around five touches before your potential client even considers hiring you) I decided that my marketing money and effort was better spent elsewhere.

Great writing service does not just provide you with copy but actually analyses the results so the least amount of money is wasted.  Here is a snapshot of my social media traffic.

As you can see, I only have two sources: Facebook and Twitter. Should I even bother with Instagram? I’m not sure, but  it’s something I will have to consider over the next month or so.

Where You Find Content Writer Professional?

There are literally thousands of different ways you can find a content professional –from a referral to online.

It is way better not to hire anybody than it is to get somebody who is bad or mediocre. Mediocre content will just sit at the bottom of Google or will remain unread in somebodies’ inbox.

Writing quality is paramount. Don’t just settle for good writing. You need writing that captures your target market’s attention and keeps them interested and entertained while providing massive value.

That’s not too hard to ask for, is it?

Unfortunately, high-quality writers don’t come cheap and it is deftly worth the investment to pay top dollar for them. If a writer does not understand your instructions or are experienced, you are just flushing money down the drain.

Low-paid writers often have little experience or education and just what the read online and rework it into your you don’t have to be a genius to know that this strategy does not work. Paid to have it done right the first time.

Remember, content writing is not just about the writing. There is the formatting, editing, distribution and lastly the analytics. If you’re a writer isn’t well-versed in any of this, that’s okay but it has to get done and that may require either hiring multiple freelancers or finding somebody in-house to do it.

Here are a couple ways you can find writers:

Referral: this is always one of the best ways to find a writer as you know they have been tested and have proven themselves. While referrals are generally not the cheapest option, they will generally (but not always) provide you the best results.

Post on social media that you looking for a writer and ask some of your close business associates for recommendations. Guaranteed that some of them have used professional content services before and can point you in the right direction.

Freelancer: if you’re looking at hiring someone remotely then this is one of the best online services. With over 23 million registered users, Freelancer has a pool of writers looking for work and you can easily match the right fit for your business.

Using a service like this allows you to have peace of mind that your job will be completed to your satisfaction.

Pro Blogger: this is a resource for blog writers and has everything from tools, courses, and, of course, job postings. As the name suggests, if you’re looking to add blogs to your content marketing strategy, this could be a good place to start but you’ll also find other types of writers in the community.

Craigslist: for years I used this as a primary source of income and I found some good writing gigs on it. It is not the first place people think of when they look for writers but take a look and see what’s out there. You might be able to mine for gold.

I would not use hiring platforms like Upwork or Fiverr to find writers. These platforms might be great if you looking for lower paying jobs.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve found some amazing, talented professionals on there, including video editors, graphic designers, and virtual assistance but I have yet to find a great writer who understands the nuances of copy and content marketing.

While it may be tempting to get a blog post for $5 the person who will be writing it will most likely live overseas and have English as a second language.

These posts are almost always poorly written and won’t help you with any of your business goals. You would be better served to go buy yourself a coffee.

How To Hire A Content Writer

Take your time hiring for this position and don’t rush into it just because you want something done immediately.

Great content takes time and energy and you will not see the results immediately. Put the word out on as many channels as possible and see what results you get. Once you get about fifty applicants, cut the list to about 10 potentials.

These people should have writing samples, websites, and portfolios that you can study. Interview about three of the top contenders to get a feel for their personality and style.

Always call their references as some people can interview well but not be very good employees. If there is no clear winner, then have them do a test project and see how they handle it.

What Should You Pay A Writer?

Creating high-quality content is extremely difficult. With more companies competing for Google results, you’ll need to spend more time and more energy crafting that high-quality content.

A typical high-quality blog post can take anywhere from 10 to 15 hours. If you write them yourself, you spend less time serving your customers, selling and building your team.

The question of how much you should pay a writer is a difficult one to answer and one that there is no one answer as there are so many different types and skill levels. A lot of highly paid copywriters don’t take any fee upfront and take a cut of sales.

Other writers charge by the article or by the hour. You can pay as little as five dollars or as much as $1 million. It also depends on what type of business you have and where you’re focusing your marketing efforts.

You can get good quality content writers if you are patient and know what to look for, without paying an arm and a leg.

Low Paid Writers

Usually I would recommend avoiding the low-paid writers as they will prove to be nothing but trouble. However, there are exceptions and you might be able to find a younger writer who is just trying to make a name for themselves who is actually (surprisingly) amazing.

You’ll have to to dig a little bit more deeper to find the right person, however. As a general rule, if a writer is only charging you between $20-$50 for a post, you should be suspicious on why that is the case.

A cheaper writer usually means they’ll probably not do any research and will write as fast as possible which meaning more mistakes and possible plagiarism.

Mid Range Writers 

If you’re hiring a service or team of writers, think about their business model and how they are charging out and their clients a.k.a. you.

A service model usually has a fair amount of overhead including marketing and administration which is why they cost a little bit more while a freelancer who in turn has no or very little overhead.

Neither one is better or worse than the other and it all comes down to your particular needs.

Sometimes a team can fill in the gaps, providing a more well-rounded service, but if you’re more budget-conscious then a freelancer may be your better bet.

Upper Mid Range Writers

If a writer charging upwards of $300 for around 500 words, then make sure that they have the experience and the knowledge to justify that price. For this price point, you’ll usually get totally original, well-researched articles that are specifically crafted for your business and your customers.

This type of writing is generally SEO optimized with long-tail search phrases fit for your industry. It is beautifully formatted, easy to read, with correct headlines sub headlines and bullet points.

Top Paid Writers 

Then there are the upper echelons of writers who can charge whatever they want for their services. These types of writers usually get paid more so for their ideas and strategies rather than their writing efforts.

They come up with content calendars, help with promotions, and most importantly of all help with overall branding efforts. Every piece of crafted writing they create, produces a massive amount of sales which is how they can justify their high price.

If you find this type of writer, they can deftly be an asset to a team.

Commission Writers 

As mentioned, some writers don’t take any upfront fee and only work on commission. The commission rate is usually between 10% and 20%, depending on the product.

This may be a good option for you, especially if you are selling a highly profitable product or service.

Many online courses and products use these types of copywriters to help sell as part of their sales funnel.

Conclusion

After you read this, you might think hiring a content writer sounds like a lot more trouble than you had bargained for and you might be tempted to try and do it yourself or, more likely, let it fall by the wayside.

Outsourcing your content creation is crucial unless you have a big in-house team that is dedicated to writing, editing, researching and optimizing your content.

At Ghostwriters and Co, we built a successful company by hiring writers and you can do it too. It does take a little time and effort, but the results are more than worth it as you see the sales come in.