How to Hire the Best Content Writers for Your Brand

Great writers will accurately reflect your brand voice and help you free up time to focus on your business.

Key takeaways

• The right writer will keep content fresh and align their talents with your brand voice.
• Look for writers who are reliable, organized, experienced, and storytellers.
• Find people in the right places, like content agencies instead of content mills.
• Set expectations by staying on the same page with writers and being clear about what you want.
• The benefits of hiring writers include freeing up time, getting expert help, and boosting your online presence.

Getting your brand voice just right takes time. You want your targets to recognize you across your channels and know right away what’s important to your company. After you’ve perfected that voice, you need to ensure that all the content you produce is in alignment so your audience sees consistency. Consistency leads to greater engagement and more loyal customers.

This is a big reason that many businesses don’t want to outsource their writing needs. They have a unique point of view that closely aligns with their brand values, and they’re worried it won’t come across when someone else is writing the copy.

How can you find the right person (or people) for the job? And what are the benefits of hiring content writers? Let’s walk through the important steps to take so you do it right.

Keep your brand relevant

First, hiring writers can ensure your content is always fresh. They align the tone with your preferred voice and offer pointers on ways to enhance it. They are experts, after all, so they know what will perform well to help you meet your goals. You get the final say, too, so you can always collaborate and provide feedback on the right finished product.

If your brand has been around for a while, it could be the perfect time to revamp your approach. Getting an experienced writer on board can be the first step in transforming your online presence with punchier content that will boost lead generation and incorporate the latest SEO best practices.

Focus on these qualities to find a good writer

There are lots of content writers out there, but not all of them will give you the quality you need. Here are some important qualities:

• A solid background in writing and/or editing
• Proven ability to write marketing content similar to what you’re looking for
• Excellent storytelling skills
• Organization skills and reliability
• Flexible writing style to meet the needs of each project

It’s also a plus if the writer has experience writing for your industry. The best content producers will be those who’ve written about similar topics.

How to find the right candidates

So, where do you look for great writers? It’s best to avoid super-cheap services. You may be looking at what’s become known as the “content mill,” where writers churn out posts and get paid in pennies. You never know what kind of writing you may get on these platforms, so it’s worth paying for quality service.

Instead, look for content writing or marketing agencies that may offer bundled services. These options tend to care more about vetting writers and can provide more than blog posts. Think white papers, ebooks, infographics, emails, and more.

No matter who you work with, you should always ask for samples before committing so you know you’ll get high-quality work. Request published posts or copy examples that are similar to what you’ll need. If they don’t have anything, proceed with caution. It also may help to ask for reviews if they’re not already posted somewhere online.

Set clear expectations

The work isn’t over when you’ve hired a writer. You’ll need to meet with them or the agency to set clear expectations. You may even want to establish a specific onboarding process for writers. Think through questions such as: 

• What kind of projects are important for you right now? 
• What timelines are you working with? 
• Are you working with any other clients that might impact our deadlines?

Create a clear outline of all the services you will require of the writer. Communicate how rounds of edits or feedback will be handled. Having a solid process will improve the experience for all parties.

If you’re in over your head with some of these questions, it’s an even better reason to hire a content agency. They’ll have a team of writers, editors, and marketers who can expertly handle these workflows.

Benefits of hiring a writer

Still on the fence? Let’s briefly walk through the pros of hiring content writers:

• They’re experts and can give you well-written, engaging content.
• They know how to incorporate keywords and other SEO tactics with ease.
• You’ll have a lot more time to focus on running your business.
• You can scale services as your business grows.
• You’ll reach more people when you have a dedicated content plan.
• You will stand out from competitors with more engaging copy.
• You can change up the topics you focus on with new ideas from content producers.

Best of all, you save money! Working with a freelancer or agency is less expensive than bringing on an in-house writer. Hiring content writers to keep your content fresh and high quality can be one of the best decisions you make for your business.

Why ContentBacon?

Your marketing engine needs consistent content to stay fed and happy. At ContentBacon, we make it happen. Our team of strategists, marketers, writers, and editors creates a plan that helps you meet your content goals. We deliver blogs, social media, email marketing, web copy, analytics, and inbound content marketing expertise.

ContentBacon helps your brand gain credibility online with the right approach. We give you high-quality content that is catered to your brand voice and goals. Contact us today to learn about how our storytellers can deliver the content you’ve been looking for to get more leads. We even offer three monthly subscription packages you can choose from depending on how much content you need.