8 questions to ask interviewers before hiring a content writer
You've set a budget, you know who is overseeing your copywriting project, and you've selected keywords that will send clients to your digital door. Now is the time to hire a Content Writing Services for your company. Here are 10 questions to include on your list as you evaluate candidates and content agencies:
1. How are your portfolio and references?
This is a no-brainer and probably something you will do even before speaking to candidates. Read the writing examples provided and try to put yourself in the shoes of a reader. Does the title catch your attention? Headlines make you want to keep reading? Does the piece even have headlines? (Most content should.) Are there captions, preferably with H2 and keywords / variations? Are the images optimized for SEO?
As you review a writer's previous work, ask him or her to explain the KPIs (key performance indicators) attached to each article. How did you measure the performance of a particular blog post or website? Are you especially proud of an article that went viral? Did any of your customers experience a significant increase in website traffic after a certain blog post was published? Did the writer help improve the client's SEO ranking?
If a writer has been instrumental in growing another company's online reach, chances are she can do the same for yours.
2. What quiet content does the author wish to create?
The writer you hire doesn't need to be an expert in your industry. For instance , our writers at TCF cover topics starting from insurance to non-public lubricants. You don't need a subject matter expert, but you do need someone who is a research expert (and follows the notes your company's experts give them).
You also need a web content writer who can produce the type of copy you are looking for. When reviewing the writer's portfolio, keep an eye out for variety, both in subject matter and in form. Also consider whether the writer has the gall to make his songs sing. The reality is that not all companies have an attractive or exciting product. Most people don't go online and get excited reading about vacuum cleaners or water heaters. No, they research and read about these things when they need them, and they look for authoritative websites with engaging content that interests them.
3. What are your ideas for content?
As a business owner, you may already have a good idea of the topics you would like the writer to cover. In some cases, however, you may want the writer to come up with ideas.
If you're hiring a blog content writer, you almost certainly want continuous posts, which suggests you would like a stream of fresh ideas to write down about. If the submission is going to be part of your writer's responsibilities, make sure both parties agree on how much you will pay for submissions and how you will handle rejected ideas for posts. Ideally, you can bundle all of that into one package, which is what we do at TCF.
4. How do you conduct the investigation?
Great content almost always requires in-depth research. The internet is a gold mine of information, but finding relevant and reliable sources to back up your content is a skill, and one that the writer you hire should definitely have. That is not to say that you will be out of luck and find yourself with a legitimate industry expert who can publish high quality web content regularly. However, anything he posts must cite (and link to) credible sources using the correct anchor text.
5. What kind of SEO and keyword research do you do?
Here's a suggestion: ask them what a keyword is. If you find yourself with a blank stare or, if you are interviewing on the phone, a prolonged silence, you should look elsewhere for writing talent. The writing you are commissioning will be published online, which means you have to check many boxes:
Is it well written? Quality counts, and it always will.
Does it answer the reader's question and does it add value?
Is it formatted properly, with the correct headings, heading tags, and paragraph structure?
Does it contain good keywords and the right keyword frequency?
If the goal is SEO, is there enough content on the page and is it formatted correctly?
Does it include internal links?
Do you offer value to your customers by answering a question, solving a problem, or convincing people that you are a trusted authority?
Does it include a meta description designed to rank well?
Is it content that others will want to share?
It's a tough task, but that's why you're hiring a professional, right?
At the end of the day, the content you pay for should appeal to humans and perform well in search engine crawlers. The best content does both incredibly well.
6. How is your text editing process?
Writing is both a service and a product. Whether you are hiring a blog writer or a website writer, you are entrusting your business, even if only a small part, to your writer. Before you turn your business over to someone else, make sure their quality control process is as rigorous as yours.
Editing can take a number of forms, whether it's handing over an article to an editor or simply setting it aside for a few hours and then rereading it. Here at TCF, everything we write goes through not one, but two editors. More eyes on a piece of content means there are many more opportunities to spot a mistake.
7. What do you know about us?
How did the writer find you? What got them to your business? Or, if you contacted them first, what research have they already done on your business and website?
Interviewing and hiring a blogger for your business is a bit like online dating - it can all look good on paper, but you need to dig a little deeper before committing. And just like dating, you need to know what attracted the person to you in the first place, as it will give you a good indication of whether you are ultimately a good fit for each other. The best writer in the world can be a terrible communicator who leaves you hanging for days with no response. Or maybe the person does a great job, but is deaf when it comes to writing in the style that he seeks.
Whether you're hiring a freelancer for one project or a content agency for ongoing work, your writer should be ready to produce great work, understand his goals, and work well with the remainder of your team.
8. How is your work schedule?
If you are hiring an independent contractor, your project will likely be one of several on your schedule. This is one of the downsides of working with a freelance writer, where you have little to no control over when or how the writer completes your project.
However, you can avoid missing deadlines and poor work by setting clear expectations up front. Create benchmarks that allow you to assess your progress along the way. This can take a number of forms, from a simple list of blog topics and keywords to a one-page outline that covers the points you are going to write about.