Content creation is a bottleneck for most businesses.
You need content for your website to generate income. But, you don’t always have time to create it yourself and you don’t want to sacrifice on quality.
This can be made worse by:
- Not knowing how to hire a writer
- Not having the funds to do so
So, what’re you supposed to do?
Here we’re going to compare your options:
- Writing content yourself
- Outsourcing it
So you can decide for yourself.
And, I’ll give you my personal tips on hiring writers which is precisely what we do.
Writing Content Yourself
There are 2x good reasons to write content yourself:
- It’s free
- You control the quality
But, let’s face it…
Writing probably isn’t your best skill.
It’s also time-consuming; time that could be spent playing to your strengths, like:
- Scaling your business
- Building links
- Performing research
The DIY approach might be “free”, but it may cost you in other ways. Saving $500 on hiring a writer right now might cost you $5000 in revenue!
However:
If you’re a complete newbie on a budget, I do recommend you write the content yourself. Why?
Because there’s a lot of nuance to writing content you only learn about by doing it yourself. You should get comfortable writing content yourself.
Outsourcing Your Content
Hiring a writer has some great benefits:
- You free up time
- You can get more done
But, it’s not without drawbacks:
- It costs money
- You can’t guarantee quality (at first)
- You need to manage the process
- You need to hire a good writer
Look, I get it.
We ALL want to maximize profit when we start a business.
To earn as much as possible and spend as little as possible. That’s why so many people are reluctant to invest in a writer.
As someone who has invested $100,000+ into writers, let me tell you…
Good writers can transform your business.
Here’s how I hire them…
How To Hire Good Writers
Hiring writers can be hard work. There’s a lot of fluff.
But:
You’ve already set the foundations to make this 1000x easier, with your:
The 1st step is to choose where you’ll hire writers. I recommend these 2x sites:
The 2nd step is to create a detailed job description. You’ll want to create a 1x page document stating:
- Your needs
- Your expectations
- The kind of writer you want
- Example pieces
- Job specifics
- Requirements to apply
- Benefits
Here’s the job description for my drone website:
The 3rd step is to create an application form.
This should include all of the information you find important. This is the form I use:
I’ve asked for basic information:
- Name
- Email: their email address can tell you a lot about them
- Nationality: background information and an indication of English level
- Where do you live: I want to see if they’re on a compatible time zone
- Linkedin Profile: an insight into their professional life
- Desired rate: to see if they fit my budget
Then I ask more interview-style questions:
These questions help narrow down candidates and see if they’re a good fit.
You may also have noticed I left a trap there for my candidates. There’s a typo in the header:
Someone who has the:
- Attention to detail to notice this
- Balls to point it out to me
Is someone I feel would be a great fit for my team. It’s not just about hiring the best writer, but the right person to work with!
The 4th step is to offer the top 2 to 3 candidates a PAID TEST at whatever rate they asked for in the application.
This should be a relevant writing task using your:
- Writing guidelines
- Content specifications
This is their opportunity to showcase their skills. The best writer will become obvious after this!
Things To Look For When Hiring Writers
When the writer submits their paid test, pay attention to:
- Spelling/Grammar: they should write properly and correctly (Use Grammarly for this)
- Plagiarism: use QueText to ensure the content is 100% original
- Adherence: did they stick to the guidelines you sent them?
- Communication: is the writer open to feedback? Do they ask questions?
The 1st post probably won’t be perfect. It can take a few attempts for a writer to nail it!
You’re mostly looking for the potential to work together long term.
How To Manage Writers
The easiest way to manage writers is through Trello. You can:
- Add them to your project boards
- Share files
- Leave comments on cards
- See where they are in the workflow
Google Docs is the best FREE place to have them complete work. There you can:
- Collaborate on posts
- Leave comments
- Ask for revisions
BUT:
What you should be doing is having your writers work directly in Surfer SEO’s content editor which guides them on creating perfectly optimised content every time-
Trust me:
Having your writers create everything directly in Surfer SEO will remove a lot of your headache later and I hear they are going to release a Google Docs addon soon.
Final Thoughts…
If you are on a budget or just starting out, write the content yourself.
But…
When you feel comfortable with the process you should outsource content creation at all costs.
Then you can just focus on growth!
Whatever you choose make sure you take advantage of Surfer SEO’s content editor to make sure you produce perfectly SEO optimised content every single time without fail.
And if you do choose to write the content yourself, I’ve got some great tips for you next…