What to Look for When Hiring a Blog Writer

Is it time to outsource your blog writing? Content creation takes up so much time and energy from a business owner. Trust me – I get it. I spend hours every week creating content for my business. I imagine you’re in the same boat! And if you are, it might be time to consider hiring a blog writer.

But where to begin?! With so many writers out there, how do you choose the one that’s a perfect fit for your business? This blog will give you some things to think about before hiring a blog writer. I hope it helps you find someone who meets all your expectations and you love working with.

Understand Your Needs

First, understand your needs and what you want to achieve with your blog. Is it:

• More website traffic
• Contact form submissions
• Affiliate income
• Having quality content to repurpose
• Connecting with your audience
• All of the above?

There are a lot of ways to measure the success of a blog, so understand what your version of success is before hiring a blog writer.

You should also consider the type of content and style you’d like to see on your blog. Do you want posts to be more informative, sales-focused, or engaging? What’s the tone of voice of your brand? Funny, serious, conversational? By thinking through your expectations beforehand, you’ll know the type of writer you’re looking for.

Look for Relevant Experience

I fully believe that professional writers can adapt to any industry or niche. That may be controversial… but whatever, that’s my opinion. Through research, a writer should be able to find the necessary information to educate your audience and use your tone of voice. 

If you disagree with me (it’s fine, we can still be friends), look for case studies, a portfolio, or testimonials from the writer that showcase their experience. Review their past work in your industry and see if it fits with the content you want to see on your blog.

Assess Writing Skills

Listen, mistakes happen to everyone, but writers should have the least amount of spelling and grammar mistakes of any business owner. Consistent errors may signal a lack of attention to detail or carelessness, neither of which you want when hiring a blog writer. 

Also, look for unique perspectives and creative approaches in their writing. Do they engage the reader? Do they offer different viewpoints on topics?

Review Their SEO Expertise

All writers need SEO expertise. This shouldn’t even be a question. You can publish new blogs all day long but they won’t appear on search engines if they aren’t optimized. 

When you’re interviewing blog writers, make sure they have a solid understanding of how SEO and writing intertwine. Ideally, they should have SEO coaching or training but that’s not necessarily required for them to understand SEO. As long as keyword research and reporting are included, you should be good! 

Communication and Collaboration

When hiring a blog writer, ensure they communicate clearly and quickly. You don’t want to work with someone who takes forever to respond. And if they can’t speak well over email or communication platforms, what makes you think they can clearly communicate in your blogs? It’s their job to make your life easier and inconsistent communication isn’t the way to go.

I’d also recommend seeing how open they are to feedback. Do they include revisions in their blog writing packages? If not, this would be a great question to ask during a discovery call.

Evaluate Their Understanding of Your Brand

Understanding a brand takes time. Don’t expect your writer to get it perfect right away. It takes practice and feedback to get it right. 

But that being said, the blog writer should do their own research to understand your brand voice, mission, and audience. For example, I send new clients a questionnaire to help me learn about their brand. I ask questions about their audience, tone of voice, goals, etc.

Check Reviews and Testimonials

Reviews, testimonials, and case studies can help you learn what it’s like to work with this person. I’d look for comments related to:

• Results they achieved
• Their personality
• The problem and solution
• Authenticity
• Work ethic

Testimonials should include the person’s name, so it might not hurt to stalk their website and read their blog to see the work in action. 

You can also ask for referrals from your network when hiring a blog writer. See who other people have worked with and learn about their experience. 

AI Usage

In today’s world, AI is everywhere. I firmly believe no one should use AI to write content for them. Business owners can certainly use it to assist with their work, but never to do the work for them. This is especially true for blog writers.

Sure, it would be easy to copy and paste from AI and call it good. But is it optimized? Does it have personality? Are there internal links included? Blog writing has a strategy behind it that AI can’t do. So always ask a potential blog writer how they use AI in their processes.

Hiring a Blog Writer for Your Business

Hiring a blog writer doesn’t need to be complicated. There are tons of writers out there who can bring your brand to life through content creation and take something off your plate. I think it comes down to how well you vibe with the writer. You’re going to be working with them so make sure you like ‘em! 

If you’re ready to outsource your blog content, take a look at my blog writing packages then schedule a discovery call with me! I’d be happy to chat through a content strategy with you.