How To Hire a Web Content Writer

Web content has the potential to attract thousands of readers, build brand authority and increase sales. If used with tact, content on your website and social media platforms can be a powerful tool.

However, not every piece of content gets great coverage. In fact, many articles barely get off the ground.

So how do you create web content that informs, entertains and persuades customers? How do you write in a way that makes your brand seem knowledgeable and approachable?

You need to hire a web content writer.

Really, you do.

What Is a Web Content Writer?

In short, a web content writer is someone trained to create engaging content specifically for online viewing. Depending on who you hire, they may be qualified to write both persuasive and informational content for businesses, influencers or anyone with a website.

Why Do You Need To Hire a Web Content Writer?

Let’s break it down a little bit.

Content marketing has become an extremely successful way to market to audiences. This is because it’s a much cheaper alternative to traditional advertising, and it’s more effective. In fact, it’s 3x more effective at generating leads than outbound marketing.

This makes sense. As social media and other online platforms continue to rise in popularity, more people in every age group are using the internet to inform and entertain themselves. People are hungry for information, and they can easily recognize (and ignore) companies that are trying to advertise or sell something.

One of the least obtrusive ways for companies to attract readers is to offer something valuable without strings attached. For example, how-to guides, top tips and lists are great ways for readers to learn quickly and effortlessly about any topic. If you publish posts like these, not only do you get traffic from them (which improves SEO), but you also build relationships and brand authority. If you offer valuable advice, customers are more likely to trust your brand.

Web Content Writers Help You Create Content That Attracts

Of course, you don’t have to completely avoid selling anything. Gentle calls to action and reminders of customer pain points can lead customers to actively seek out your products, which, from the content they read, helps them solve problems or annoyances.
But how do you catch a reader’s attention, effortlessly explain your topic and guide them through the sales funnel?

We’re telling you – this is why you need to hire a web content writer!

You can write the content yourself, but if you are focused on quality (and you should be if you want to see results), hiring someone who is trained and qualified to write great online content gives you a significant edge against competitors.

It’s valuable to have someone on your team who understands SEO, has exceptional research skills and can eloquently get a message across.

Depending on your needs, you can hire web content writers to create content for landing pages, product descriptions and other vital parts of your website. If you’re pretty solid on those foundational areas, you can move on to a content strategy that involves consistent blog posts and articles.

The bottom line is this: If all your website content is error-free, readable and aligned with your brand, you have a better chance of gaining customers’ trust and building brand authority. People will begin to see you as an expert in the field that is capable of handling customers in a professional manner.

5 Steps To Hiring a Web Content Writer

Having a professional writer on your team can be a great benefit to your company, but where do you find one? And how do you hire a web content writer who fits the needs of your company?

Although most people agree that using a web content writer is a great idea, many businesses get stuck at the hiring stage. Sometimes, they pick a writer too quickly and end up disappointed. Other times, they may find the pricing to be too high or the quality of the content to be too low.

As a content writing agency, we understand the power of content marketing. We want you to have a positive experience finding the right writer for your company, so we have developed five steps to help with the hiring process.

As you follow these steps, we hope that you will understand your content marketing needs better and in doing so, will easily be able to hire a web content writer or team of writers who meets your demands.

1. Understand Your Business’s Needs

We can’t emphasize this enough: Before hiring a web content writer off the bat, you need to have a general idea of what you’re looking for.

This is important because there are hundreds of freelance writers out there who have different specialties and expectations of quality content. Content looks different in different contexts, so before you begin, you may need to sit down with your team and discuss your content strategy. Here are few questions to get you started:

• What kind of content does our business need (such as product descriptions, blog posts, landing pages)?
• How many words should each piece be?
• How often do we need to publish content?
• Does the content need to be written by an expert in the field?
• Is the content informational, technical, persuasive, etc?
• Do we need SEO writing?

Answering questions like these can help you narrow down your needs as a business. Large eCommerce companies may need hundreds of search engine optimized product descriptions, while a local business may want a consistent blog to attract new readers. Additionally, you may realize that you want content that is directed towards an academic audience, which requires expertise in a certain field.

All these factors can help you start searching for writers who fit your needs. In return, when you hire a web content writer, they will know just what your expectations are.

2. Learn About Your Options

The next step in the hiring process is to start looking for available options. A common misconception of outsourcing is that it is difficult to find writers who speak English, write quality content and are easy to work with.

Content writing has come a long way since it first started, and we guarantee that there are many expertly skilled web content writers looking for work around the world, many of them residing in the United States. However, it’s important to know the three main types of web content writers so that you get the most bang for your buck.

Freelancers

As mentioned before, there are hundreds of web content writers looking for work. Freelance web content writers offer their writing services to anyone looking for them. They are self-employed and they make money on a project-to-project basis.

If you want someone to pick up a few pieces of content, look at freelance websites for available freelancers. You could also post a job description on job-hunting websites.

In-House Writers

Let’s say you want someone who can write content to be a part of your team. In-house writers become members of the staff and write content specifically for your company when you need it.

If you are looking to hire a web content writer for a long period of time, this is a great opportunity to post a job description and find someone who perfectly fits the company. Keep in mind that as an employee, in-house writers have additional overhead costs. You may also need to have a 3-month or 6-month content plan for them to start working on so they don’t run out of work.

Content Agencies

If you want the security of an organized writing service but don’t always have a steady need for content, a content agency is the porridge that is just right for Goldilocks. Content agencies work with dozens, or even hundreds, of trained writers. You work with a manager to discuss content needs, and the agency makes sure the content is researched, well-written and finished in a timely manner. Agencies can offer editing services, as well.

At BKA, we have hundreds of writers who can offer fresh perspectives on topics, use SEO tactics and can write engaging web content. We write a variety of types of content such as blog posts, product descriptions and landing pages depending on your needs.

Choose Web Content Writers Wisely

You know your content needs the best, so pick the category that works best for your budget and strategy. In whatever you choose, we suggest you avoid using content mills, which are companies or websites that offer content for extremely low prices.

As content writing experts, we believe that you get what you pay for. Cheap content is usually low-quality content. If you want your content strategy to be successful, using guerilla-style SEO techniques and poor quality writing can be very damaging to your search rankings. You also lose credibility and the trust of customers.

3. Consider Prices

Low prices are suspicious, but that doesn’t mean you always have to opt for the highest-paying articles instead. For in-house writers, you can negotiate a wage or salary with the person you want to hire. However, for freelancers and agencies, you usually must agree to their prices.

When you hire web content writers, price depends on three things: length, quality and difficulty. If you want a generic 300-word article with a few SEO keywords, you can expect to pay a pretty low price. However, if you want a 1500-word blog post that is well-researched and includes a meta description, you’ll be paying more.

The difficulty level of content has a wide range. Generally, most content should have an 8th-grade reading level. This is the reading level of the average internet user, which means your content can be understood by most people who come across it.

Some content requires higher reading levels, such as for technical blog posts. Readability may stay the same, but some content simply requires more understanding of a specific niche. In these cases, prices can increase due to the extra research and skill needed.

The best thing you can do if you want to hire a web content writer is to know your budget for content marketing. Remember, content marketing is 3x more effective than traditional advertising, so it can easily be worth the cost.

4. Start Reaching Out

Once you’ve determined all the important factors (what kind of writer you need, the type of content you’re looking for and the price you’re willing to pay), it’s time to reach out.

When you hire a web content writer, you don’t choose them just by their description- you should expect to see some examples of their writing. Even if a writer is qualified and offers good prices, you may not like the way they write. Of course, you can work with the writer to create content that matches your business’s brand voice, but it’s a good idea to see their personal style, grammar skills and SEO techniques.

In general, you should commission a few sample pieces for writers to write. If you’re worried about losing money while choosing a writer, choose topics and keywords that are useful to your business. Whether or not you end up choosing that writer, you can use the content you commissioned on your website.

If you choose to work with a content writing agency, you can work directly with the managers to create a style guide that fits the tone and style of writing you are looking for. Especially if you are planning on getting a lot of content regularly, this is an effective way to outsource content and get written content that matches your needs.

5. Review and Choose Your Writer

Now you’re ready to hire a web content writer. After getting back the pieces you commission, review them carefully. Of course, every writer has a different style of writing, but here are a few red flags you should look for:

• Poor grammar
• The awkward flow of ideas
• Failure to follow the style guide
• Too much fluff, not enough research
• Casting your company unfavorably

If you see any of these, it’s important to consider whether or not it bothers you. Of course, you can ask the writer to revise the article and fix the problems it has, but one or more of these red flags could indicate a pattern of writing. You may want to commission another sample to be sure the writer has the intent and ability to fix any issues to your satisfaction.

Hire a Web Content Writer Today

When you break it down, the hardest part of the hiring process is knowing your company’s needs. Once you figure that out, you know what to look for.

As content outsourcing continues to grow more popular, finding good web content writers will become easier. Don’t miss out now on improving your brand image, finding leads and developing customer relationships. When you hire a web content writer, you get so much more for your company.

At BKA Content, we are ready and willing to work with you according to your needs. Contact us today to find out if we can help your business.