How To Hire a Content Writer and How Much They Cost
Quick Navigation
- What Is a Content Writer?
- When Does My Company Need a Content Writer?
- Where Can I Hire Content Writers?
- How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Content Writer?
- How To Hire a Content Writer
- How To Manage a Content Marketing Team
If you’re hoping to use content to boost your customer outreach, it’s important to know whether a content writer can help you. Content writers have expertise in creating quality content for websites. That content can deliver important information to customers and attract them to your business. If you’re hoping to hire a content writer, read on to understand what they do and how to find them.
What Is a Content Writer?
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A content writer is a professional who writes blogs, newsletters, and eBooks to entertain readers. Some content writers work for themselves, developing their own brand and business around their content. Others work for companies that hire these writers to help them promote their products and services. Content writers often have a strong understanding of search engine optimization (SEO). That means they know how to format content so people can find it online. For instance, they might include specific keywords in their blog posts that make the posts appear more frequently on search engines.
Some content writers also have experience and knowledge with content management systems (CMS). These are tools and programs that help companies build and maintain their websites. From here, content writers can help develop copy for the site and manage the posting of any blogs, white papers, or eBooks. Though the skills and experience of content writers can vary, almost all of them can help your company or business in some way.
When Does My Company Need a Content Writer?
Content marketing is an effective way of advertising the products and services that your business offers. Though some businesses can create and maintain blogs or newsletters on their own, there might be times when it’s necessary to hire additional help. If you’re currently trying to market your business with content, but you’re uncertain whether you need to hire a content writer, consider asking yourself these three questions:
Does Writing Distract You From Your Business?
Content marketing requires a lot of attention, but so does running your business. It might be difficult to do both at once. If you find that you’re falling behind on important business development or you’re missing content deadlines, it might be a good idea to hire a content writer. Content writers can fully take over the writing of blogs and newsletters while you refocus your attention on the business itself.
Does Your Content Rank?
When you use content to market your company, quantity is important, but so is quality. If you find that your content or webpages aren’t ranking on search engines, a content writer can help. As previously mentioned, some content writers have strong SEO knowledge and skills. That means they can create content that ranks higher on search engines. From there, readers can find your blogs and newsletters more easily.
Does Your Content Engage Your Customers?
So, your content is ranking, but it doesn’t seem to have any measurable effects on your business. That’s because getting your content to rank is just the beginning. It also needs to entice your readers and engage them. When a customer feels like your content is helpful or entertaining, they’re more likely to read more of what you create. They’re also more likely to interact with your company in other ways, such as buying your products or services.
Where Can I Hire Content Writers?
There are multiple ways you can find and hire content writers, but it often depends on what your company needs. Most often, companies search for content writers from two main groups. Those groups include:
Freelance and In-House Writers
You can find freelance and in-house writers by normal employment means. Most often, that includes posting the open position online or on specialized job boards. On the job descriptions, be sure to label whether the job is freelance, part time, or full time. It’s also helpful to include information such as job responsibilities, salary, and any potential benefits they might receive.
If you’re looking for freelancers specifically, there are other websites you can use to help you. Websites like Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr are job boards where freelancers can create profiles and apply for temporary positions. As an employer, you can post your freelance opportunity on these sites and sift through different applications until you find the right content writer for the job. You can also search through different profiles and invite potential freelance employees to apply for your open roles.
Content Marketing Teams
Content marketing teams are groups of people who help develop content for a company. Content writers are often part of marketing teams, helping companies attract more customers. But the team itself can accomplish more, such as boosting the receptiveness of your content and helping you understand the content marketing pyramid. Want to get started with a content marketing agency? Schedule a call with CopyPress today to see how our network of 1,500 vetted writers and editors can help you accomplish your goals.
“CopyPress gives us the ability to work with more dealership groups. We are able to provide unique and fresh content for an ever growing customer base. We know that when we need an influx of content to keep our clients ahead of the game in the automotive landscape, CopyPress can handle these requests with ease.”
Kevin Doory
Director of SEO at Auto Revo
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Content Writer?
The price of hiring a content writer can vary depending on their experience and skill level. For instance, a content writer might have a lot of experience with SEO work or using a CMS. Compared to a writer who just has experience writing blogs or eBooks, those skills might cost you a little extra. The price can also depend on how many content writers you want to hire and for how long.
In-House Writer Price
If you hire a content writer full time, you would often pay them a yearly salary. According to Indeed Salaries, content writers make an average of about $52,209 per year. That may or may not include additional benefits, such as health care, paid time off, or other services your company may offer. Salary can also vary depending on your geographic location and your industry.
Freelance Writer Price
If you hire content writers on a freelance basis, their payment might change and could vary in frequency. The price for freelance content writers can also change depending on their experience level and skill set. For example, top-tier freelancers with a lot of experience can cost about $2,000 to $6,000 for 4,000 words a month. Less-experienced freelancers might cost anywhere from $400 to $1,200 for 4,000 words a month.
Though freelancers can sometimes cost more than full-time employees, it’s possible you might not need a content writer for more than a few months. It often depends on your company and its marketing needs. For example, some companies might just need a freelancer to help them improve their SEO or generate more engaging content. Other companies might need more in-depth or long-term help, possibly even from a content marketing team.
Content Marketing Team Price
When hiring a content marketing team, the prices can often vary depending on what you need from them. For instance, the price might differ depending on how much content you need the team to produce per month. If you require additional services, such as content syndication, the team might be a little more expensive. To get accurate pricing for a content marketing team, it’s best to contact the company directly and discuss what it can offer you and request a quote for its services.
How To Hire a Content Writer
Here is a list of steps to help you hire a content writer, either full time or as a freelancer:
1. Understand Your Content Needs
Before you pursue a content writer, it’s important to make sure you first understand your own content needs. Mainly, figure out what you want your content to do. Some companies might want to generate a larger email list, while others might want to focus on delivering information to customers. When you know your content marketing goals, you can find a content writer that best fits those needs.
For example, if you know that your marketing goals are to build your email list, you might want to consider finding content writers with a background in newsletter writing. If you want to inform your customers on industry topics, it might be best to hire a writer with blog or white paper experience.
2. Examine Experience and Skills
Once you know your goals, you can analyze the candidates’ skills and compare them to your needs. Resumes and interviews are great for this, but it’s also helpful to see a portfolio of past work. Though some writers might have experience as ghostwriters, meaning they legally can’t disclose what they’ve worked on, many will still have writing samples for you to read. These samples can help you understand the candidates’ writing styles.
As you examine those styles, you can see which ones might fit best with your company’s brand. You can also analyze their readability score. Readability is important because it helps you determine how broad of an audience can engage with your material. Though the average person’s comfortable reading level is an eighth-grade level, your desired readability score can vary depending on your field and target readers.
Let’s say you just want to attract the largest customer base possible. Creating content at an eighth-grade reading level might help attract the most people. However, if your company targets individuals with advanced degrees, you might prefer to write using more complex language. Examine the skills and general readability scores of your content writing candidates and see how they fit within your company’s goals.
3. Discuss Deadlines
Whether you’re hiring a freelancer or an in-house employee, it’s important to discuss the deadlines for their work. For freelancers, though it can feel like they only work for you, they often have other freelance assignments they’re completing. Before hiring them, talk to them about their current projects. Check and see if they’re able to fulfill the work you need by your deadline. If they aren’t able to take on your work or meet your deadline, ask them when’s the soonest they could deliver it. Then determine if that’s an acceptable alteration.
If you’re hiring a full-time employee, it’s important to know how quickly they can write and complete the assigned content. Everyone works at different paces, so you might ask them about their turn-around time on previous projects and how well they know your industry or niche to gauge how quickly they can work.
4. Ask for Referrals
Asking for referrals is helpful because it allows you to understand the writer’s skills from the perspective of another employer. Talk with previous employers about the writer’s work ethic and communication skills. See how the writer worked with the previous employer to create quality content and help them accomplish their goals. Discussing these topics with previous employers can help you better understand how certain candidates may work with your company and brand. They can also help you see the writer’s success rate and how well they can meet deadlines.
5. Check for Similarities Between Writer and Audience
Similarities between the writer and your target audience are helpful because they can influence the engagement of your content. If your writer is someone who’s excited about the products or services you offer, they can use that enthusiasm to help create more meaningful blogs and newsletters. That excitement or interest often reveals itself in their writing and can help attract more customers. That’s because the writer can relate to the audience more easily and better understand what they like or need from the company.
How To Manage a Content Marketing Team After Hiring
If you decide to hire a content marketing team, it’s important to know how to manage them. Effectively managing a marketing team can help you maximize their success in helping your company grow and develop. Here is a list of steps to help you maintain a content marketing team:
1. Agree on Goals
After hiring a content marketing team, it’s important to discuss and agree on your advertising goals. This clarifies with the team exactly what you want out of the marketing campaign and solidifies how they’re going to achieve it. Going through these steps can help you and the team create an effective content strategy for increasing your brand awareness. Agreeing on goals can also help you keep track of the campaign’s progress and analyze its results once it’s over.
2. Create Communication Channels
Whether you’re working with a local content team or a remote one, it’s important to create communication channels. That means having a direct way to contact the content marketing team so you can discuss the campaign with them. Though emails and phone calls are great tools to use, it’s also helpful to have a more immediate way to connect with people.
Communication programs like Slack, Google Chat, and Microsoft Teams help companies communicate with their marketing teams. These tools often have features, such as instant messaging, calls, and videoconferencing, which can help improve the teamwork between the two businesses. Let’s say someone has a quick question about the campaign or just needs to be reminded of a minor detail. A communication program might help them get the answer more quickly than sending an email.
When people can communicate more easily, it can also help solve problems more easily. If a question or challenge presents itself on either your end or the teams, you can ask it right away and get a prompt response.
3. Deliver Continuous Feedback
With communication channels set up, the last step is to deliver continuous feedback. This can allow the campaign to become more effective and help you achieve your marketing goals. If you feel some content isn’t representing your brand, it’s important to communicate that right away. With every batch of content that the team completes, it’s also helpful to rank the content so the company has a better understanding of what you’re looking for.
Many content marketing teams also help businesses create style guides. These style guides allow you to inform the content team of what you want in your blogs or newsletters. They can also shape your brand and help you maintain a consistent image for your consumers.
Whether you hire a content writer or a content marketing team, what’s most important is that you develop content for your company that engages with your customers. Both writers and marketing teams can provide you with useful tools. But which one you choose often depends on what your company needs and the goals you’re trying to accomplish.
CopyPress writer
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