Giving away a number of your creative control, stressing about content quality, adding another human factor to your marketing mix.
How can you best associate with salespeople so they are writing quality articles for you that reflects your company well?
Your procedure for hiring and working with authors will impact what sort of content you receive, how long and resources you pay, and how a brand is perceived by your viewers.
Avoid these errors to make certain you and your authors are on the exact same page.
Mistake #1 — Selecting the wrong author
The greatest mistake you can make when hiring a freelance author is picking the wrong writer.
You’ll Have to consider things like:
Experience and background
Depending upon your business and business design, there are lots of different things that could come into consideration if you’re searching for ideal authors.
By way of instance, a writer with a background in the software business might not necessarily be the best option to sell your SaaS product if you sell solely to healthcare organizations and want to tap into that market more deeply. If that’s the situation, perhaps a healthcare writer is your better choice.
Not a hard rule but some thing for you to consider and open up your mind.
Affordability and quality
They state when it comes to Purchasing goods or services you can PICK ONLY TWO:
You are going to need to find a balance between quality and cost based on the quality and quantity of work you are interested in being accomplished.
I understand the term”cheap” may be highly subjective, however there are many cost-effective writers out there who can make incredible work for you.
If you are having some trouble locating authors, do a bit of research, utilize Google, ask around social networking, check with your network, and I am confident that you can find lots of professional writers you think strong candidates.
How nicely they vibe along with you, your team, and your brand
Last, think about how you see this individual working with you.
- Can you believe them likeable?
- Can they take criticism/feedback nicely? (Very important for authors )
- Do you see them representing your brand voice nicely?
- Would you want them working with your staff or partners?.
Mistake #2 — Failing to clarify the scope of work and Duties
Prevent incomplete work, disagreements, unnecessary back-and-forths, creative conflicts, and honest mistakes by being extremely clear about deliverables.
“Ambiguity is the mother of confusion.”
You can avoid a lot of conflict and pain by making sure who is doing what is known by both parties.
You and the author should understand what the length/word depend assortment of the content will be.
You need to both be clear how amendments will likely be handled.
You should both be aware of who is responsible for visual articles like graphic design and images.
I have composed for brands that had very different expectations for submitting work and nothing can be presumed.
Expectations about the scope of work and tasks the author will be responsible for, have to be more apparent from the start.
Mistake #3 — Perhaps not educating your authors on your Service or Product
Your ultimate aim is getting good content out of them.
However, it is in your very best interest to provide your authors all of the information that they desire or desire (within reason) to help them produce amazing content for you.
Especially in the event that you intend on working with them long term.
To what degree you’ll want to help educate your freelance writers will be highly subjective based on numerous factors.
Things like the type of business you conduct, the ease or complexity of your product/service, the type of content you’re asking for, and also the knowledge and expertise of your author.
Consider some potential resources you could have available to help instruct your authors:
- Reviews
- Battle cards
- Product demos
- Whitepapers
- Case studies
- Solutions guides
- Customer success stories
Even if the author doesn’t state they need them, it doesn’t hurt to have them available for reference.
You will never know what might help your writer tell your stories in the best way possible or get their creative juices flowing.
Possessing an initial outline submission for a necessity BEFORE agreeing on starting a brand new article is an easy approach to make sure you make the content you’re searching for.
So much confusion, time, and stress can be prevented by making sure the outline is satisfactory prior to submitting any drafts.
No one wants to take care of big surprises or disappointments when that initial draft is submitted.
You most likely don’t want to criticize or rip down your writers and they surely don’t wish to hear it.
This will also cut back on future alterations and editing needed.
To ensure both you and your author possess an aligned vision to the articles, you are going to want to agree to an outline that contains the significant points or themes which will be dealt with in the article.
The details can always be refined but the core message and main attention of this content should be agreed on beforehand.
Mistake #5 — Not telling your author your marketing Objectives or purpose of this content
Give your writers context around your marketing objectives or specific content objectives.
Not every piece of content has the same purpose or is trying to get the same goal. You can give your writers more clarity about how to compose the piece if they understand that.
Whether the material is likely to be for people in the awareness stage, closing stage, whether it’ll be a lead magnet, even if there is a specific product or service which it’s highlighting, if it is segmented toward a particular portion of your intended audience, etc..
Let them in your mind a little.
It can help them gain a broader picture of how the content aligns with your strategy.
Conclusion
You’ll want to avoid these mistakes once you’re trying to get the best content and most effective relationships with your writers.
Depending on the level of trust you’ve got in a writer or just how much or how little creative control you need responsibility for, a number of this info may apply less or more.
Next time you’re hiring a freelance writer, remember to:
- Select a quality author that you can see yourself or your team working well with.
- Teach your author about your product/service if necessary.
- Always agree on a first outline prior to starting or submitting any loopholes. Especially if it is a writer you are just forming a connection with.
- Inform your writer what your marketing goals are and the function of the content.
- You should see your freelancer writers as a collaboration partner.
