Every writer writes a little differently. Some are able to capture the tone and style of a brand with ease. Others, not so much. When you hire a poor-fit writer, you risk making it obvious that you didn't write it yourself. What's more, the writer may fail to capture the essence of your brand, which can make the writing less effective, even if the content is factually correct. For example, my blog is very personal. I write my articles myself, in first person, usually with some quirky one-liners, jokes, and puns. It feels natural to me when I write, but if I hired someone else to write for me, they would probably have to work harder to capture the same style. Not getting the right style and tone fit can ultimately defeat the purpose of hiring a writer. Those inconsistencies matter too much and therefore need to be fixed, but doing so takes extra time and effort.
One of the hardest things about hiring a content writer is finding one who has enough time to submit the piece on time. I've had trouble finding and hiring writers who have enough time. Of course, writers are always genuinely interested at first. But only approximately half of them make it to the point where they sign the contract. In my opinion, many are already working multiple jobs, and adding another job is difficult. Therefore, only about half of the writers who reach the contract signing stage send their work on time, at least in my experience. And even some writers are so irresponsible regarding the time that they fail to respond for a few days or submit an article a week late. I advise you to look for writers who charge higher hourly rates, and you might also want to consider guest blogging. It turned out that my contracted writers weren't as helpful to me as the guest bloggers.
Although most content writers have a general understanding of SEO, some may not be familiar with the concept of "keywords" and how to use them effectively. Keywords are the words and phrases that potential customers use when they search for information online. When used correctly, keywords can help your content rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which in turn can help you attract more traffic to your website. However, if not used correctly, keywords can actually do more harm than good. Stuffing keywords into your content in an attempt to game the system will not only make your content less readable, but it can also make it less likely to rank high in SERPs.
Content Marketer at Fyle HQ
Answered 3 years ago
While most folks we meet come in with a "passion" for writing, they outrun this threshold in a month or more. The profession, like most others, goes through a range of moments wherein we feel extremely passionate about it one day to others where we just don't want to get out of bed to write another blog or content piece. It's in these moments that your discipline for the profession is tested. Whether you can just sit tight and do the work even during low points as this. While I've come across folks who're incredibly passionate about the profession, I've only met a handful who've had the discipline to just keep doing on days when the going gets tough. This I feel is a quality in a writer that's harder to come by.
Everyone believes they're great at writing. And all sorts of make-money-online gurus have extolled the possibility of earning an excellent part-time or full-time income by becoming a copywriter. Plus, the growing cadres of job seekers during this economic depression. With plenty of candidates who fancy themselves wordsmiths and only a limited number of available copywriting positions, the steps writers will take to stand out and get hired are ridiculous. We've seen cherry-picked, plagiarized, or outright stolen content being touted as a candidate's capability, only to be surprised that their output is much lower quality. Now, add generative (AI) copywriting technology to this mix, and we have the perfect conditions for our vetting processes to become a complete waste of time and money. We've done well to enhance our sourcing and vetting processes, but this will surely be the most significant challenge we face for the foreseeable future.
Data Scientist, Digital Marketing & Leadership Consultant for Startups at Consorte Marketing
Answered 3 years ago
I've worked with hundreds of content writers over the years at my digital marketing agency. The problem isn't talent—it's consistency. Some writers take on freelance gigs with companies like mine, in order to make extra cash until they find a job. Others sell me on their work, then farm it out to people I've never met. Still others have good days, and bad days. On the good days, they produce the most amazing content, on time. On the bad days, their work doesn't match their capabilities, or they don't meet deadlines, or they send lengthy emails that explain why they don't have time to write. Often those emails are longer than the actual assignments. It's tough to find consistent content writers. So, when you find one, hold onto them. Out of the hundreds of writers that I've worked with, there are about three that have been with me for over five years each, because they are consistently amazing and I do everything I can to keep them happy.
Quality is the hardest thing to measure when hiring a content writer. It can be hard to find someone who is both knowledgeable about the topic and capable of producing high-quality content. Sometimes, you have to wade through a lot of low-quality submissions before finding someone who meets your standards. When reviewing a writing sample to assess the quality of the writer's work, you have to remember that it was probably already reviewed and edited. You can also use online tools such as Copyscape or Grammarly to verify that the content is original. And, of course, always be sure to proofread all written content yourself before publishing it on your website or blog.
I think the hardest thing about hiring a content writer is finding someone who knows the difference between 'writing well' versus 'writing with a point a view' that engages readers. If you're just looking for well written, grammatically-correct content, then you can find that with any number of professional writers on the internet. But if you're looking for engaging content that will get people to click through, share, and even pay for your product or service, then you need to know the difference between telling and showing. Showing is more effective than telling because it creates an emotional connection with your readers. Showing them something they may already know (through personal experience or observation) allows them to relate to what you're saying in an almost visceral way—they feel like they've been there themselves! That kind of connection makes people want to engage more deeply with your brand and engage with your product or service more frequently.
One of the most common challenges when hiring a content writer is the evaluation of the efficiency of the candidate in the company's environment. Two main aspects to consider while hiring a content writer are the quality and quality of content they can deliver in a given time frame. These metrics can be easily evaluated by a technical assessment. But there is a catch. Content writing is a creative process, and writers need consistent inspiration to work at their full efficiency, or they may result in burnout leading to poor quality and less quantity of work over time. Here, it becomes quite challenging to find a candidate that can offer uniform enthusiasm and efficiency to the company.
I think the hardest struggle to hire a writer is to find someone who can do fast research. Most of the writers have a good command of English but lack research. Content with 0 grammatical mistakes and good language is necessary, however, it is not everything. The writer should be able to resolve the audience's query through content in a precise manner and that can only be done via thorough research on the topic. Also, content should be engaging, delivering value to the reader simultaneously. A writer should be able to deliver deeply researched content in less time. We often met writers who can great content but they take high TAT. Therefore a writer who can write well-researched content in easy language within less time is hard to find.
We've hired many writers, and often the samples they submit don't tell the full story. Many articles have been heavily edited by someone else, or on the other hand -- the writer was given such a bad brief that it was hard to write a good article based on that information. Samples are not the most accurate way of assessing someone's competency at writing, which is why we also do paid writer tests.
The content of anything represents the necessary details of anything in words and it can also be kept as a record. While writing content the writer has to focus on many things. First what has been asked and how we can gracefully present the information? Proper words with grammar should be used whether it's in English or any other language, it should be correct. While hiring a content writer, finding a writer who knows all these is difficult.
In my opinion, the hardest thing is finding a writer that is versatile enough to cater to all your clients’ or your company’s content needs. The writer might even need to delve into content production outside of articles by helping with video scripts, social media posts, and advertising copy. At the same time, versatility is important to produce unique content that fits the brand in question. A truly versatile writer would need to be flexible, creative, and sensitive to minor stylistic changes in any given text. Depending on the industry, this writer might also need to have niche expertise. My hiring tip would be to look through candidate portfolios for diverse writing samples.
The thing which I consider hardest is the determination of the work performance of the writer. Though the company hires a content writer, we wouldn't be knowing how the content would be and the quality of work he/she produces, and a question would also rise regarding the confidentiality of the information created such as, "'Whether the work is secured or not??". These are the things I consider as hardest.
Content writers are critical to website optimization, but not all are created equal. It’s easy for a mediocre writer to slip through the cracks. For example, you may have a fantastic writer if they can consistently produce content that ranks well in Google searches. Or maybe they have a strong portfolio of well-written blogs. These are two very different things. A talented content writer can often produce content that reads well, but may not be optimized for search engines. In contrast, a good SEO writer likely has the ability to write content that’s optimized for search engines, but may not be able to consistently produce engaging content. Finding the sweet spot is essential to succeeding in search engine optimization. If you can find a writer that can do both, you’ve struck gold.
The hardest thing about hiring a content writer is ensuring that their writing style aligns with that of your brand. Any content you are producing needs to be consistent in terms of voice, tone and style, and it's important to train your content writers on your brand before they hit the ground running. You've created an identity, and you need all hands on deck to maintain and properly promote that identity.
As every marketer knows, consistency of voice is crucial in branding. Your company’s messaging has to be uniform across everything - your landing pages, social, digital ads, and even your blog. And given that every content writer has a unique voice, with a certain tone and flair, it can be hard finding a writer that has a style which aligns with branding. At least, that has been one of our biggest challenges. We’ve struggled in the past to hire content writers that can adapt their writing to match our unique branding, and we’ve often had to modify or retract posts which clash with it. That is why I would suggest spending extra time upfront analyzing a writer’s past work for tone and voice before hiring them to ensure their style aligns with your branding.
Finding a qualified content writer can take time and effort. Many individuals out there claim to be writers, but few are. Make sure you find someone who has experience writing for websites and blogs. Look at their portfolio and ask for references. Another great way is doing a paid test for on-the-spot expertise and an overview of their writing talent and skill.
We specialize in content marketing in the legal industry. While this allows our writers to become experts in this highly-specialized niche, the content can become repetitive. It takes an extremely creative writer to develop fresh content for the same topic without burning out. We have been incredibly fortunate to retain a handful of writers who excel in developing website content for lawyers. We have helped our writers avoid burnout by including them in the content calendar development process, assigning topics that are as varied as possible, and brainstorming fresh approaches to similar topics. Beyond adapting the creative strategy, we want our writing team to be able to develop as professionals in areas they find interesting. For example, one of our writers wants to learn more website design skills. So, we are paying for him to take a website design course. Keeping our writers engaged and fulfilled has been key to avoiding content writer burnout.
Finding a writer who shares your passion can be a challenge. Having enthusiasm for your product will come through in their writing. Just writing to write won’t lead to engaging, read-worthy content. But finding a reader who not only believes in you but what they’re writing about will make customers return to your site regularly for fresh content. A content writer who is just as enthusiastic about your product as you will take a hard hiring decision and make it easy.