You are ready to unleash your business blog or website into the world. Or, are you? As you look at the content on your page or check out that blog post one more time, you may be wondering if you are making a mistake. Is it sending the right message? Is it interesting or just another dull post no one will look at? One of the most important steps you can make as a business owner is to engage your writer properly. If you hire writer talent for your site, you need to ensure the person you hire is able to create the perfect copy for your blog.
5 Things to Do Now
Before you hire writers or send content requests out, it’s important to formulate a plan. What message are you trying to send? The following tips can help you clearly engage your writer so that every post you receive is exactly what you want.
- Are your directions clear? One of the biggest mistakes you can make is not providing enough information that’s specific. For example, if you want a blog post, be sure to provide information about what you are looking for and how you plan to use it.
- Did you provide a few samples? Sometimes it is hard to put into words the style and structure you are looking for, but this is very important when it comes to getting the quality you need. Providing a few examples of the content you want, such as those on competitor sites, can help you.
- Do they know who you are? You may not want to tell your writer everything and that is okay. However, if you want content that’s going to be “pro” your product or “anti” a topic, you need to provide this information. In other words, they need to know what you are after.
- Ask for one first. Check out the writer’s work. If you like the writer and decide to use them, don’t think of their failed first piece as being a problem. Revisions are a part of the process. Use it to provide more information, better direction and even more feedback to the writer so the job can turn out perfectly.
- Give the writer some freedom. Sometimes it is easy to provide too much, and that bogs down the writer and limits the overall ability to excel. The goal is, rather, to provide some direction but then to let them use their knowledge of SEO and the topic, skill and research to guide the final product.
You can hire writer talent based on samples or reputation. You can make sure you get the right price for your needs. However, if you do not invest enough time into effective communication, you are missing out. The content isn’t going to hit the mark if you don’t provide the right type and amount of info to your writer, no matter how good he or she is.
Sandy B is a freelance writer available on WriterAccess, a marketplace where clients and expert writers connect for assignments.
