You cannot drive a car without an engine or ride a bicycle without tires. Certain components are vital to operating any machine. The same principle is true in content writing. Without the right content writer or team of writers at the helm, a business owner will struggle to supply the demand for quality content on their blog or website.
Finding the best writers can be a complex task. Make a mistake in assembling your writing team and it can cause more harm than good. What should a business owner do to shift the odds in their favor? It all comes down to following the right blueprint for building a content writing team.
Your content writing blueprint is incomplete without a writing team possessing these elements:
1. Functions as a teammate
Writers are not designed to be solitary creatures even if that seems second nature to the job. You need someone who can work well with others. Look for candidates who are skilled at communicating with multiple personalities and can take feedback as well as contribute ideas in a collaborative setting. Your writers need to have their voices be heard, but they also must listen to other voices.
2. Cares about the content
Writers are much more effective in communicating an idea when they care about the topic at hand. Find a writer who is in it for more than a paycheck. If a writer has genuine interest in the content, they will go the extra mile in drawing out good information from sources and sharing anything of value with your target audience.
3. Can be trusted
Nothing is more frustrating than working with a writer who produces sloppy copy. Find writers who can consistently deliver engaging and informative content that is free from legal issues and not littered with errors. Empower good writers by trusting their judgment and not tampering with every little aspect of the content they produce.
4. Edits and writes equally well
A writer who can also edit material written by other writers is worth their weight in ink and paper. You want a writer on your team who can refine content by restructuring sentences, paragraphs or whole documents as needed. A writer with a good grasp of grammar and spelling is also more likely to make their own content read better.
5. Succeeds in assigned roles
Building a culture of teamwork within your writing team starts with knowing individual strengths and assigning roles based on those strengths. You want a writer who can flourish in an assigned role. It can be generating ideas, doing primary research, writing or copy editing. Hand each writer the task they do best and let them go to work.
John C is a seasoned writer and editor who counts multiple publications and websites among his extensive freelance portfolio. John puts his talents to good use on assignments that include covering major sports teams and athletes, writing about the great outdoors and chronicling business news and trends.
