If you’re a site owner and in recent months, you’ve begun to explore the idea of outsourcing some, or even all of your content creation, you know what a daunting task it can be to find high quality writers who consistently deliver the kind of content you’re looking for.
Using the tools that Hirewriters.com makes available can certainly streamline the process, but at the end of the day, developing a stable of great writers is as much an art as it is a science. That means you’ve got to become adept at spotting key behaviors of writers as you begin to communicate with them, and in the early stages of your relationship.
In this article, we’ll outline a number of key behaviors and traits to be on the lookout for. The more of these you spot and identify in a writer you’ve got working for you, the more confident you can be that they’ll be viable long-term creative partners:
This, of course, is essential, especially in a relationship that is based on providing written content and in which all the details are handled remotely. Read every email you get from a prospective writer very closely. You don’t necessarily have to break out your editor’s pen and critique it, but you do want to pay attention to the tone and delivery, in addition to the overall style the writer communicates with. These all hold important clues to the kinds of content they’ll ultimately produce for you.
On top of that, you want to make sure that any writer you work with keeps you in the loop. If there’s going to be a delay in getting a piece of content back from them, you need to know that sooner, rather than later, and if a given writer isn’t providing that kind of proactive communication, it’s a genuine red flag.
This matters all the time, but is especially critical if you’re juggling multiple writers at once. You’ll tend to spot these kinds of issues very quickly, but if you find yourself dealing with a writer who consistently asks for more time on a project, even if you like their work, it’s probably best to let them go and find someone who can meet your deadlines. If you don’t, it’s likely going to turn into a major time sink for you, which can lead to hard feelings down the road.
This one doesn’t come up as often as the others we’ve talked about so far, but is still worth paying close attention to. Sometimes, despite excellent communication, a writer will deliver something that’s not quite what you were looking for, prompting a request for revision and another round of communication to clarify what it is you’re seeking.
If you encounter a writer who’s hostile toward the idea of revisions, cut them loose. Good writers understand that revisions are part of the process and the very best writers will learn to follow the threads of your thinking quickly and you’ll seldom have to request revisions from them often.
If you keep the items above in the forefront of your mind and make good use of the research tools we’ve got available, you’ll have an impressive sable of talented writers at your fingertips in no time at all!
