“Content” is the buzzword every startup wants to be associated with, but finding someone who’s genuinely good at creating and planning content is no easy task. Today’s write-up will look at how to spot a great content writer and creator, a Unicorn of sorts, to help your business grow.
Writers are a dime a dozen. Some of them are great, most of them can write, and a few of them are a disgrace to the overall profession. My guide here will help you find the best and weed out the rest. So, let’s begin.
What Can You Expect?
If you are in the market for a high-quality content writer, then first off, I would like you to set your expectations straight.
- Good writers don’t come cheap.
- Cheap writers aren’t generally good.
If you are looking for someone cheap and good, then that is a very unique combination to find. In most cases, a creator is either good or cheap. You may find a stay-at-home mom (Or Dad!) who would be willing to write about anything under the sun, but they may not be the best writers, or you may find someone who’s an expert in the field, but they won’t come cheap.
A great workaround to this conundrum is to leverage the power of your currency if you are in a developed nation. $50 may not find you the best writers in North America but the same $50 may fetch you an excellent writer somewhere in Asia. The only downside to this arrangement would be that you would need to jump through a few extra hoops and probably direct them a little more than usual, but the end result would be certainly satisfactory.
What should you look for?
There’s no strict checklist of things you should aim to look for. There are some things that you should ensure, though. They are –
1. Proper Grammar
Grammar is important. Maybe not the most important, but certainly quite important. No one likes to read something that’s just slapped together sloppily for the sake of it. So, ensure that the previous works by the creator you are considering have decent grammar.
2. Personality
In the end, the content you are writing for your website is for humans to read, and if your writer doesn’t have any style or personality in their writing, it will end up feeling robotic and monotonous. Write for humans and not for Robots is what the motto of your writer should be.
3. Formatting
While formatting is subjective and pretty easy to fix, a good writer will know how to format the writing properly.
Formatting isn’t rocket science, and it’s easy to ensure that whatever you write is easy to read and doesn’t strain your eyes.
Things that should be used in articles –
- HTML Titles
- Paragraph breaks
- Sub-headings
- Numbered lists or Bullet points
- Images
- Questions that invoke curiosity
4. Communication and Professionalism
Communication is the key to success in anything that you do. If the writer is unwilling to communicate clearly and concisely, that may be a sign that things will go south soon.
Another important thing to keep in mind is the kind of professionalism they showcase. Missed deadlines, unwillingness to take on difficult opportunities, and complete disregard for feedback are all signs that tell you to start your hunt again for a reliable writer.
When do you retire your search?
Finding good writers isn’t easy, but it doesn’t need to be excruciatingly painful, either. Once you find someone who is reliable, you should stick with them. Also, ensure that they stay happy because writers generally tend to have a higher attrition rate.-