Content Writer: What is the cost of hiring?

Why hire a content writer

Content writers are experts at creating written material for advertisements, website content, blog pieces, or social media. They form an integral part of a marketing strategy that will help bring clients to your business.

Contributions of a great content writer:

• Writing original and creative content
• Writing content that matches the voice of your brand
• Attracting new customers or clients to your website

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance content writer

The majority of content writing positions are for freelance writers who specialize in writing content for different brands. Content writers are hired by the company to create content for their blogs, websites, newsletters, or social media posts that will increase the amount of traffic to their websites. Another way of hiring a content writer is through a marketing agency. Marketing agencies hire freelance content writers for particular jobs and then often continue to use them for other campaigns. There are also some marketing companies that have content writers on staff, in which case they will be in charge of creating content for all the campaigns.

What are the different types of content writer?

Content writers have a lot of choice in what types of project they work on, as almost every company will need content for their websites at some point. Most content writers end up specializing in a particular type of content as they begin to gain more experience in one particular type of writing or industry. For example, a company might hire a content writer to bring more people to their website, which means they would need someone who understands how to write articles that are compelling and stay within the rules of search engine optimization. The following is a list of different content writing specializations that you can pick from when hiring a content writer.

• SEO Article/Blog Writer: Search engine optimized articles or blog posts are written in a way that leads to more people clicking on your website. Content writers are given keywords to use in the articles, which helps bring readers to your website.
• Copywriter: A copywriter focuses on the marketing aspect of a business and often works within a marketing team writing copy for advertisements.
• Social Media Content Writer: A social media content writer is in charge of writing social media posts, and often has the added responsibility of creating images or videos to go along with the posts.
• Ghostwriter: A ghostwriter will write content for books or e-books. The client provides an outline, while the writer provides all the actual written content of the book.
• Technical Writer: Technical writers write content for documents with a technical focus, such as instruction manuals and other supporting documents.

Where to find a content writer

To find the right content writer for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Freelance job boards: Since the majority of content writers are freelance, some of the best places to find quality candidates are freelance job boards and networking websites. These sites will allow you to post your project on their site, then content writers from around the world will be able to bid on working with you. This is an effective way to find a great content writer and stay on budget.
• Referrals: If you know other people who’ve hired a content writer, you can always ask them for a referral. This is a great way to find someone who you know will deliver work that’s high quality and on time.
• Professional associations: Some writers’ associations and freelance associations offer job boards that you can post your project on. This will give you direct access to a variety of content writers who are looking for new projects to work on.
• Colleges: Colleges often offer programs for creative writing, journalism, or marketing, which are all great places to find new graduates who are looking for work.
• Post your job online: Try posting your content writer job on Indeed to find and attract quality content writer candidates.

Skills to look for in a great content writer

A great content writer candidate will have the following skills and attributes as well as work experience that reflects:

• writing and editing work for grammar and spelling mistakes
• attention to detail and ability to work with strict deadlines
• writing content that complies with the voice of the brand
• ability to work independently or within a team
• creative writing skills

Writing a content writer job description

A thoughtful description is important for finding qualified content writer candidates. A content writer job description includes a compelling summary of the role, detailed list of duties and responsibilities, and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your content writer job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on content writer jobs, according to Indeed data:

• content
• content writer
• social media
• content creator
• marketing
• writer
• digital marketing
• communications

Interviewing content writer candidates

Strong candidates for content writer positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• experience of communicating effectively with clients
• the work in their portfolio
• meeting tight deadlines
• how quickly they can produce content
• success at gaining clients for the business
• use of certain software programs or website design sites

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of content writer interview questions for examples (with sample answers).