Hiring a professional freelance writer can be a great move for your business or project.  But, pro writers are licensed or certified by anyone, so finding the right writing professional for your needs requires a little bit of know how.  We’ll guide you through what you need to know about freelance writing and hiring professional writers so that you can get the right writer for the job.

Who Is A Writer Professional

As with most terminology, defining exactly what a professional writer is can be tricky.  The biggest issue is simply that for most any criteria one can develop, an exception is easily found, rendering the definition only partially correct at best.

Some would argue that a professional freelance writer is one who does freelance writing full-time.  Full-time speech writers, big-time copywriters and editors at major marketing firms, who handle freelance writing projects on the side and their clients, would all disagree.

Moving the definition a bit to include only full-time writers (including those who only freelance part-time) excludes potentially great writers from numerous fields and backgrounds who may simply enjoy, or make better money in another career.  Researchers routinely write concise supremely dense 108-page reports, attorneys (and their law-clerks, and paralegals) write very persuasive legal briefs, small business owners may write many of their own documents, and financial planners write complicated plan documents that cover a lot of technical ground in a way that anyone can understand them.  Not to mention great writers who are part-time for any number of reasons.

Likewise, some sort of income or revenue limit is, by nature, arbitrary and not representative of skill or competency.  Many crappy writers make big money thanks to hustle, networking, and connections, while many amazing writers make very little thanks to only being willing to write in certain circumstances or due to lack of marketing savvy.

Even if any of these definitions were sufficient, the only way a potential client would know is to ask the writer, who might have plenty of motivation to “spin” the facts in their favor.

Instead, as a potential client, the business owner, manager, or other person doing the evaluation and hiring can rely on just one criteria: How professionally the writer in question carries themselves.

What Makes A Professional Writer

In evaluating the professionalism of a writer, the potential client determines not only the potential quality of the writer’s work, but the nature of working with the writer as well.

It is common for writers to be creative types.  As such, they often also dabble in other creative interests such as visual media, theatre, music, and so on.  Also, they often come with the “artist attitude,” an unfortunate state of mind where the rest of the world seems to be incapable of understanding genius when they see it.

A writer who doesn’t return phone calls or emails in a timely manner before getting the job is unlikely to start being responsive after getting the gig. 

A writer who can’t meet the deadline for a proposal or other materials probably won’t be all that great at meeting deadlines for writing projects either.

A writer who won’t put in minimal effort to appear professional at a pitch meeting or meet and greet, isn’t likely to don a jacket if a meeting with senior management becomes necessary.

In other words, make sure that the writer you are considering works the way you want to work with a professional writer before hiring them.

Next, examine the way the writer presents their business.  Is it a full-scale operation with its own letterhead, business cards, website, email, and phone line, or is it a number scribbled on the back of the card from his “real” job?

Does the website clearly state that this is the business of a professional writer, or is it a “throw-in” to a different business.  The effort a writer puts into their writing business is a good indicator of how much effort they put into their writing for clients as well.

Remember, always ask questions and ask to see examples of a writer’s work.  A professional writer has produced samples of their work on numerous occasions before and should have no trouble providing them to you.  A professional writer has generated proposals, responded to requests for information, answered questions about how they do business, and quoted rates for projects many times before.  Again, a writer who seems caught up or unresponsive on these points is unlikely to be a solid professional writing choice.

Doing some background research and looking into a writer’s style and behavior will provide a clear enough picture to determine if you have found the right fit or you should continue looking.  Either way, do not allow a single writer to color your overall experience.  Professional writers can and do add enormous value every day to businesses and projects that use them, and they can do the same for you.  You just need to get the right pro.

Ok, so whether you run a freelance writing business, or are someone who hires freelance writers, you need your business blog to rank higher in the search engines.

That’s right, even if your fully SEO-optimized blog ranks #1 for your targeted keywords, it needs to rank higher for other keywords and other searches.  How do you do that?

SEO can (an is) be a long tedious process of trial and error, as well as the consistent application of several tried and true techniques.  But, there are some things that you can do without even trying that will push your blog up through the search engine rankings.  One of those things is frequent updates.

Google Loves Blogs and It Has a Frequent Update Fetish

Google and the other search engines have many flaws, most of which stem from trying to force a computer to make a value judgment.  One of the kinks in Google’s algorithm has to do with the “freshness” of a site.  That is, all other things being equal, a website that has been updated more recently will rank higher. While this is certainly not the end story, it is a fact, and an easily exploited one.

To take advantage of this part of the Google ranking algorithm you need to do just one thing.  Update your blog frequently.  There is some disagreement over how frequently is necessary, but the consensus generally is that at least weekly updates are the minimum and that anything more frequent than daily updates brings little boost.  So, shoot for somewhere in between daily and weekly.

Setup Weekly Mini-Posts As An Insurance Policy

That sounds easy on paper, but sooner or later you will get busy.  Business will take off, family will come to town, babies will get sick, you will get sick.  Whatever it is, during that time it will be darn hard to update your blog.

To combat the inevitable, take a block of free time and sit down and write out a dozen or so posts for your blog.  Not full posts, but rather short and sweet ones.  Make sure they are related, but they do not need to be full length.  Two hundred, or even one hundred words is all you need.

While that length is too short for maximum SEO effect, it will keep your frequency up, which is more important.  Besides, unless you go into super-slacker mode for two weeks, only one or two of these will get posted in a row, so your front page will be full of better length posts.

Type up quick anecdotes, funny stories, fictional events, definitions, quirks of industry, whatever you want, as long as it is related and evergreen (something that is fresh at a later date).  Then, save these posts as drafts.  Now, set each one to post on a certain day of the week every week for as many weeks as you have posts.  That gives you a guaranteed weekly post for the next several weeks.

To best utilize this system, every week you make a “real” post, go into your dashboard and change the future publication date of the automatic filler post that was supposed to happen that week to the week after your last little post is scheduled to go up.  That stretches out your efforts as long as possible.

Get twenty or thirty of these little guys written and ready to go and your blog posting insurance policy can easily last you up to 2 years because you’ll be publishing full posts at least some of the time.

Hire ArcticLlama To Do It For You

Don’t want to write up a bunch of mini-posts, or don’t think you can come up with enough topics.  That, my friend, is what professional freelance writers are for.  Give us the topic (or better yet, point us to your existing site) and we’ll work up a bid.  Don’t worry, it will be fast and easy, which means it will also be cheap.

In the meantime, keep those blogs up to date and watch your site move up the search results pages.

I’ve worked with lots of clients who were relieved they found me.  I don’t mean that in an ego way, what I mean is that many clients don’t get the kind of responses they want for their writing opportunities.  Most of the time this has to do with the job posting.  I’ve been doing this long enough to read between the lines and I still like to take a chance every now and then that something that sounds a little iffy, might actually be something really great, but not all writers work that way.

Guide to Finding and Hiring Good Writers

The first thing you have to understand is that no matter how legitimate you are, and no matter how great your opportunity is, there are plenty of postings out there every single day that are junk, or even worse, that are scams.  Professional writers learn how to filter these out to avoid wasting their time applying for jobs that will not pan out.  So, you need to write your job posting in a way that does not trigger these filters.

Put Some Effort Into Your Post

Most scams work based on volume, so the more postings a scammer makes, the better.  Obviously, this means making short posts or doing a copy and paste all over the Internet.  A post on Craigslist that reads “Need freelance writer for project, great opportunity, email …” may not garner the kind of attention you would like.

Avoid Scam Sounding Phrases

New writers are the easiest to scam.  New writers tend to be hungry to get business.  As such, many scam postings try to sound like hitting the jackpot.  So avoid things like saying that you are paying $5 for 10,000 words this time, but there will be a lot more and those will pay $500.  Experienced writers don’t believe that "there will be a lot more where that came from."  Feel free to mention a trial period.  Something like, "Pay is $10 per 300 words for the first three months.  If after that, we both like how this is going, then we can discuss a higher rate."  Or even better, say $20 after the first 10 satisfactory articles or whatever.

Don’t Make Me Join

I’m a professional freelance writer.  If you want me to write for you then treat me like a professional.  Have you ever heard of a gym asking a personal trainer to join the gym before they will interview him?  Have you ever heard of an insurance company making someone buy their insurance before offering them a job?  No, because it is ridiculous. 

If you want people to join your mailing list, website, or organization, then offer great things to people who need them, don’t try and make me join to apply.

By the way, the "go here and fill out this form" stinks of scam.  Don’t be surprised that all of your most promising candidates just drop out after you send them an email asking them to go to a website and fill something out.  After all, they already applied.  Say yes or no, don’t turn this into one of those bad thrillers.  "Come to the phone booth alone and I’ll call with further instructions."

Match The Requirements to the Reward

You wouldn’t believe how many postings I’ve seen where someone wants a ton of stuff for a $300 job.  Good freelance writers have a busy schedule filled with projects they are already working on.  The only reason they are reading new postings is because some of those projects will be coming to an end and they want to have a full pipeline ready for the next month.  That means they can’t be taking 45 minutes to apply to a position they might not get, and even if they do, won’t be very profitable.  If you are looking for a writer to handle a 600-page manual and the contract will pay $10,000, then by all means request a cover letter, resume, samples, and that the writer fill out an online form with details as well as write a specific sample for you.  But, if you are offering $10 per page to help with a 5 page marketing brochure, you should be happy with a resume and links to some existing samples.

Don’t Post ANY Requirements

If you really want to separate the wheat from the chaff, don’t post any requirements with your job posting.  Instead, use the responses as a way to gauge who is a professional.  A professional freelance writer will respond to a job posting with no requirements with a courteous email summarizing themselves and a link to their website and samples.  Some professionals will write to request the requirements.  These are professionals who probably came from the print world where such things are very common.  Either way, you can eliminate anyone who responds with sloppy language, bizarre text, or no references, no website, and no resume.

You Aren’t Getting a Resume Unless You Ask

Most professional writers, and most people who hire them know that the world of writing is the one place where you can PROVE that you are good at the job before you get it.  Sure, a high-level Unix administrator might have the title Senior Unix Administrator and might have six years of experience at a top company, but he still might not be any good at his job.  Maybe he is surly, or won’t take direction, or insists on belittling users.  You will never know that by reviewing his resume.

A writer on the other hand can show you things he or she has already written.  Sure, they may be surely, but if they are freelancing from a remote location, who cares?  You can see from a writing sample that a guy with no experience in finance can write better than the guy who spent 20 years as a bank president just by reading over a few pages that they have written before.

For this reason, most professional writers won’t bother sending you a resume unless you specifically ask for one. If you do ask for one, make sure there is a reason.  If you want someone with insider experience to write for your Realtor website, then a resume showing some experience as a real estate agent is a good thing to see.

Don’t Worry About RELATED Writing Samples

A writer can either write, or they can’t.  Now, some writers can only write on one topic, and others can only write technical articles, while others cannot write technical articles.  But, as long as you can see a sample that is in the same universe as what you are looking for, then you can judge the writing. What you want to see is writing covering at least two diverse topics.  That way, you will know if the writer is a one thing only writer or can do anything.  

For example, if someone can distill complex medical subjects into easily readable articles and also has written great legal articles, then you can be pretty sure that person can distill complex financial subjects into easily readable articles even if you don’t see any financial samples.

I’ll write an article on how to evaluate writing samples in the near future.  In the meantime, I hope this helps.

As a small business owner or as a manager, you may eventually come across a reason to hire a freelance writer. Most of the time, freelancers are hired by businesses who don’t have the time or expertise to create the documents they are looking for. For example, a busy web entrepreneur knows that in order to rank well with the search engines that he needs fresh keyword heavy content. Yet, running the business, filling orders, and keeping the website code and functions running is a full-time job.

That is where a freelance writer comes in. A professional freelance writer can produce several pages of solid content quickly. The biggest catch for most professionals is that they have never hired a freelance writer before. In many areas there are definitive standards or associations that can help with contacting a solid professional. For example, you can look to the CPA designation to ensure that an accountant meets a certain level of training and experience. With writers, there isn’t the same kind of designation in use. Therefore, many of those looking to hire a professional writer attempt to use other concepts as a way to screen writers, often to their own detriment.

Freelance Writing Degrees

Without a standard writing certification, many employers turn to college degrees as a way to find quality writers. Many job postings or RFPs require a degree in English, or other “writing” type degree. The flaw in this strategy is readily apparent. While it is true that an English major may require more writing than other majors, it is not a writing degree. A person who completes an Bachelors of Arts in English can be reasonably assumed to have taken several classes in which reading is the primary focus. Most writing comes in the form of writing about what you have read. Again, this is not a bad thing, but does it help determine if some is a good choice to write for your business?

Academic writing is both very traditional and structured in nature. Does your brochure need a 5-paragraph essay structure? Should each of your paragraphs on the website begin with a topic sentence? Will Google rank your page higher if the conclusion refers back to all main points raised in the body of the essay?

Consider instead whether a degree in what is being written ABOUT would be more useful. In articles about engineering or marketing, engineering or marketing degrees may imply a certain depth of knowledge. That knowledge may be more useful than classical training in writing.

Freelance Writers and Buzzwords

When I read through various ads or postings requesting writers, I can see that the person who posted the ad did a little bit of research first. Unfortunately, this research can take the form of simply copying terms or phrases that have been seen often enough to look important.

One of the most common terms is “familiarity with AP Style.” This does indeed sound impressive, and it is likely to be seen on ads from important companies like the New York Times or Wall Street Journal. Of course, there is a reason it is seen there. AP Style, is literally, the style used by the Associated Press or AP. Most people know AP from their local newspaper. The AP service writes news articles and allows others who subscribe to the service to either reprint them, or use them as the basis for their own articles. Not surprisingly, then AP Style is very tailored to news.

Curious about what AP Style is? There is actually a book. The Associated Press Stylebook, details the AP Style and contains the rules for how to use various terms and phrases. For example, in stories about wildfires, there will often be a reference to a firefighting technique known as a backfire. This raises some issues. Is it back fire, backfire, or back-fire? In that same sentence are firefighting and wildfire, also in the AP Style guide. What about words a little closer to home?

According to AP Style it should be Internet and Web site. Do you need your articles to use a capital W and a space between ‘web’ and ‘site’? Then, maybe you don’t need AP Sytle.

Samples, Samples, Samples

In real estate, they say the three most important things are location, location, and location. When hiring or contracting with a freelance writer the most important things are samples, samples, and samples. Nothing will give more insight into a person’s ability to write than seeing examples of what they have written. Don’t worry if the writing isn’t exactly what you are needing. If an author can clearly explain technical medical jargon, it is a good bet that they can also explain technical financial jargon and so on.

If the position requires the ability to turn over material quickly, a “live” example of such writing can also prove useful. For example, if a writer has links to several websites that have writing samples clearly produced in rapid fashion, then that is extra assurance that he/she will be able to turn around the projects quickly as well.

Questions About Professional Writing

If you have any questions about professional writing, whether hiring or being one, please don’t hesitate to ask.

One of the greatest frustrations for both freelance writers, and the business owners or managers who hire them is a final product that is not what was wanted. A good freelance writer wants to deliver a good end result to their client and does their best to do so. However, there can be a breakdown in communication over what the deliverable is supposed to look like. Often this can be remedied with just a few simple steps.

Freelance Writing Perfection

In order to achieve perfection, one has to know what perfection is. In gymnastics, a perfect 10 from all of the judges represents perfection. It is not a secret how to achieve such a score. There are published rules regarding what kinds of things the judges must see and what kinds of things they must not see in order to get a 10 score. These rules are specific. They do not say “a flawless routine that is inspiring.” That is what they want, but that is not how to communicate. After all, what is inspiring to one person may be showing-off to another person. However, many clients will give no instruction beyond “something simple, yet inspiring.”

In order to get what they want from a freelancer, clients need to break it out further. In our gymnastics example, it is specified that stepping outside the white mat border will mean a points deduction. Now, the gymnast knows specifically what they cannot do. A freelancer needs the same kind of guidance. The above client has asked for simple, but there are many ways to interpret that. Does he mean black and white? Does he mean short? Does he mean no big words?

Freelance Writing and the Haircut

When a person gets their haircut, they have to tell the stylist what they want. This usually takes place in the form of a conversation. The stylist asks questions to clarify what the client wants. When the client says “short,” the stylist can ask “how much shorter, above the ears?” To which the client can answer, “No, just to the tops of the shoulders.” This illustrates exactly how you should communicate with your freelancer.

When the client says, “simple,” the freelancer should inquire, “No color, or no graphics?” The client can then fill in the details as to what they mean by simple.

Professional Freelance Writers Write First

A professional freelance writer will always try to put your request in writing. At ArcticLlama, LLC we strive to put together a simple looking write up of what the client wants. Of course, if the project is very short, or needed very quickly, this step may need to be skipped. But, if the client has sufficient time, this write up saves frustration for everyone involved. As a client it is important for you to review this document of understanding carefully and make sure that it not only does not say the wrong things, but that it also says all of the right things. So, if your DOC (Document of Understanding) says “A three-page article outlining the current economic environment for rental properties,” and you want a three-page article outlining how the current economic environment affects the people who manage rental properties, now is the time to speak up. The freelancer will now write exactly what you want.

Freelance Writing and Re-writes

Remember, rewrites are not the time to change what is being written. It is a time to add on to what was written, or to take out what was written. It is also the time to add examples, change the “sound” of a line or two, and maybe even to add graphics. Changing the theme, the length, or the audience of the product amounts to starting the project over.

Communicate

Remember, the point of hiring a freelance writer is to get someone who is an expert at communicating. Use this expertise in the beginning and you won’t go wrong.

If you have any questions or would like to see a sample DOC, please email us or call us.

Ok, let’s start with the basics shall we?

Whether you are a small business owner, or someone working at a Fortune 500 company, working with a professional freelance writer can be a very useful way to generate content for your projects. However, it is important to know how to work with a freelancer.

The Intangibles

First, it is important to understand that although we are professionals with experience in demanding and skilled fields, we do not work for your business. We don’t know the internal politics, the corporate mission, the philosophy of your organization or department, and we especially don’t know the people we are writing for. While we don’t need to know every detail, it is important that we have a feel for these things so that we can deliver a final product that works for you. What works for one company may be terrible for another. So, sit down and get an idea of what you are looking for and where it will be going. I find it has been helpful for many clients to imagine how you would give a similar project to a spouse or significant other. For example, if your spouse were writing up a twenty page summary of a large research project and needed to speak with the engineer that wrote the research, what advice would you give them? Would you say, “Bob is a great guy, and really smart, but sometimes he can seem a little cold especially on the phone.” This same advice would help your freelancer.

In addition, the following checklist should help you determine the kind of information your freelancer will need.

• Will any interaction be necessary with other people besides yourself? If so, how should that be established? Call directly, call you first, or let you setup the dialog?
• Should any outside knowledge or research be brought into the project or should the project be done without any such additions? In other words, do you consider the information you give us complete? If so, we won’t look anything else up.
• Who will be reading the final project? What do they like and not like in such reading? Do they like formal or informal? Long or short? Detailed or just the conclusions? Are they a numbers person, or do they just get confused by lots of numbers? We can write any of those and the success of the project depends on us writing the right one.
• How does the final product need to feel? Should it be light or heavy? Serious? Dire?
• What language style should be used? Formal or informal? Like a reporter writing a story or like a friend writing a letter about something they feel strongly towards? Slang or no slang? Contractions or no contractions? Technically formal writing has no contractions, but it can sound mechanical.
• Should the final project sound like outsiders wrote it or not? Sometimes it is an added authority when something sounds like it came from outside, sometimes it just sounds like outsiders (and sometimes you don’t want other people knowing you went outside.)

Another very important aspect of working with freelancers is knowing what you want and communicating it. Asking for a summary of Shakesphere’s works could be just a list, a list with a short explaination of each title, a few paragraphs on each style (comedy, tragedy, etc.). Should there be an exhaustive list (all works listed) or a representative list (just the highlights). Make sure you put in writing as many details as possible. If you are working with successful freelancers, your project won’t be the only one they are working on. That means they’ll need to be able to start your project and then come back to it later. Reading the project specification will be how they remember all the details of what you need.

Know Who You Are Working With

Some freelancers are full-time freelance writers. Others are part-time freelancers either with another writing job, or another non-writing job. Some freelancers are English majors (still in school or not) looking to just do a few things on the side. There are even people who have no professional writing experience at all dabbling in freelance writing. None of these freelancers is necessarily better or worse, but it can be helpful for you to understand who you are working with so you know what to expect. Someone freelancing on the side might not be able to return calls as quickly. Someone who is still in school might not be able to produce the same volume or quality of work during finals.

Get an idea of how they handle their business. For example, we work with many clients, sometimes on-site, sometimes not. Like most writers we don’t do our best work when frequently interrupted, so when working on a project we turn the ringer off on the phone. It doesn’t make sense for us to pay someone just to answer the phone, so chances are high that your call will go to voicemail. However, our voicemail system pages us for every new message, so we check as soon as we can, and we return your call quickly. Others might only commit to a 24 hour call back. Others might not even commit to that. Make sure your style matches what the freelancer can provide. If you have to speak to a live person right away, we might not be the right choice for you, for example.

Rewrites, Re-work, Scope Creep

A professional freelancer may discuss with you the provisions for adjusting their work once you have a chance to read it. It is common to include a certain number of rewrites. Two rewrites is common except for longer or more technical projects. This allows you to flag things you need changed. When you do, be specific. “Make this longer,” isn’t very helpful. Do you want examples? More details? Fluff?

If you need a freelancer to do the project again because it has changed, that is not a rewrite. The easiest way to tell the difference is whether or not you have to give the freelancer any more information in order to get what you need. For example, if you have to give more sales information, then you are asking for re-work. If you ask to have the sales information you gave at the beginning included, that is a rewrite.

Scope creep is fine when you are paying an hourly rate. After all, the time is yours to use however you would like. It may be wasteful to constantly change the project, but you are paying for the changes, so that it something you have to be O.K. with. When you are paying a project rate, however, scope creep can lead to tension between you and your freelancer. The rate you are quoted is based on the project you start with. Like in the movie The Transporter anything after that is a new deal. We understand when little things come up or a small detail is accidentally left out, but we can’t allow for major changes to the project without new pricing.

Sometimes scope creep can be obvious. If you ask for four pages to be used in a newsletter, and then find out later that your newsletter actually needs to be four pages double-sided which is actually eight pages, you obviously shouldn’t expect four more pages for the same price. Sometimes, though, scope creep can be a harder to spot. If you ask for a complete update of your website content, but then decide it would be better to combine three pages into one, it may seem like the same project, but it isn’t. Refreshing or updating a page is much easier than combining two pages. The latter requires adjusting the flow of each page to match the other page, determining where and how to splice in the data, and may require a complete rewrite. Don’t be surprised if your freelancer wants extra compensation to handle the change. Remember, the deal is the deal. Anything else is a new deal. But also remember, we aren’t looking to rip you off. If a change doesn’t require any more work, we won’t charge you more.

Get It In Writing

You don’t necessarily need a full contract everytime you work with a freelance writer or freelance copy editor, although we recommend it any time you start talking about bigger amounts of money. You do need to get a written understanding between you and the freelancer as to what you expect to be delivered and what your freelancer expects to deliver. If you are expecting five pages make sure you have five pages in writing, whether a formal document, or an email or letter. Also clearly spell out the rate you will be paying, when the payment will be made, and the procedure for going over the rate. Also spell out how and when the project can be terminated by either side.

Hopefully this article gives you a foundation for working with a professional freelance writer or professional freelance copy writer. If you have other questions you would like answered, feel free to email us. Also, I would highly recommend you get our feed so that you keep up to date with all the content coming for the site.

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Looking for a professional writer or professional copy editor? Look no further than ArcticLlama, LLC. Our writers and editors not only have experience in writing and editing, they also have years of experience in some of the most demading fields in business.