Tips and Tools To Hire Blog Article Writers
Thinking about hiring blog article writers? Great! It’s one of the smartest things you can do to level up your content quality, make your content marketing efforts more efficient, and increase your blog’s ROI.
But it can also be tough to find quality writers who know your niche, have the right experience, and fit well with your company culture and processes.
Fortunately, there are several routes you can take to hire blog article writers and tons of resources you can use to find the right ones for your company.
In this article, we’ll go over 9 places where you can find high quality writers and specific things to look for in your candidates.
Let’s dive in!
Quick Takeaways
- Writing blog articles can take 15+ hours per week.
- More than 90% of B2B companies are using blogs to attract new customers.
- Working with a content agency for blog content takes the responsibility of vetting and managing blog article writers off your plate.
- You can also hire blog article writers on freelancer sites like Upwork and Fiverr.
- When hiring, you should look for candidates with proven track records and SEO experience.
Why should you hire blog article writers?
Today more than 90% of B2B companies are using blogs to attract new customers and grow their revenue. Websites with blogs receive 434% more indexed pages and 97% more indexed links than blogs sites without one.
In other words: your company needs a blog in order to stay competitive.
Your blog also serves as the foundation of your larger content strategy and is the biggest driver of organic traffic to your website. You can leverage your blog to grow your brand authority, build trust with your audience, and consistently deliver value to your readers.
The thing is, writing blog articles takes time and some pretty specific knowledge and skills. A typical 1000–2000-word blog article takes about 3-4 hours to write. Multiply that by the 11-16 articles you should be publishing every month, and the hours quickly become unrealistic for business owners to handle in addition to all of their current responsibilities.
Not to mention that no matter how often you publish, your blog needs to be fully SEO optimized and customer centric in order to drive results, using content to help readers solve the problems and pain points that led them to your website in the first place.
Companies often make the mistake of trying to handle blog content in-house when they just don’t have the bandwidth or experience to do it well. Hiring blog article writers who are experts in their niches and know how to create optimized content is a worthwhile investment that can substantially increase your blog ROI.
9 places to hire blog article writers
Marketing Insider Group
Hey, we’re ranked as a top content marketing agency on G2 so I like to believe that our customer’s rave reviews have earned us a spot on this list!
Marketing Insider Group provides end-to-end SEO blog writing services. That means we deliver ready-to-publish blog articles, but we also work with clients beforehand to audit content, perform keyword research, and build a customized strategy that drives results.
We also vet our own writers (there are 35+ on our team) for journalistic curiosity. They are all experienced in creating SEO-optimized content in a variety of niches and industries. And many have become quite expert in topics like startups, SaaS, eCommerce, healthcare, technology, and more.
The primary benefit of this model is that you can be confident your blog articles are driving your larger strategy. Part of the reason companies look to hire blog article writers like us in the first place is because they don’t want their content to be another item on the to-do list that never gets done.
When you go the agency route, you’ll know exactly when to expect new content, have a plan for publishing it, and receive data-driven reports that demonstrate your content’s ROI.
They’ll never feel like a disjointed effort or another to-do on your list. You’ll know when to expect them, have a plan for publishing, and see data-driven results.
LinkedIn is a great place to find freelance blog article writers in your niche. You can do it a few ways: by posting a job through your company page, advertising with LinkedIn ads, or searching for candidates within your network. It’s easy to review and communicate with candidates on LinkedIn since profiles are essentially resume equivalents.
Upwork
Upwork is one of the largest and most well-known platforms for freelancers in the world. If you’re looking for a high volume of candidates and an easy platform for communicating and processing payments, Upwork is a good choice.
On Upwork, you post a job and stipulate the pay, then freelancers bid for the job. You can review candidate profiles, portfolios, past projects, reviews from previous clients, and more. You can also run interviews right on the platform through chat or video.
A notable benefit of Upwork is that it’s a site for all kinds of freelancers, not just writers. If you have a project that requires multiple skill sets (like a blog article writer and a designer to create supporting graphics), you can find them both in the same place.
Fiverr
Like Upwork, Fiverr is a great place to find a high volume of freelance writers, but the process works a little differently. On Fiverr, freelancers (called sellers on the platform) create “Gigs” that outline the services they provide (for example, writing a blog article). Buyers on Fiverr (like your business) look for specific services and packages they need, then pay Fiverr in advance. Fiverr pays freelancers directly once the project is complete.
The Fiverr process may seem a little counterintuitive since clients place orders rather than candidates applying for jobs. But it works! And if you’re looking for candidates who have their rates, services, and experience clearly outlined and available for review before you connect, Fiverr could definitely work for you.
BloggingPro
BloggingPro is actually a resource for aspiring and current bloggers to learn the business and grow their skills. But you can post a job through their site for their members to view. The downside is that it costs $299 to post your job. The benefit is that you have less competition than on some of the more crowded boards like Upwork and Fiverr, and BloggingPro does promote the jobs for you through their newsletter and social channels.
Freelancer
Freelancer works much like Upwork and Fiverr. Companies can post their projects on the site and choose from candidates who bid on it. Then, you can review and communicate with candidates right on the platform. Of note: Freelancer offers a Milestone Payment system that they recommend their freelancers use. It gives freelancers the ability to request a portion of their agreed-upon compensation as specific milestones are completed.
This may seem unnecessary since blog articles aren’t typically completed in parts, but it can be useful if your project involves writing multiple blog posts or other types of content like ebooks or case studies.
Problogger
Problogger is one of the oldest blogging resource websites in existence and has a strong reputation within the freelance writer industry. They offer tons of high-quality resources to help blog article writers increase their knowledge and skills.
Problogger also has a job board for their 300,00+ bloggers, so it’s a worthwhile avenue for hiring if you’re looking for high visibility. Keep in mind that Problogger works like a regular job board. Candidates can view your job on their site, but they’ll still apply directly to you.
MediaBistro
Like BloggingPro and Problogger, MediaBistro is a community and resource hub for freelance writers. They have a job board that’s a little pricey (they range from about $300-$1000) but those prices do come with additional promotion support and other services outlined on their website. It’s not an option for everyone, but it is a way to be sure your job is seen by quality candidates that can fulfill your needs and have experience in your niche.
Scripted
If you don’t want to sort through the many types of freelancers on sites like Upwork, Fiverr, and MediaBistro, you might want to try Scripted. It’s a platform created specifically for writers. You’ll be required to purchase a subscription to access the platform, but it’s a worthwhile investment considering Scripted’s high writer standards (only 2% of their 150K applicants were accepted so far) and the thousands of approved writers using it.
Scripted is a great place to find and build long-term working relationships with writers, especially those that have experience handling a variety of project types (for example, blogs and social media posts) and can do work for you beyond blog articles when needed.
What to look for in a blog article writer
Great track record
When you’re looking for writers on LinkedIn or freelance sites, you will be able to see reviews and recommendations from previous clients. It’s a good idea to check these out to see how your candidates worked well (or not) on other projects. A great track record and positive feedback is one of the surest signs your candidate is reliable and will do a great job on your content.
Portfolio
Not every writer and client are a good fit for each other — even when that writer has a solid track record with other clients. A writer’s portfolio of writing samples gives you an idea of their writing style and maybe even examples of how they’ve approached topics related to your industry and company. High-quality, experienced blog article writers will have writing samples ready for you to review upon request.
SEO experience
Your blog article writers don’t need to be absolute experts on SEO, but they do need to know the core principles of writing for keywords and optimizing content for search. Be sure to mention SEO in your candidate interviews. Fortunately, there are tons of free resources about SEO writing online, so if you really love a writer with less experience in this area, it’s possible they can quickly learn the ropes with some research and training.
Deadline-driven
Writing is a deadline-driven job. You need your blog article writers to be able to deliver content on time so that your publishing schedule stays consistent. It’s important to set clear and firm expectations around the timeliness of content delivery.
Happy hiring!
It’s time to find talented blog article writers to level up your content marketing ROI. The team at Marketing Insider Group can deliver you optimized, ready-to-publish content every week for one year (or more). To get started, check out our SEO Blog Writing Service or schedule a quick consultation with me today.
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