Half of entrepreneurs say they outsource a content material advertising exercise. That’s not shocking given about 60% of B2B and B2C entrepreneurs function content material advertising groups with not more than 5 individuals.
Discovering companions with satisfactory topical expertise and who perceive the model’s viewers are essentially the most regularly cited challenges in CMI’s most up-to-date analysis.
Half of #B2B and #B2C entrepreneurs say they outsource a #ContentMarketing exercise, in keeping with @CMIContent #analysis. Click on To Tweet
That will help you overcome these challenges and confidently rent high freelancers, I’ve put collectively this five-step information based mostly on my expertise working with contract writers.
1. Set up an satisfactory price range
Earlier than you begin the seek for writers, you need to set a sensible price range.
You possibly can’t merely take a full-time worker’s wage and divide by 40 to estimate a freelancer’s hourly charge. Given freelancers run their very own enterprise, they cost extra. They need to calculate charges that embody their bills – each the employer and worker share of earnings tax, insurance coverage, and operational prices equivalent to computer systems, software program, web, and so forth. Their locale additionally might have an effect on their charges.
You possibly can’t set a #freelance hourly charge by merely dividing an worker’s weekly compensation by 40, says @emanuelp986 by way of @CMIContent. #ContentMarketing Click on To Tweet
In case you’re challenged with discovering writers who’ve enough topical expertise, price range to pay the upper charges extra skilled writers cost. It’s higher to have a author produce a top-notch piece inside one or two makes an attempt than to rent a less expensive author and make a number of corrections.
In case you’re challenged with discovering writers who’ve enough topical expertise, price range to pay the upper charges skilled writers cost, says @emanuelp986 by way of @CMIContent. #ContentWriting #Freelance Click on To Tweet
You must also determine on a price range based mostly on the anticipated deliverables. The extra labor and research-intensive the challenge, the upper the price range needs to be.
Charges fluctuate dramatically based mostly on the person in addition to the {industry}. To calculate your price range, ask friends in your {industry} what they pay. Look to freelance associations and organizations for benchmark research.
Whereas a price range units expectations on how a lot you possibly can pay the author, it isn’t the predictor of how profitable the connection shall be. That’s why you have to comply with the following steps.
2. Create the proper help-wanted publish
Freelance writers rigorously learn help-wanted posts to evaluate whether or not it’s alternative and match for them. Your itemizing ought to clearly clarify your expectations and deliverables to draw extra certified responses and correct proposals.
However simply since you’re contracting to work with somebody doesn’t imply you want an entire job description as you’d with a full-time worker. Among the many related particulars to incorporate:
- Project description, together with what data shall be offered by the corporate and what data the author is predicted to search out.
- Specify any particular information or abilities wanted
- Anticipated deliverables, together with size estimate
- Begin and finish dates, together with interim deadlines
- Compensation vary with phrases like hourly charges or fastened costs in addition to bill cost timing
It helps so as to add some persona to your itemizing because it offers the freelancer an thought of what it could be prefer to work with you. And most significantly, don’t hesitate to ask further questions you deem vital to search out the perfect candidate on your work.
Add some persona to your #freelance help-wanted listings to provide an thought of what it’s prefer to work along with your model, says @emanuelp986 by way of @CMIContent. #ContentWriting Click on To Tweet
TIP: To evaluate how effectively they comply with directions, embody a small “check” equivalent to, “Please put the phrase ‘freelancer’ in your topic line.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Definitive Information to Content material Operations
Get a deep dive into Content material Operations: what it’s, why it’s so necessary for organizations in each {industry} to embrace, what it’s able to, and how one can construct the perfect content material operations answer on your groups. Obtain now.
3. Find the perfect author on your model
It’s a lot simpler lately to achieve out and discover high quality writers on your process or challenge. Among the many choices:
- Ask your skilled and private community for referrals. Their enter is invaluable as a result of they have already got a familiarity with or have labored with the advised writers. These word-of-mouth referrals give the candidates an added enhance from the start.
- Flip to job boards. Whereas many writers search job boards for everlasting gigs, part-time writers additionally use them to search out work. Make it clear in your itemizing that you just’re searching for somebody for part-time work.
- Put up on social media. Put up the chance to Instagram and Twitter, and use industry-relevant hashtags in addition to #Freelance. Posting to related social media teams additionally will be an effective way to achieve writers in a selected area of interest.
- Go to freelance websites. Use platforms, equivalent to Contently, Skyword, ClearVoice, and so forth. These shops facilitate discovering, hiring, and paying writers. A lot of the platforms allow you to shortly discover higher high quality content material creators who produce optimum high quality work in your area of interest or for the content material kind you need created. (I lately employed a author who specialised completely within the privateness coverage and phrases of use pages.)
Go to #freelance websites equivalent to @contently, @skyword, and @clearvoice to search out high quality #content material creators on your model, says @emanuelp986 by way of @CMIContent. #ContentWriting Click on To Tweet
TIP: Create an genuine and interesting profile on freelance websites to point out your model’s persona and tradition that can entice writers who’re desirous about that atmosphere.
TIP: In case you rent a author who solely freelances part-time, acknowledge it might take them longer to finish the work than in the event that they labored a full-time freelance writing schedule.
4. Consider the writing candidates
First, you need to shortlist your choices. You possibly can then ignore responses that didn’t cross your check, equivalent to together with “freelance” within the topic line. Then, undergo the remaining responses and get rid of those that don’t meet the essential necessities.
Freelance platforms additionally allow you to discover certified wordsmiths by filtering them based mostly on particular stipulations and solely invite certified writers to reply to your itemizing.
Along with your shortlist recognized, conduct a video interview. I do that with each writing alternative. Whereas telephone interviews can work, I discover it simpler to work together with an individual on video.
In the course of the interview, ask them inquiries to reveal:
- Their skilled background and experience in areas necessary to your work (i.e., website positioning, headline writing)
- Their expertise in your area of interest and along with your content material kind(s)
- How they method writing assignments equivalent to those you’d assign
- How they deal with assembly deadlines when they’re engaged on a number of initiatives
- How they reply to unexpected obstacles, equivalent to an interviewee that doesn’t reply or an surprising energy outage
TIP: Asking for narrative examples typically can higher allow you to perceive the candidate’s thought course of.
When you’ve got a standout candidate, you possibly can proceed to the following step. In case you’ve narrowed the search to 2 or three candidates, ask them to finish a small paid challenge associated to your subject. Then, you possibly can examine and gauge every author’s potential, from understanding the task to executing the content material.
Ask the two or 3 finalist #freelance candidates to finish a related paid task to gauge their potential, says @emanuelp986 by way of @CMIContent. #ContentWriting Click on To Tweet
5. Hiring the freelance author
As soon as you choose the freelance author to rent, it’s time to element what you need them to do.
There’s a marked distinction in hiring a freelancer over an worker. When you inform staff what they need to do and the way they need to do it, you possibly can’t give the identical directions to freelancers. They management that.
With freelancers, you need to be clear concerning the standards, together with begin date, detailed scope of labor, deliverables, cost phrases, and so forth. All these particulars needs to be included in a contract, which safeguards your small business and the author, and may help show to the IRS that the author is a contractor, not an worker.
An in depth, clear, and concise contract contains:
- Names, contact data
- Actual task necessities with deliverables
- Deadlines, together with milestones
- Cost phrases
- Proprietor of the finished work
- Confidential data clause
- Limitation of legal responsibility
- Freelance copywriter phrases and duties
- Indemnity clauses
Don’t start the working relationship till each events have signed the contract, and also you’ve paid any deposits as required.
TIP: To assist your author onboard extra shortly, share examples and paperwork of comparable work to allow them to higher perceive your expectations.
TIP: Be certain that the author can entry any servers or platforms vital for his or her work. It’s going to enhance their productiveness from the start.
HANDPICKED RELATED CONTENT:
Develop your crew with freelancers
The method of hiring freelance writers is just like hiring an worker. You’ll want to know what you need, clarify it effectively in a help-wanted itemizing, slim down the candidates, conduct an interview, after which interact your most well-liked alternative.
Nevertheless, you additionally have to respect the transactional nature of the connection. When you can’t management how they do the work, you need to spell out precisely what they’re to ship within the codecs you like and on the schedule you set.
By following this course of, you’re extra prone to discover beneficial expertise that may assist your content material advertising crew ship outcomes on your model.
Cowl picture by Joseph Kalinowski/Content material Advertising Institute
