3 Tips For Selecting The Right Writers For Your Blog

When you have a blog, it is important to regularly update your blog with fresh content. Many blog owners hire writers for this task. Knowing what skills to look for in a writer can make the responsibility of owning a blog easier.

Start With The Basics

Asking prospective writers for a short sample of their work can help you determine which writer best fits your needs. You want a writer who understands the basic of writing, but you also want a writer who is capable of writing in a style that matches your blog. Being friendly and conversational versus dry and technical are skills not all writers can easily achieve. When asking for a sample, it is better to ask a prospective writer for a short sample based on a topic of your choosing. This can be more telling than having a writer show you pre-written samples or published content. If you ask for a writing sample, ask for 200 to 400 words of text. It is unreasonable to expect a writer to create a lengthy, fresh sample without being paid and with no guarantee of being hired.

Look For Additional Skills

Beyond being a good writer, there are other skills you might want your writer to have. Basic search engine optimization (SEO) skills can help your writer create content that is more likely to rank higher in search engine results. SEO skills might include keyword research and knowing how to write content that is favored by search engines. When attempting to improve search engine rankings it is important to create content that visitors will want to read, not simply including keywords for the sake of ranking. General marketing knowledge is another skill you might want. A knowledge of what appeals to people within your audience can affect the type of content written and the style of writing. If you have social media accounts connected to your blog, you might want the writer to help create social media posts related to blog posts.

Find Someone Comfortable With Websites

When your writer is comfortable navigating the back-end of your content management system (CMS), it can make the process of creating content for your blog and editing easier. For example, many people use WordPress for their blog, and WordPress allows you to create separate accounts for contributors. Your writer can have an account as a contributor and post their content directly to your blog as unpublished content. When you or your editor are ready to review their content, you can simply log in to the website and review any unpublished blog posts. The writer can be contacted if changes need to be made, or if the content is acceptable, you can simply post it immediately or pre-schedule the post. This eliminates unnecessary back-and-forth by sending drafts and final copies of blog posts through email.

Finding the right professional blog writers for your blog can require extra effort. In addition to good writing skills and a compatible style, you might want a writer with other skills to enhance your blog.