I’m aware that The Savvy Solopreneur attracts a lot of different types of solopreneurs. You are coaches, designers, nutritionists and marketers. You are Etsy shop owners, artists, social media managers and photographers.
Some of you are naturals when it comes to creating content for your blog, website or newsletter, and some of you aren’t. For those who aren’t, hiring a content creator can be a great idea. One thing I notice though, as a freelance content creator, is that some clients don’t really know which questions they should be asking before hiring me!
Hiring a content creator for your business is the easiest way to gain more time in your busy schedule so you can focus on serving your clients (and attracting new ones) or creating whatever it is that you sell to the world. However, finding the right content creator for your needs can be a time-consuming journey, one which requires you to ask a lot of questions and be clear on what tasks you need completed.
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Here are 5 key questions you should ask when hiring a content creator:
What experience do you have?
Anyone can put a website up and claim to be a professional content creator, so you need to play detective here and decide if this candidate truly has the experience you need. Any professional content writer should be willing to supply references and samples of their work. At the very least, check out their website and read their own content. Is it clear? Persuasive? Grammatically correct? You don’t want to hire a content creator who doesn’t produce great content in their own business.
What’s your specialty?
In general, content writers can write on a variety of topics, from traveling with toddlers to deep sea fishing, but ultimately you want a content creator who truly knows your business inside and out and who can convey your professional voice through every word of copy. Do you really want to train a travel writer about the ins and outs of a coaching business? Do you want give a fashion writer the assignment of writing follow up emails to your clients?
Try and find a niche content creator whose specialty matches up with your business topics. Otherwise, you may get charged for hours of research, when a content writer who has relevant experience could produce compelling, niche-specific content much quicker.
Is English your native language?
This question is not meant to discriminate in the least; it’s simply meant to qualify candidates. After all, if this content writer is meant to portray your voice throughout the website copy or in your blog or marketing materials, it stands to reason the writer should have an expertise in your native tongue, right? You’re outsourcing the writing for a reason…to save you time.
If you choose a writer who is working in a second language, you run the risk of having to do a lot of editing so the copy sounds like you instead of someone who is still trying to master the nuances of the English language. There are certainly bilingual and multilingual writers who can write well in English, but the question is worth asking so there are no surprises.
What is your fee?
Fees for content creation vary tremendously. To prepare for this question, it benefits you to know what tasks you’re looking to outsource right away. The fees to write individual blog posts will differ considerably compared with writing content for a specialty program. Most professional content writers will lay out their fees clearly on their website (you can find mine here), but they are always an estimate. It’s worth getting in contact to see exactly what they will quote for the type of content you need.
Do your research ahead of time and determine a budget for each of the tasks so you can approach this question with a project fee in mind, and see who’s willing to work for that fee. A word of warning, however: you get what you pay for. Don’t simply go for the cheapest content creator you can find. You’ll likely get lots of mistakes or need to hold their hand while they run everything by you for approval.
What is your turnaround time?
Keep in mind that content creators have multiple clients, so it’s unreasonable to expect assignments to be completed in 24 hours. Another question to ask here is do they have a rush fee if you do need something turned around faster. This is another time when having a calendar of tasks will benefit you, because you can then discuss your first deadline with the candidates and ask who is able to complete it by then.
Your Personal Content Creation Team
If you find that hiring a content creator is out of your budget at the moment or it’s just too much hassle to find one, take advantage of the personal content writing team at CoachGlue.com and all of the done-for-you content they create. ALL of the content you purchase from CoachGlue can be edited, your name put on it, your website and contact info added, your personal case studies added…it’s all yours to do what you wish. They offer many packages to suit your needs and this is a great way to experiment with outsourcing your writing. They’re available to help you move ahead in your business! From done-for-you blog posts to entire ready-to-teach workshops, they’ve got you covered.
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