Originally published June 20, 2021 , updated on January 19, 2023

Hiring the best content writer for your business can often be tricky, especially if you are not in the content writing business yourself. This process can feel overwhelming and many companies often end up with someone with who they aren’t happy for several reasons. Here are nine things to look at when you’re trying to choose the right content writer for your businesses. 

1. Assess Their Skill Level

Good content writers will have a portfolio of work that gives you insight into their work and their skill levels. This portfolio could be online or in PDF form, so definitely request this before you onboard them. You could also do your research and look up some examples of their work, or set a writing test to gauge whether they are, in fact, a good writer or not. If they are unwilling to do a test or you can’t find their name attached to any other writing online, that’s a bit of a red flag. 

2. Be Flexible With Your Requirements

Perhaps a content writer doesn’t have ten years worth of writing experience, as you wished they would, but they have a solid amount of years working in your industry or they have managed to gain insight into a competitor business through past experience – this could be great for you and them as a content writer. Not only does that mean that they have insight into another business and can, therefore, write a better story, but it also means that you get insight too. Be flexible with what you’re looking for if it means you gain something else entirely that could benefit you in the long run. 

3. Schedule a Call and/or Interview

If your business is pretty niche and content writers need more of just a small understanding of what you do, set up a call with them in order to ascertain how much they may or may not know about your business and the field in which you operate. You could ask them questions specific to your sector and see how easily they answer this or pose a scenario in which they would need to have the background on your business to answer. Keep in mind though, that it’s not always a must for a content writer to know the ins and outs of your business. A good writer can write about almost anything with some research. 

4. Be Upfront With What You Are Able to Offer in Terms of Payment

Choosing a good content writer means offering them decent money for their time. Any content writer worth their salt will want to know what they are going to make, and it is best to be clear about this upfront so that no one has their time wasted during the hiring process. Be clear about how much you are offering or ask them to state their payment expectations up front. 

5. Make Sure They Can Meet Your Deadlines

When choosing a writer ensure that they are able to meet the deadlines that you set out for them. Check what their capacity is like at the start and see how quickly they can churn out the content that you need. If their plate is full and they need to be briefed two weeks ahead of time, but you need a turnaround time of two to three days, then you know that this person is not going to be a good fit. 

6. Assess the Content Writer’s Eagerness

From the first contact, you can probably tell how eager a writer is to work with you or not. If you get the feeling that someone isn’t excited or at least looking forward to working with you and your company on some level, then they might not be good to work with in the long run. You want a content writer that’s passionate about wanting to work with you.

7. Keep an Eye on Their Email Etiquette

Content writers are notoriously OCD when it comes to grammar, spelling, and other aspects of writing. When you first start communicating with them, take a look at what your potential new writer is saying, their grammar, and their spelling while emailing you. If they are making typos all over the place, this could be a sign that they don’t check their work before they submit and it might result in you receiving sloppy copy down the line. 

8. Ask for References

Perhaps the top step in choosing the right copy for your businesses is to ask for references. Past or current clients of your potential writer would be able to tell you if there are any flags to be aware of or, hopefully, highlight ways in which this content writer excels. Try to get references from past and current clients for a broader idea of what the content writer is about.

9. Check Their Social Media

Social media can tell you a lot about someone, so definitely look up to anyone you are considering to be part of your team. Perhaps they have values that don’t align with your company or perhaps they have slated your company in a Twitter rant. Checking someone’s social media feeds during the hiring process is always a good idea.

There you have it – nine ways to choose the right content writer for your businesses. At the end of the day, it comes down to a good fit for your company and the above list will help you figure out if a writer is a good fit for you or not. 

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