Best practice for hiring a content writer?

You are going to find that most people are not going to write you an article for a test without getting paid for their time.

I would recommend checking references/testimonials as well as seeing several samples. Even then, sometimes things just don't work out, unfortunately. Outsourcing tends to be a trial and error sort of thing.

Tina

Are you looking for a 'copywriter' or a 'content' writer? HUGE difference. Copywriters usually charge anywhere from $300+ for a single article (i.e., 2500 words). Content writers (good quality) you are usually looking at $10-$15/article (500 words).

Sorry, content writer.

I've had great success thus far with Odesk.com (not an affiliate). I just outsourced 50 articles for $40.00.

You need to vigorously screen the applicants as many aren't from the US. But, I found a really nice girl who is doing a good job thus far. I've had to tweek the articles just a bit, but heck, for that price....who cares. Check it out.

I would be willing to submit a writing sample first. Message me if your interested. Lets work something out. I'm working on my English Major and could use some extra cash.

Disqualify people quickly. Look at someone's "writing services" ad. If it's badly written, RUN. I mean, come on. If you can't write your advertisement well? You can't freakin' write.

Now look at the testimonials in the ad. Do they sound good? Are THEY well-written? A well-written testimonial comes from someone who knows good writing. That's either the person who gave it, or the writer... many people write testimonials for their clients, and just get them approved by the client. (After all, if the clients could write, they wouldn't be hiring a writer.)

If the testimonial is badly-written, there are two reasons. Both are invariably true.

1. The client is not a good writer. This may mean they don't know good writing when they see it. It may also mean they hire a lot of writers, because they know damn well they can't write themselves.

2. The writer has probably not edited or altered the testimonial. This may mean they don't know the testimonial is badly written. It may also mean they feel it would be dishonest to change the testimonial.

So if you have well-written testimonials, you almost certainly have a good writer. If you have badly written testimonials, it could go either way.

Check to see whether they have samples available. Every writer advises every other writer to provide samples. If there are some, read them. If there aren't any, there are two possible reasons: either the writer doesn't want to provide them, or the writer doesn't need to provide them.

Good samples mean a good writer. NO samples, it could go either way.

And there is one thing to beware in this process: bad writers will often hire good writers to write their ads, testimonials, and samples. They outsource, just like everyone else, because the ROI is worth it. You can hire a pretty damn good writer to do this for about $100.

Do you suppose the work that comes in as a result might turn a profit? Oh, hell yes. Bad writers aren't stupid. They're just bad writers. Some of my clients are brilliant - but can't write. And some of them can write perfectly well, but have better things to do with their time... precisely because they aren't stupid.

So finally, check the person's other posts. A good writer is not good only when paid. Good writers love the language. They revel in it. They love to play word games, and make puns, and discuss interesting subjects. They make long posts. Not all the time, but frequently. If you have found a good writer, you will find some long posts, and you will find them to be well-written.

More importantly, a writer develops a certain flavour, a certain feel. If you look at a writer's posts and compare them to their ad, you can frequently tell whether they were written by the same person. So if you have an ad that's clearly written by the same person who's posting, you can tell right there whether this person is a good writer.

Meanwhile, those first three things I told you to check: they allow you to quickly and easily stop looking at the bad writers. That's the real key. Once you think you have found a bad writer, move on to the next available writer. You're probably right. If you have found a good writer, you will almost never suspect you've found a bad writer.