freelance writers / Women Entrepreneurship

How To Hire A Professional Freelance Content Writer: A Complete Guide

. 8 min read . Written by Siddhesh Suman
How To Hire A Professional Freelance Content Writer: A Complete Guide

2020, the year when the world went completely digital, thanks to our (not so dear) friend, COVID-19. And now, in 2021, it’s time to take it up a notch. In 2021, the success of a brand will be measured by the quality of the content produced across all digital platforms. Obviously, in-house or freelance content writers have an important role to play here.

According to a study conducted by Global Web Index’s Social Media Trends 2019 report, on average, human beings spend around 2.5 to 3 hours every day on social media networks. Owing to the pandemic, this trend has only doubled. We have spent almost 1.6 trillion hours on digital devices in the first half of 2020 according to App Annie. *say what?*

Table Of Contents

What Is The Importance of Good Content?

Digital Content and Marketing go hand-in-hand. Even when it comes to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) or Email Marketing, content plays a major factor in generating good traffic to your website. Moreover, it also helps in boosting your brand identity, which obviously is a solid win for all! Through high-quality content, you communicate with, educate, and persuade your audience to choose your brand amongst so many other options in the market. 

Importance of good content
Importance of good content

Who Is a Freelance Writer & What Do They Do?

A freelance content writer is a self-employed creative individual who produces well researched written content (both long and short form) as per the clients’ needs.  Freelance content writers are independent business owners. They usually write for more than one client at a time and are paid on a per assignment basis. They can help you with articles, blog posts, ebooks, screenplays for videos & website content. Basically, they make your life easy! 

How To Hire Professional Content Writers

Hiring the perfect content writer can be tricky as there are so many choices in the freelance world. Here are a few tips that’ll come in handy while looking for a skilled content writer. *You can thank us later!*

Set Your Goals

New startups and entrepreneurs often rush into hiring freelancers without a plan in mind. This results in poor communication, which might lead to content that doesn’t resonate with your business module. Keeping your business goals in mind, prepare a content brief to share with the potential writers. Pro Tip: Do a quick competitive analysis on the side. This will help you find a good content writer to get your content rolling. 

Fix a Budget 

The freelance writer salary or their price range differs from one freelancer to another based on their niche, experience, and previous clients. Setting a monetary upper limit for content beforehand will narrow your search down and help you find freelance content writers that meet your requirements and also your budget. 

Choose a Freelance Websites

Freelancing is one of the fastest-growing markets in 2020. Hence, there is no dearth of freelance platforms on the internet today providing freelance services.

Here are some popular freelance websites where you can hire freelance services.

Freelance Content Writer Pay Rate

In India, the freelance content writer pay rate depends on how much they charge per word. Beginner freelance content writer pay rate is up to ₹1 to 3 per word, whereas a more experienced freelance content writer can charge up to ₹4 to 10 per word. 

Freelance writers can charge up to ₹6 per word for a 1500-word lifestyle article to a gross amount of ₹15,000 for a 2000-word well-researched piece. Based on deadlines it can be ₹8 per word for a two-day deadline. 

You can also hire a freelancer on a retainer contractually, in which the freelancer will work a certain number of hours per month in exchange for a fixed salary or a flat fee payment. A freelance writer salary varies based on experience.  

Freelance writer salary for beginnersUpto ₹ 10,000-₹12,000 monthly
Freelance writer salary for experiencedUpto ₹ 20,000-₹ 60,000 monthly
Beginner freelance writer hourly rateUpto ₹ 400 – ₹500
Experienced freelance writer hourly rateUpto ₹ 500 – ₹600
Beginner freelance writer per word rateUpto ₹ 1 – ₹ 3
Experienced freelance writer per word rateUpto ₹ 4 – ₹ 10
this info-graphic is about freelance writer pay rate. It contains freelance writer salary, freelance writer hourly rate
Freelance writer pay rate table

“At the Kool Kanya Marketplace, you can hire a freelance content writer at between ₹ 300 to ₹10,000 per project”

What Makes a Good Content Writer?

Writing is an art and writers, artists. To find a good content writer, you have to be willing to seek out the needle in the haystack. 

Here are some skills to consider while looking for the perfect match!

  1. Adaptability
  2. SEO understanding 
  3. Research skills
  4. Communication
  5. Editing 
  6. Ability to meet deadlines

Adaptability

Writing style and tone may vary for every freelance content writer in the market but adaptability is a key skill you should look for. For instance, you cannot expect a technical writer to write a good lifestyle blog. Choosing a content writer with experience in multiple niches and who can adapt themselves to different individual assignments is always a plus.

SEO understanding

A good piece of content comprises two things – excellent writing skills and brilliant SEO optimization. Freelance content writers should possess a decent working knowledge of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) trends and how to craft SEO-friendly content. After all, what’s the point of creating valuable content if it doesn’t meet the right user. During your initial discussions with the writer, don’t forget to ask about their knowledge of Search Engine Optimization. 

Research skills

A good piece of content is only as good as its research, which makes it a vital skill for any freelance content writer. It adds credibility and value to the content. Makes it look well-informed by using legitimate sources to enhance the quality of the content and provide users with honest information.

Communication

Communication is a major relationship factor between companies and their audiences. Companies communicate with their consumers or audiences through engaging content such as newsletters, blogs, and press releases, etc that convey the brand message and company values. And a good writer should understand that and write content in a way that it perfectly conveys the message to the reader like it was supposed to, It is essential for any successful marketing strategy. 

Editing

Real-time and effective editing is an important skill for a writer. A good freelance content writer spends more time editing than they do on writing. Writers need to have an eye for details in order to rectify grammatical errors, punctuations, and redundancies. 

Ability to meet deadlines

As a client, this is one of the most important qualities you desire from a freelancer. Freelance content writers work on many projects simultaneously and sometimes they bite off more than they can chew. So, you should always look for someone who is good at time management and prioritizes projects based on their deadlines without hampering the quality of the work.

Questions To Ask a Content Writer

You’ve made a plan of action, set a budget, and done your research. Now it’s time to hire a freelance writer. Here are some questions to ask a content writer before you seal the deal. 

Questions To Ask a Content Writer
Here are some questions you can ask to a content writer

What Does Your Portfolio Look Like?

A portfolio is a document of previous work samples that every freelancer maintains as their professional track record. A portfolio helps you determine whether a freelancer is capable of providing the kind of content that you desire. As you review their portfolio, you can ask about previous work samples and how they measured their success.

What’s Your Niche?

Every writer has its own type of niche and interests. Some freelance content writers only like to work around their comfort zone and some like to explore and adapt according to their clients’ needs. 

So it’s really important to ask them about their niche and how well they can adapt when needed. For example, if you’re a fashion brand, you’d want a freelance content writer who specializes in fashion and lifestyle writing or has had previous work experience in that particular field.  

What’s Your Research Methodology?

As we said, great content requires great research. So a freelance content writer’s ability to conduct research, digging up reliable sources that provide credibility to your content is essential.

Knowing your freelancer’s research methodology is important because anything you post on your website needs to have a credible source. Cited content also saves you from any kind of uncertain legal liabilities. 

Are You Familiar With SEO?

In the digital era, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and Content go hand in hand. Hence, a writer with a basic understanding of SEO is always an added bonus. 

You can ask them general questions such as:

  • Define SEO
  • How do you conduct keyword research?
  • What is meta-description?
  • How do you make a piece of content more SEO friendly? 

How Do You Make Sure Work Gets Done on Schedule?

As mentioned earlier, freelance content writers work with multiple clients simultaneously, and sometimes, they might fail to meet deadlines. Asking them how they prioritize and make sure every project is done on time will make you understand a freelancer’s time management skills and that will help you pick out a good professional content writer. 

How To Write A Content Brief

A content brief is a document created by a client that contains all the instructions and information a freelance content writer needs to execute that piece of content. It needs to be a perfect combination of editorial direction and content marketing strategy to make sure the content is well-written and SEO friendly. 

Here are some things to include in your content brief, that will give your freelancer everything they need to understand and execute the project.

  • Content Description  
  • Title & Sub-heading Ideas
  • Target Audience/Buyer Persona
  • Brand Guidelines
  • Questions To Answer
  • Related Topics
  • Competitive Analysis
  • Primary & Secondary Keywords 
  • Internal & External Links 
  • Visuals, Tables, and Infographics

With all this information from what freelance writing is to setting an optimum Freelance writer salary, you’re all set to find yourself a perfect freelance writer

If you found this guide useful let us make your search for a freelance content writer even easier. 

Kool Kanya marketplace is a curated marketplace of handpicked and verified women freelancers providing quality services and fulfilling your business needs with guaranteed on-time delivery. 

Here Are Some of Kool Kanya’s Popular Freelance Content Writers

Anushka Suri 
freelance writer hourly rate
questions to ask a content writer 
freelance content writer
freelance content writer pay rate
how to write a content brief

Anushka Suri is a professional writer, digital marketer, market researcher, singer, and blogger with 11+ years of industry experience with 8 years of freelancing history and an MBA degree from ICFAI Business School. She offers content services such as SEO friendly blogs, writing business case studies & creating a market research questionnaire.

freelance content writer
professional content writer 
questions to ask a content writer 
freelance content writer
freelance writer hourly rate
freelance content writer pay rate
how to write a content brief

Nilanjana Mazumder is a writing professional equipped with the perfect combination of expertise and experience. She is an experienced advertising copywriter and content writer with a Postgraduate diploma in film direction and a Master’s degree in English Literature. She offers content services such as SEO writing, web content, screenwriting for videos & catchy sales copy.

freelance content writer
professional content writer 
questions to ask a content writer 
freelance content writer
freelance writer hourly rate
freelance content writer pay rate
how to write a content brief

Divya Sebastian is a creative individual with 2+ year of experience in content writing and a Master’s degree in Mass Communication & Journalism and a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature. She offers content services such as story writing, speech writing, proofreading & editing, website content and many more.

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