Content Writing
Are you in the market for a top-notch content writer? From understanding the diverse roles a content writer can play to examining the current hiring landscape and compensation trends, this guide will provide you with a structured roadmap to secure the best content writing talent suited to your business needs.
Key Steps to Finding and Hiring the Best Content Writer
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Define Your Needs: Specify the type of content you need. Whether it’s blog posts, white papers, social media content, or email marketing, clear articulation of your needs will help in attracting the right talent. Consider whether you need a specialist in a certain type of content or someone versatile enough to handle various formats.
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Craft a Detailed Job Description: Write a job description that not only highlights the necessary skills and qualifications, such as SEO expertise, proficiency in CMS tools, and exceptional research capabilities but also specifies any industry-specific knowledge required. Mention the level of experience needed, from entry-level to expert.
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Utilize Job Posting Platforms: Post the job on reputable platforms like Upwork. Ensure your job title is specific and descriptive (e.g., "SEO Content Writer for Tech Startups") to attract the most suitable candidates. Clearly outline the project scope, required skills, and job responsibilities.
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Assess Portfolios and Writing Samples: Review candidates' portfolios and writing samples to evaluate their writing style, versatility, and quality. Pay attention to their ability to write engaging and well-researched content. Also, consider their previous work's alignment with your brand's tone and audience.
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Conduct Thorough Interviews: Interview top candidates to assess not just their writing skills but also their strategic thinking and understanding of content’s role in marketing and customer engagement. Discuss their content creation process, from research to writing to editing.
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Negotiate and Hire: Discuss and agree on compensation, whether on a per-project basis or as a full-time hire. Ensure clarity on deliverables, deadlines, and communication preferences before finalizing the hire.
The role of a content writer
Content comes in a wide range of formats, from podcasts and articles to videos and social media posts. A content writer’s role is to create the content that a business uses to attract, convert, and retain customers. This may be anything from writing a thoughtful press release after an unfortunate event to writing a fun video script for promoting a new product.
The thing is, content writers do more than write, as their responsibilities often include some or all of the following:
- Researching topics to create engaging, original, and persuasive content
- Editing content to validate proof points, remove errors, and improve readability
- Optimizing SEO by incorporating SEO best practices, and conducting keyword/keyphrase research
- Writing engaging copy that attracts the target audience, which may start with creating a compelling headline and end with crafting exciting offers
- Developing a content strategy that supports advertising campaigns, sales goals, and initiatives of cross-functional partners
- Collaborating and coordinating with cross-functional teams to ensure timely content and brand consistency
- Managing content by ensuring assets are delivered and published on time
If your business has the technology and processes in place to facilitate remote collaboration, your content writer could work 100% remotely or work in the office a few days a month. Offering some type of remote work option may increase the number and quality of talent who apply for your job.
How to write a content writer job post
When working on a project basis, you don’t need to write a full job description as you would when hiring an employee. Writing a content writer job post for a project starts with having a clear understanding of the skills needed and the type of content that the writer will be expected to produce.
Your job post is your chance to describe your project scope, budget, and talent needs. Aim to provide enough detail for an independent professional to know if they’re the right fit for a project.
Job post title
Create a simple title that describes the problem you’re seeking to solve. The more specific you are, the better your chances of attracting the right talent. For example:
Generic title: Content writer
This is too broad and may attract talent who aren’t as qualified as you want.
Specific title: Expert B2C sales writer for email sequences selling home water filters
This may attract writers skilled at writing high-converting emails for consumers. And get the attention of writers experienced in the industry or consumer packaged goods.
Add keywords that your ideal talent is likely to type into a job search bar to find your project. Here are a few content writer job post titles to get ideas flowing:
- Website writer for automotive products
- Health and wellness writer for short blog articles
- Technical writer to create user guides for a SaaS product
Scope of work
This is where you list all of the project requirements to help talent determine whether they’re qualified to do the work and get it done within the timeframe you require. When describing a project’s scope of work, include:
- Level of experience. Do you want a beginner, intermediate, or expert?
- Project length. Is this a short-term project or is the work ongoing? Is there an opportunity for a full-time role?
- Deliverables. Specify the intended deliverables and milestones
- Budget. State the hourly rate or fixed price for the project
- Background. List must-have and nice-to-have skills here such as industry experience, language skills, and a proven track record
That’s all there is to it!
The most common jobs and tasks for content writers
A content writer does more than tap away at their keyboard all day. In addition to writing short- and long-form content for various platforms, part of a content writer’s day may be spent:
- Conducting research that supports the argument of an article
- Interviewing subject matter experts to produce original content and understand the audience better
- Editing and proofreading content for clarity and accuracy
- Collaborating with cross-functional teams to align content efforts
- Assisting with video and sales scripts
- Strategizing content to support campaigns across multiple platforms (e.g., social media, video, and mobile)
Common platforms for content writers
- Blogs. Share a business’s thoughts, ideas, and product information
- Website. Write website copy and landing pages that support the business’s goals
- Social media. Craft posts that encourage interaction
- Email. Write newsletters and sales sequences for internal and external audiences
- Ebooks. Share knowledge, ideas, and information in an easy-to-read format
- Case studies. Demonstrate how the business solves clients’ problems
Content writer hiring demand in 2024
When looking at the skills companies hire for the most, content writer may not make the top 10 list. But look a bit deeper and you’ll see demand still looks strong in 2024.
Consider this: Of the in-demand skills in 2024, three of the fastest-growing skills create a need for content writers in some capacity. One of the top skills in sales and marketing is marketing automation—the tools that streamline and automate repetitive functions like email marketing, lead generation, and campaign management.
Once a marketing automation system is in place, you’ll need a writer to populate the system with evergreen and current content such as case studies, ebooks, and articles. As the system identifies different audience segments, you may need a writer to create email sequences to move each audience through the sales funnel.
What about using AI (artificial intelligence) to handle the writing for you?
AI tools can be used to increase productivity by helping you generate ideas, create first drafts, brainstorm outlines, and research proof points. But AI can’t write as well as a skilled professional yet. You’ll still need an experienced writer to fine-tune the content so that it sounds human, offers value, and is factually accurate.
Industries hiring content writers
Many teams don’t have the time nor expertise to create all of the types of content they want nor at the level they want. So any industry may have a need to hire content writers on a project basis or full time.
Different industries hire content writers for various reasons. Here are a few:
- Publishing and media. Ghostwrite books, create video scripts, and generate promotional materials
- Healthcare, beauty and wellness. Educational material and marketing collateral for products and services
- Legal. Newsletters and blog posts that demonstrate expertise to attract potential clients and keep existing clients engaged
- Real estate. Listing descriptions, marketing materials, and short reports that real estate agents can use to nurture client relationships
- Education. Online courses, student communications, and marketing material for educational institutions
- SaaS. User manuals, product descriptions, and promotional content that explains complex technical information in an understandable way
- SEO and marketing agencies. Ad copy, social media posts, and content for digital marketing campaigns in alignment with a client’s brand voice
The average cost of hiring a content writer in 2024
The average cost of hiring a content writer varies according to your specific needs. Rates may be affected by the level of experience you want, location, specializations, and market conditions.
For example, an intermediate-level SEO writer working in metropolitan Portland, Oregon, may have a higher rate than a similarly experienced writer in rural Portland, Indiana.
A sales landing page writer with a long history of high conversion rates may command a higher rate than an intermediate writer who’s proficient in several types of content.
Due to multiple variables, a content writer’s rates can range from a few to hundreds of dollars an hour. On Upwork, the average hourly rates for content writers range from $15 to $40.
PRO TIP: When budgeting a project, consider all factors, not just the writer’s hourly rate. Compared to a less experienced writer, an experienced writer who charges a higher rate may be more cost-effective as they may work faster and deliver higher-quality work. So you make your deadline, save money by spending less time going back and forth with revisions, and perhaps generate more revenue from the content.
That said, lower rates don’t necessarily mean lower-quality work.
If you’re hiring an independent professional who’s very experienced yet new to building their client base, they may charge a lower rate in the beginning to attract more business.
Post jobs within minutes on Upwork
Upwork makes posting your content writer job even easier with Uma™, Upwork’s Mindful AI. You can generate a job post by telling Uma what you need in a single sentence—then it’ll create a draft for you in seconds.
If you’re unsure how much to pay for a project, Uma shows you a price range based on talent who’ve completed projects like yours on Upwork. Once Uma creates your job post’s first draft, you can tailor its tone and details in a few clicks.
It’s really that easy on Upwork, so find your ideal content writer now. Short on time? Hire a writer for a predefined project at a straightforward price—no job post needed.
Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.