Many of my family members aren’t quite sure what I do as a content writer, and I think that many business owners are also unaware of the benefits of hiring freelancers. While COVID-19 has brought more attention to freelance work, most of these new freelancers don’t have the experience to offer high-caliber content consistently.
COVID-19 has driven inexperienced writers to flock to freelancing. That’s not necessarily good for you as a business owner.
That’s not to say that you, as a business owner, can’t find someone that will write quality content for $5 per 500 words. Unfortunately, however, that price model isn’t sustainable for even new freelancers – the time it takes to research a topic, outline a post, write the content, and proofread your work is worth far more than $5. Stick with that writer long enough and they’ll be hiking their prices in no time.
What I Do as a Content Writer
I write blog posts and other website content based on relevant topics for a company’s brand and clientele. A skincare company, for example, might ask for blog posts about products that can help with acne. Companies will then market these posts and use them to get visits and click-throughs to their website.
You send a content brief, I’ll save you the trouble of writing it. Easy peasy.
What Does a Content Writer Do With a Brief?
My clients send me briefs – these are detailed prompts that tell me what the topic is, what the post should answer, who it should target, and what SEO keywords should be mentioned. When you’ve been writing these posts for three years, they start to become rhythmic in nature. Freelance writing is fun; I never know what I get to write next and I learn about new topics all the time.
Why Hire a Content Writer in the First Place?
What a great question – this is something I asked myself a lot when I first started writing on Fiverr. The honest truth is that running a business takes time. That precious time, especially for entrepreneurs building their brand, is not cheap. They have to choose where to spend their efforts as efficiently as possible, and many of them just don’t have the writing skillset.
Running a business takes time. Hiring a freelancer frees you up for more important things.
Anyone can write anything, but only writers can get you exactly what you need. When your brand depends so heavily on your website’s original content, you don’t want grammatical mistakes, typos, and unsourced, plagiarized content. And that’s part of the problem with $5 freelance work – many writers are copy/paste monsters that will get you into major trouble.
Originality is So. Damn. Important.
Excuse my French, but aside from being all kinds of dishonest, plagiarism is illegal. If you talk to any professional writer, I’m sure they’ll have similarly strong opinions about writers who plagiarize.
Underpaid writers may send you plagiarized content. It’s a risk.
When you hire a freelancer, know who you’re paying. Experience is important, especially when you need to know that your digital assets are 100% original content (or, at least, that sources are referenced properly). When I write content for my clients, the only thing copied and pasted is the occasional linked, cited quote. SEO isn’t going to promote your website if you have hidden plagiarism in your blog reel – you might not even know it’s there.
Content Has Intrinsic Value
Your brand’s reputation is my reputation; every post I write for you keeps this in mind. Since this content is so important for your website, you should value it accordingly. Pay your writer what they should reasonably make for the time they are saving you, then leverage the content they give you in multiple ways. Build a blog series or convert it to a video transcript, then market it through social media on rotating schedules.
Worried about cost? Get creative with your content or ask for tweaks.
I offer unlimited revisions for all posts I send you. This means that you can request tweaks to a post a year later. For example, if you have a 2019 tax return topic that I wrote for you last year, send me a message and we’ll get it updated for 2020 – free of charge.
The Content Is Yours
I’m a ghostwriter; this means that I’m behind the scenes, and you get to take all the credit for my work. This is industry-standard for freelance writing; if someone tells you that you have to credit their work, you shouldn’t be paying them. From the moment you schedule your post with me, each word is owned by your website. That’s the name of the game, and we don’t even need to question it when you work with me.
The content I create for you is yours. No questions asked.
Each post I write for you is created in Google Docs. When I complete it, I change the ownership to your Google account; at this point, I am automatically listed on the document as an editor. Google won’t let me remove myself from your document, but if you want to, you certainly can.
The Bottom Line
I’ve been doing this for several years. You know what you want for your website, and I can help you get it done without the stress and hassle of going back and forth with an inexperienced writer. Let’s work together to dust off your blog reel – after all, company blogs have huge view potential since they are so marketable.
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.