Be a Boss Day 1: Hiring Writers

This post is part of the Be a Boss series. To see more posts in this series, check out the list on this post. They’ll be linked as they are posted!

The driving force behind any writing company is a team of amazing freelance writers. Finding those great writers isn’t very easy, though. There are literally hundreds of freelancers looking for jobs, but the ones who are up to your standards often don’t want to work for someone else and the ones who are hungry to work for a writing company are often new to writing and may not have the best skills.

We’ll talk about pay rate a little later, but what I want to say right now is this: ALWAYS pay a little more to get a better writer. It’s worth it.

But where do you find good writers?

• Post an ad on Craig’s List. Some of these services are still free, while on other CL sites, you have to pay to post a job ad.
• Contact someone who owns a job board and ask them to post your opening. Again, some are free, while other people charge for the posting. A great free place to post is The Freelance Writing Jobs Network.
• Email writers you know, and ask them to pass on the word that you’re looking for writers. Your job ad will spider web out, reaching more and more people.

Placing your Ad

Be prepared to get a lot of emails. I’m talking hundreds. When I first posted that I was looking for writers, I got over 300 emails from interested parties. It takes a long time to read through them all, so be smart when you place your job ad.

• Be very specific about pay rate, topics, and volume of work. That way, people who aren’t interested in the type of work you need won’t email you. They’ll weed you out, savings you time.
• Ask them to use a specific email subject line. It’s much easier to pick out job applications that way. I like to ask people to use “Writing Job – Allison” (using their name, of course).
• Be specific about what you do/do not want. If you don’t, some people will send you their resume, letters of recommendation, and ten writing samples, while others will just send you a paragraph about themselves. I like to ask for a short email about themselves and two or three links to stuff they’ve had published online, no resumes, and no attachments.

Narrowing the Field

I usually cut anyone who didn’t follow directions automatically, unless they have a good reason for not doing so. it just shows me that they don’t read directions very closely, so I worry that they won’t read my project’s directions either.

Then, I go through and cut out anyone who makes pay rate demands. I can’t pay every writer something different according to what they think their writing is worth. Giving me a range that they’ll consider is fine, but someone who attaches specific rates isn’t really the right person for a writing company.

Next, I eliminate anyone with blatant typos and grammatical errors in their email or writing samples. Everyone makes mistakes, but when you’re applying for a job, you have to proofread until your eyes bleed so what you’re sending in is perfect.

Finally, eliminate anyone who’s voice doesn’t match up with your own. People have very different writing styles, and for your writing company to be successful, it is important for batches of articles you send to have a little consistency.

That should bring down the field of applicants to about 10-20 people, tops…hopefully closer to five. Unless you already have some big contracts, I recommend starting with no more than five people – you want to be able to send them work consistently.

Keeping Great Writers

Once you find great writers, you don’t want them to leave or greener pastures. Here are some tips for keeping writers:

• Pay them a fair amount, and increase pay rate over time.
• Send them work consistently.
• Be clear in what you expect for each project. I’m notorious for sending LONG emails, but that’s better than not sending enough information and confusing your writers.
• Look for jobs that match up to their skills. You want them to enjoy writing for you.

“Firing” Writers

If you have a problematic writer, you should let them know that you won’t be sending them any more work – and why. Sure, you can just stop emailing the person, but I think that’s a little unprofessional. They deserve to know where they stand. Be very clear about why you aren’t going to be sending them work in the future, and give suggests as to how they can make changes to their writing to avoid problems with other clients or writing companies in the future.

Remember, though, don’t talk down to your writer, even if you are firing him or her. Also try to keep your temper in check. If someone disappears on you, blows a huge project, plagiarizes, or otherwise makes your look stupid to your clients, it can be really tempting to tell them off. Resist the urge and act professionally. Remember, networking is everything in this business, and you don’t want to make enemies with anyone. Someday, that person could climb a ladder somewhere else and be hiring you!

Remember, if you have any questions, I’ll be answering them all at the end of this series. Feel free to leave a comment or email me at allison@abcontentonline.com with your “Be a Boss” question.

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Image by SOCIALisBETTER.