4 Characteristics Your Freelance Writer Must Possess

Content reigns as the internet king – but who is helping you build your online business kingdom?  While many would like to become your freelance writer squire, not all word-wielders are created equal.  Before you give any freelance writer a dubbing ceremony, make sure the powers of her pen will maximize your website’s branding, exposure, and revenue potential.

Solidify Your Specific Content Needs

Before you begin your search for a freelance writer, take a moment to reflect upon your content needs.  The more you fully understand your content aspirations, the more precisely you can hone your quest in finding the perfect freelance writer.  There are two overarching elements to consider in your content planning process:

• What are your content goals? What is the ultimate goal you hope the content will achieve?  Are you looking for compelling sales copy that will convert visitors into customers?  Would you like the freelance writer to compose authoritative articles that will brand your expertise in the industry?  Do you hope for linkbait articles that will become viral in the social networks?  In searching for the ideal freelance writer, it is important to communicate your goals to find the perfect fit.
• What is your branding strategy? Consistent branding is the lifeline of successful businesses, and maintaining a congruent image is especially important online, where all marketing campaigns can be accessed with a simple mouse click.  If your branding strategy is hip and fresh, the tone of your content must reflect that same style.  On the other hand, if your branding is built upon the pillars of conservative professionalism, then an authoritative tone is critical to maintaining your image.

How to Evaluate Freelance Writers

With your branding style and content goals in mind, you can begin reviewing prospective freelance writers.  Keep in mind that most freelance writers specialize in a particular genre or niche, ranging from fiction to SEO web content.  Choosing the right freelance writer means hiring one whose specialty is in line with your specific needs.

• Specialized Niche: For online business owners, content is the key to unlocking the powers of search engine traffic.  With this in mind, hiring a freelance writer who specializes in SEO content can help propel your website to the top of the search results.  However, the ideal writer understands the fine line between eloquent writing and search engine optimization.  Hiring a freelance writer that can naturally blend SEO strategies with persuasive prose will translate well not only for search bots, but your human visitors as well.
• Copyright Ownership: Not all freelance writers are comfortable releasing the full copyrights of the content to you.  Traditional writers maintain ownership of the content, and you are restricted in how you can publish the content.  However, it is in your best interest to hire a freelance writer that automatically releases the full content copyrights to you.  This gives you the freedom to utilize the content however and whenever you wish.
• Ghostwriting Non-Disclosure: Due to the standard practices in journalism, many freelance writers will require that their name appears in the article’s byline.  If you would like to establish your company’s credibility and expertise in the field, however, it is important that you publish the content under your own name. Subsequently, you should look for a freelance writer who has no qualms about giving you “full credit” – or disclosing that the content was ghostwritten on your behalf.
• Exclusion from Online Portfolios: Duplicate content is the cardinal sin in the search engine world.  When you hire a freelance writer, it is critical to ensure that the content she writes on your behalf will never be published on a website as “samples.”  Without clarifying this understanding, your website could be penalized severely in the SERPs.

The right freelance writer can be a powerful addition to your online kingdom’s round table.  By choosing an ideal wordsmith, you can tap into the powerful potential of the internet and maximize your bottom line.