I see a lot of articles with advice for freelance writers, but very little if any for the companies and individuals who are in the market of ordering content for pay. Are you looking to hire a freelance writer but don’t know where to start?
A month a so ago I’ve already written one such article to help people understand what a freelance writer would expect from you when you order some written content. Because I keep getting people who are not clear of what they want and at times feel that they’ll learn it along the way, I wanted to write another such article so you could actually learn before your order you written content rather they WHILE you’re doing it.
We are all busy, and I can assure you that the less you know about your order ahead of time, the more time consuming it will be for both you and your writer.
So, I wrote this posts because for I’ve been inspired by my own clients and the back and forth emails that we have to go through before I can even start my work. But also, I thought that this is the type of information that you – the freelance writer – could use either in your hire me page or you introduction email.
1 – Budget, Budget, Budget
I know I have written about this before, but here is some extra information for you (so very much needed), and some thought provoking questions you need to ask yourself.
Do you have a large, medium or small budget? Answering this question before you order your written content will save you and your writer much time. For example, on my order page I ask my potential clients to let me know what budget they want to put into their order. I’m not asking that for the sake of filling up my blank page here; I’m asking this question because it’s an important one to answer before you make your order.
It’s very important because it gives me a better picture of what type of work you are looking into ordering.
Needless to say that your budget probably goes hand in hand with your company’s size and/or financial success, but whatever your situation may be, you should already have a budget in mind or even set aside before you start your search for a freelance writer.
In my case, I like to work with companies or individuals who already know what amount of money they want to spend on a project. This save both me and them a tremendous amount of precious time.
How to figure out your budget?
By answering the following questions:
- How big is your project?
- How complex is your topic?
- How much edge do you need in your content?
- How picky are you?
- How much rush are you in?
These and more are questions that if answered before you order will help you figure out your budget.
2 – Duration of Project
Another great thing to have before you reach out to a freelance writer is the duration of your project. It’s very important for a freelance writer to know how long the project will be. I would hate to think that all you need is 3 articles and then realized that you wanted 25 of them.
Now I would love that, don’t get me wrong, but it would make a world of a difference in my planning if I’d know in advance that you need me for three months, or for 25 articles or just for two. So, let the writer know what you have in mind.
It would actually work in your favor if you could decide in advance the average duration of your project. How long are you going to need my services? Once I know, I can better prepare and set aside the time that I will need for your project.
3 – Style, Tone and Content Structure
Something that would really help the writer you’re hiring is a brief description of the writing style and tone that you’re looking for. This is probably the most forgotten important details that writers need to know ahead of time when they get a writing order. The fact that you want me to write about diet pills, gardening, or internet marketing doesn’t’ necessarily tell me what type of style and tone you want your article to have.
So, what is your style and tone?
- Conversational?
- Formal?
- Objective?
- Educational?
- Sophisticated?
- Artistic?
The tone of the writing will impact the reader in different ways, and it’s important that you already have a pretty good idea of which one you want.
Formal tone, conversational tone, review type tone? If you are not sure yet what tone works best for you, your writer can help you find it. All you have to do is ask.
The structure of your content is also very important and something you need to decide early on.
Do you want a …
- How-to-guide?
- Review style?
- News style?
- Interview style?
- Article style?
Do you intend in inserting images? Diagram? Figures?
Try answering those questions as best as you can before you make your order.
4- Formatting
A great time saver is to specify you own formatting.
Are there some abbreviations that you do want or do not want, such as “can’t” or “cannot” “would not” or “wouldn’t” “I have” or even “I’ve.” I don’t recommend the latter one, but hey it’s just me, if that’s how you want me to write for you, then you need to let me know. Such details are important, because the writing style that I’ll be using will represent YOU.
What about titles and subtitles? Do you want it all capitalized or do you want to capitalize only the main words?
Do you prefer to write a.k.a or aka? ebook or eBook? See what I mean here?
When it comes to numbers, the rule of thumb in professional writing is that numbers between one and ten be spelled out while numbers starting at 11 and up be written numerically, but how do you want that handled for you?
If you know that your content will include any of such specifications, you need inform your writer (as much as possible) about the way you want it. If you don’t have any preference, simply let your freelance writer write as he or she pleases, but the point here is that if you do have specific preferences, just let us know from the get go.
I hope this extra information was helpful to you if you intend to order some writing. For more of such tips hop over my previous post of the kind.
Hello Madam Sylviane,
I think this post is somehow directed to those who are in need of writers and how they should go about it.
I for instance get writing offers and with respect to why I am being chosen, it mostly has to do with the tone in which I do present my posts. .
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Hi Emmanuel,
Yes, this post was written with the clients in mind, but as always when I write this type of posts it can be very useful for writers as well.
Thank you for coming by and have an excellent day!
I rarely outsource anything, but when I do, I definitely look for deadlines, proper formatting and quality. Often in writing the deadlines got missed with few days, but I think this is all right.
On the other hand, I SEO the article by myself, trying to keep things natural.
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Hi Kaloyan,
Yes, at times the deadline be off by a couple of days, but knowing if it’s 2 day job or a 2 week job is very important when you start.
Thank you for your feedback.
Sylvaine,
I manage a team of freelancers and I definitely agree that clients’ expectations are not always the same. It’s so much more complicated than we sometimes think, and freelancers have a tough job because it’s almost as if they have to re-learn how to write in a different way for each new client.
Excellent post, as always!
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Hi Brittany and so nice to see you here again.
Wow, I didn’t know that. That’s great.
That is so true. It’s one thing to write for yourself and it’s a whole different thing to write for someone else. No doubt it’s harder because in many cases we are forced to write in such a whole different way. I so know what you mean here.
Thank you for coming by and bringing your expertise in your comment 🙂
Hi Sylviane,
You are absolutely right about clarifying all of the above when clients contact the writers, or even when writers need to get things clarified from their clients.
If such questions aren’t met with, it just delays the whole process and you end up with lots of emails to and fro because the client might have issues with your work, based on what he or she wanted and what you submitted. It’s always better to have things chalked out well beforehand, something I also prefer and always ask my clients before proceeding with work.
Thanks for sharing, a great reminder for both, the client and the writer. Have a nice week ahead 🙂
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Hi Harleena,
Thank you for bringing your professional feedback in your comment. I know that you know what I mean here. It’s always a good thing to clarified as much as possible before we start working, even though it’s easy to forget few details.
Thanks for coming.
Hi Sylviane,Although this is directed to people who want to order articles or those who want to hire a content writer, these principles you shared are applicable to every project.In web development work that I do, I\’ve run into similar situation. Client orders something and they don\’t like when they see what they asked for and then they keep changing their mind. The same cycle begins.Knowing what you want, how much you are willing to pay for and all other aspects of presentation are so important. Thank you for sharing.Regards,Kumar
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Hi Kumar,
So very true. I am sure that these principles can apply to many other businesses, not just freelance writing, and I see it applies well to your business. Don’t we hate when that happens, we thought they’ve got what they asked and they’re not happy! 🙂
That’s why in my case, I lived and learned. Every client is a learning experience that helps me improve for the next one, and that’s such a good thing.
Thank you for your input.
Great advice Sylviane and I loved the slideshow! Now that I was thinking about it, I haven’t seen advice like this. It is always good to be prepared and know what we want. It would make the process a whole lot smoother for both parties.
Thanks for putting this together for us. I would love to get help from a freelance writer but it’s the budget that’s holding me back ;).
Hope you’re having a great day!
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Hi Corina,
I’m so glad you like my short little slideshare thing. Those slideshares get tons of view without me doing anything at ALL, so I’ve got to start making more of them.
I wrote these couple of posts for clients so I can send the link to mine as soon as they send me their first request 🙂 You’re right, I’ve search for info like this and couldn’t find a thing, so those articles are pretty unique.
Corina, if you need the help of a freelance writer, I want you to know that I can do extra low deals for special friends like you, so let me know and let’s talk if you want 🙂 No pressure either, just wanted to let you know.
Thank you so much for coming.
Hi Sylviane,
Great info for people who use freelance writers. I ocassionally use a textbroker.com and all the tips you’ve provided will be good for me to include. I noticed that when I supply the things you mentioned above, particularly, like formatting, style and content, the articles are really much better. In terms of budget, I set my own budget and work within it.
These are critical pieces for anyone who is thinking of using freelance. You will definitely get a better article these four items are well-thought out.
Great post. Hope you are well.
Barbara
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Hi Barbara,
Well, thank you so much for the compliment, that’s very nice to know that when you supply the things that are mentioned here you get better results.
Thank you so much for your feedback and or coming.
Hi Sylviane,
Great post indeed.:)
You have mentioned all the points in a great way like you did in your older post about hiring a freelancer.
There are many things to keep in my before hiring any writer. Blogger must think about their budget. There are many famous freelance writers like you have from which everyone like to have post at their blog.
It’s important to know about the topic. Bloggers must know at what topic they need to hire any freelance writer.
All writers have their own way of writing and bloggers must check it before hiring any of them for their blog.
Thanks for the article.
Hope you have a great week.:)
~Ravi
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Hi Ravi,
Yes, it’s a good thing to browse around and see what type of freelance writer would match your (the client) needs best.
I’m glad you enjoyed this post, and thank you for coming by.
Sylviane, after going through this awesome post, I discovered that it is majorly for those who are in need of article writers, this post unveils to them how they should go about it. Nevertheless, I have gain some juice therein, thanks!!
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Hi Embebu,
I’m glad you’ve got something out of this post.
PS: I went to your blog and commented, but don’t know if it went through. I don’t usually use any of the logins needed to comment there, so I’m not sure. Just wanted to let you know. Di you ever consider using another commenting system?
Yes Sylviane, if it will work perfectly with Blogger i will go for it.
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Hi Sylviane,Although this topic is for writers and people who want to hire them, it does apply to just about everything we do.Working with clients, we have to clarify what is their goal, what they want to do in reaching it, their financial situation, and so on.What is so important is to know your client. And I know sometimes that could be difficult because they are unsure of what they want to accomplish. So, having these questions outlined for them is a good guideline. It will prevent problems later on.-Donna
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Hi Donna,
Yes, I feel that this information doesn’t have to serve ONLY freelance writers and their clients, it can help any business.
Thanks for dropping by and have a great day!
hey sylviane, this is my first visit to your blog, and i am really impressed. I we’ll be coming to the point, hiring a content writer isn’t a great idea but still, i think its better to hire the one who writes our niche or topic generally, which increases the similarity of your content and history. Thanks for the great post
Rregards supreeth
Well, welcome here Supreeth,
Most big companies do hire freelance writers for their writing, so saying it’s not a good idea, it not the case for everyone, but I guess I understand what you mean.
Sure it’s better to hire people who are used to write in your niche.
Glad you found my blog and thanks for coming.
Hi Sylviane.
Aha, the budget. All great tips, and this one sticks out to me.
Some clients are ready to place orders but the budget thing doesn’t come to mind. If I know the client well, I’m fine. I know that through thick and thin, they may cut back on orders but I also know that requests will come down the pike.
Other folks disappear when talk of money arises, or when I share my rates. I think many people or organizations have the budget to pay most freelancers but they hate pulling the trigger when they may be able to find lower rates….which in virtually all cases, results in substandard work.
Here in Fiji, Kelli has went through 3 umbrellas. Sure, we experience some huge gusts off of the bay, across the street, even on sunny days, but the first 2 umbrellas were cheap. We got what we payed for.
Same deal with freelance writing, so if you’re paying or placing orders, budget appropriately to see the return on investment you desire.
Thanks Sylviane, very smart post for both freelancers and clients alike.
Tweeting in a bit.
Ryan
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Hi Ryan,
Excellent example of the umbrellas. How many times did I say to myself, wow that cheap stuff wasn’t worth it!
I remember back few years ago, I bought an on sale $100 MP3, which still not even expensive, while a friend of mine bought a ridiculous $40 one. Well he went through 3 of those while I still had mine. Price does make a difference.
I agree it’s the same thing when trying to get cheap writing. You get what you’re paying for.
Thanks for the great input.
nice article for freelancer writer. Your guide is very helpful for all. Thanks again.
Hi Sylviane,
Great post. I’ve ordered writing for a few of my other sites before and the biggest obstacle I’ve faced was the “Style, Tone and Content Structure” of things. While I could easily just write the content myself, I just don’t have the necessary time it would take to do that … plus I rather focus all of my attention writing for my blog.
Although I had to go back and forward with this a few times, get a few revisions, I managed to eventually get it settled in the end.
In terms of people wanting to hire freelance writers to write something for them, I believe that they budget is the major thing. They have to know their budget or else it’s just a waste of time. Not all freelance writers are the same and many of them are too smart to charge Fiverr prices, so understanding and knowing the budget will save everybody lots of time.
In terms of formatting, I didn’t know that the person ordering got to choose all that? I thought it was up to the freelance writer and as long as they remained consistent throughout, it was ok?
Anyway, great post and information here.
– Andrew
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Hi Sylviane , : This is WonderFull Post Really impress Great Work Really I like Your Blog And All Content is Good Thanks For Shareing me , Keep it Up
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Hi Sylviane,
Glad to know these tips. I want to keep improve my writing skills in order to make my post better. I did formatting, but I don’t know that it’s so important. It’s funny, since I did it, but don’t know anything about it. 😀
Thanks for sharing, Sylviane.
Hoping you have a nice weekend.
Nanda
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Ciao Sylviane,
Ya know, you’re right. There is very advice for folks ordering services, so well done on keeping in tune with what is needed, awesome job! 🙂
I’m bookmarking your thorough high quality article, Sylviane, because I’m not hiring right now, but I know people that are, so I will be sharing this with them immediately.I’ll have the resource bookmarked so I can find it easily when I hear of a need.
Have you thought of using this as a signature link in the Warrior Forum? Might not be a bad idea.
Thanks for the thorough discussion on tips for ordering writing – awesome stuff!
Have a great weekend.
:-)- Carol
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Hi Carol,
Sorry for missing that, I’m glad you came back knocking.
Oh, gosh let me tell you about Warrior Forum. I’m a paid member and unfortunately I haven’t been able to get in for over a year, because my email has changed and I have no access to the old, which I need to log in. I emailed those idiots like 5+ times and they never seem to be able to help. They reply to my email once and then I don’t ever hear from them again. I don’t know what else to do at this point.
Thank you so much for bookmarking this, and your feedback.
Hi Sylviane,Budget and duration of a project are two important things to look for when we like to hire someone to write. In my experience, individual rarely hire someone else to write unless he are extremely busy. Company tend to hire more in this case. Your post here is the great guidance to achieve the best result of hiring writer.Thanks for sharing. Wish you have a great week
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Hey, Lady!
Hadn’t heard back, and wanted to be sure my comment didn’t end up in the spam folder or something.
Now I see you’re just a little behind.
I have been there, done that! 🙂
Hope you have an awesome productive day.
– Carol
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