Quite simply, there is no other company quite like WAI. We are the freelance and web content writing specialists. We've been in this business for over twelve years. Each web content writer is pre-screened to make sure the writer meets our exacting standards -- talented, experienced, and committed to delivering your project on time and within budget.
Knowing your audience (core market/ target demographics) is important for so many reasons. To name one, it helps define the best tone, language, and readability to use in your content. A quality content writer should know when to use- or avoid- technical lingo.
The best writers love to read, and not just blogs and e-zines. On my list of acceptable wers would be any marketing or general business book, as well as any book that shows your writer is a well-rounded individual.
A good content creator will be familiar with the basics of search engine optimization (SEO).
Your ideal candidate will wer this question by describing how he or she:
(a) determines which keywords to focus on and
(b) works those keywords into the content.
Attention to detail is important in all endeavors, including content writing. While blatantly making up facts, figures or sources is an obvious no-no, a content writer should also be aware that not every source is as credible as the next.
The prospective writer's wer to this question will help you figure out how she thinks and whether her thinking will work well with your industry, your company and the type of content you want to create.
Give a solution that is related to work and if possible the job you are applying for. Demonstrate something that shows how you saved a previous employer money, made them more efficient or increased revenue.
Depending on your specific needs, you want to make sure your content writer can get you the results you're looking for. If you need someone with advanced SEO skills, or a social media guru, make sure they have these skills before work is done.
If you want your content to go viral, make sure the writer has a large Twitter following and knows how to generate buzz for your site or business. Ask to see successful stats from the writer's previous clients.
A key part of building a strong, cohesive brand is establishing a style, tone and voice for all of the content you create. Some good writers can write well in a variety of styles, while others are more limited. It doesn't matter which you hire, but you want someone who will be able to match the style, tone and voice you've decided on for your brand.
The best content writer in the world is of no use to you and your business if they never submit their work to you. Some people might worry if a writer has a full-time job in addition to freelance-writing gigs, but if the writer is skilled at time management or realistic in what he or she can accomplish, a full-time job shouldn't be an issue.
Instead, ask writers about their process in completing jobs. Do they use the entire time available to them, or do they wait until the last few days to complete jobs. Have they ever turned work in late? If they have, did they let the client know ahead of time, or not?
There's more to good proofreading than reading your content over and over again on the screen. A good writer will have a process (or several to choose from) for proofing each piece of content. Some of my tactics are reading the content out loud and reviewing a printed copy. Give bonus points if they mention my super-ninja trick for when it's gotta be perfect: reading it backwards.
Many web content writers are also copywriters. However, not all copywriters write web content. Web content writers specialize in writing to the very specific format of the web medium, which is unlike the marketing and copy writing formats for broadcast or print mediums.
Good SEO Copy writing raises the rank of the site in the search engine results as it complies with the algorithms that make it attractive to crawlers.
On two occasions at my last corporate job, we hired writers who showed up on their first day, took one look at their computers, and said, "Oh, you use PCs." Yep, they'd only ever used Macs. Each assured us it wouldn't be a problem, but yeah, it was. So if you're hiring a content creator to work on-site with your team, make sure he or she is hip to the program-literally.
They want you to tell them (in your own words) a bit more about your background, work experience, attitude and ambitions. Make your wer brief and to the point. Do not talk about your hobbies, personal likes or dislikes. Finish the wer by focusing on your Unique Selling Proposition, do this by mentioning what you are good at etc.
The wer here should jive with the sort of working relationship your marketing team wants to have with its content marketing writer. If you want to be the ones coming up with ideas, then you need a writer who is happy to take assignments as they come. If you don't have the time or inclination to come up with ideas, then you need a writer who is happy to take on that task. When there is a mismatch here, it will cause frustration on both ends of the working relationship.
SEO writing has to be informative and interesting to the visitors. It should also subscribe to certain norms that make it favorable for indexing by search engine crawlers. It is important that the writing is not artificial or contrived and stuffed with key words which do not flow with the text. SEO Content Copy writing specialists keep the overall theme of the website and the particular page in mind and maintain a balance between the two. Good copy is the highway to high SERP's.
Use of SEO best practices is vital if you want your company's content to be found online, so you want to hire a content marketing writer who understands and knows how to do SEO and do it well.
Yes, it sounds asinine. But I see this mistake All. The. Time. And I know at least some of those errors are the work of allegedly professional content creators. A good writer knows that a spellcheck program can only get you so far.
This is perhaps the most important question, because if their writing skills aren't exceptional, your content writer might succeed in driving people away from your site, not to it.
While reading previous work will give you great insight into their writing level, also ask questions specific to online writing and your industry.
As you look through a prospective writer's "clips" or writing samples, select one to ask about in detail during the interview. The goal is to get an idea of how they go about getting to the final product.
You're looking for a writer who's committed to keeping his or her skills sharp, and that includes reading some of the better blogs on the subject of content creation.
What you're looking for here is listening. A good content writer will spend time with the client to get a feel for the brand's personality as well as the needs of its target audience.
What you're listening for here is either the Associated Press (AP) Style book or the Chicago Manual of Style. I'd even accept the Yahoo! Style Guide as a runner-up.
You are a workaholic.
SEO Content writing is a specialized art and its techniques differ from copy writing used for other media like print, billboard, TV etc. The contents have to be planned and structured with certain requirements in mind so that major search engines can find and list the pages of the website.
Once you complete our online contact form, we forward you the names, resumes, and hourly rates of web writers who match your needs. This usually takes anywhere from one hour to a couple days depending upon the size and sophistication of your project and requirements. You will then have the opportunity to interview or speak with the web content writer(s) of your choosing by phone to discuss your content writing project and their qualifications. Once you choose the writer you wish to work with, we'll send you a standard sub-contract agreement. As soon as you've signed and returned the agreement, you are free to begin your project.
Copy is sales-oriented, while content is value-oriented. Copy is the stuff you'd find in a brochure, while content is what you'd find in a bona fide newsletter. A good writer should know the difference between the two.
A good writer views his or her work as a business, one that is worth investing in-and part of that investment involves joining professional organizations. They offer the opportunity to keep up with trends, sharpen skills, and benefit from interaction with other professionals. And a good writer will find a way to come up with the annual dues.
This will help you get a better idea of the quality of the writer's raw work. Every writer needs some editing, but you want to find a content marketing writer whose work will need as little editing as possible. The less time and money you spend on editing, the better.