Where to find and hire freelance writers?

It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a business in desire of great ROI, must publish content frequently.

It’s true – Jane Austen’s not making it up. And neither is the data on the amount of content needed for businesses to see results from content marketing.

According to HubSpot, companies that published 16+ blog posts per month got 3.5x more traffic than companies that published 0-4 posts per month.

Now, that’s quite a lot of content for just one person to cover without wavering in quality, so hiring freelance writers is a great option.

But where to find freelance writers and content outsourcing services?

#1 – Hiring Freelance Writers Through Platforms

Most people turn to big outsourcing platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to get ghostwriting services. The content can vary from white papers to blog posts, so there’s something for everyone.

However, major platforms can be chaotic. There are a lot of freelancers, the only quality standards are their portfolios, the rate for content outsourcing services vary, and hiring freelance writers seems like a matter of luck rather than quality.

It’s best to hire freelance writers through platforms if the content niche is specific and needs an expert that can be found on them. Otherwise, it’s a bit of a gamble.

Pros:

• Access to a big pool of writers with different areas of expertise

• Payment can be done through the platform, which is another layer of protection

Cons:

• Lack of quality control (other than what can be gauged from writers’ profiles)

• Non-standard rates

• Each freelancer has to be managed

#2 – Using Content Outsourcing Services

Content outsourcing services are generally the most pleasant experience on the content buyer’s side. They provide a hands-off approach, an agency is typically in between, and writers were vetted before they were assigned to work with a client.

For example, Draft is a ghostwriting service that works on the SaaS payment principle – for $250/month, customers get up to 4000 words of content. Images, revisions and research are included, and so is the money-back guarantee.

When it comes to the process of hiring copywriters, agencies add another layer of personalization and protection. It makes content production all the better.

Pros:

• Pre-vetted writers specially assigned according to their area of expertise

• Standardized rates

• The agency manages the freelance writers

Cons:

• Very little contact between clients and writers

#3 – Hiring Copywriters Independently

Copywriters can also be “caught out in the wild,” so to say. A lot of them advertise their services in classifieds and on message boards like Reddit.

It’s also possible to google them and see which ones know enough about SEO to apply it to their clients’ content.

This is an approach that is best used when it comes to hiring freelance writers whose content a business owner has seen on someone else’s site. At the same time, business owners can see whether they like the writer’s style, and how the audience responds to it.

While this approach to hiring copywriters seems similar to working through platforms like Upwork, a business owner who finds their OTW (one true writer) online (rather than through platforms like Upwork) typically feels more satisfied in the end.

However, business owners still have to manage the copywriters they hire, and there’s no guarantee the rates won’t change, or protection when it comes to delivery and payment.

Pros:

• Content writer’s work is seen in action, as well as the audience’s response to it

Cons:

• Quality writers can be found in content agencies like Draft, but when working with them independently, business owners have to spend a lot of time managing them

• No payment-delivery guarantee or protection