What are some good tips and things to look out for when hiring writers?

Those sound like some good options. Thanks Joe.

 

It depends mostly on the objectives you have for the kind of content you aim to produce or represent. If you want copywriters, you need to observe their grip on SEO- based techniques, and whether their content is plagiarized or widely paraphrased or not.

 

I'm pretty hesitant about posting to a thread that's a year old but I can't bring myself to believe that using SEO techniques in your copywriting efforts is a good marriage.

Seems to me it would ruin the psychological flow that a good piece of copy requires.

 

It`s a nice topic! Thanks!

 

I'm asking for their portfolio first of all. Then I try to figure out if the person can combine his writing both for humans and robots. I mean - write a text that will be simple and SEO effective, which is often hard to do.

 

Hiring writers is not an easy task, I can tell you from my experience. Truth is I am very picky, don't want any writer, it doesn't matter how good at grammar and spelling is.

I usually ask for a sample article or follow some of his/her posts on forums or other websites, and the first thing I look for is how his or her mind works, if he's capable of crafting a structure, with a compelling beginning in order to grab the reader's attention.
That's a must for me. I myself would not read anything that doesn't catch my attention the first few paragraphs.

Then the middle section must have valid arguments to sustain the point of view, while the end of the article has to tie the story back to its beginning and bring a satisfying conclusion.
I hope this will help you.

 

^^^Does any one else see the irony here?

 

I think it's still better to rely on connections. It would be good if you have friends who know and trust a writer.

If you don't have any connections and you really plan hiring a writer you don't know, it's better to ask for any id, any proof that they are real people. Conduct interviews. Ask personal and technical questions. Aside from that, you can also ask for their sample writings. The structure of a writing engagement will depend on the kind of writing and the audience.

 

This has all been very interesting. Do you think it is necessary to get one copywriter to do all the writing on a website for example, or is it possible to get different people at different times to handle different content? I know that one person throughout would potentially bring better consistency but sometimes that isn't possible in terms of budgeting or timelines for example

 

I think this depends a lot on the type of content. You don't necessarily need a copywriter to create website content. And for me, versatility increases interest. And as you mention, the same writer isn't always available. Unless the website owner does it all alone.

 

Irony and the consistent pattern

 

See their passion or enthusiasm for writing. Is that because of the external forces that they are writing or something really from the inside is pushing?
Don't compromise on the creativity and productivity, a writer sometimes gets tired of writing for the client, so check on their production levels.

 

Portfolios are only as good as the submitter, and many times there is no way to know how much of it is FAKE. Better to give IMPROMPTU tests, like picking a subject, then giving the writer 15 minutes to produce a 300 word essay on the subject. Plenty of time to write one, but too short of time to effectively fake it. It does not matter if the essay is total BS - you are only looking for proper writing skills.

As a backup, look at how the writer communicates with you, whether verbally or in writing. If the communication does not match the story flow, sentence structure, grammar, etc. of the writing test, something is definitely wrong.

Finally, be sure to check spelling, antecendant agreement, proper verb agreement, proper punctuation, improper slang, improper colloquialisms, and so on.

 

Since the OP wants a copywriter do you think he should really adhere closely to these checks. Copywriters talk to a target audience and, because of that, they often violate spelling and grammar rules.