How to Hire Writers for Your Blog

These days more and more bloggers are hiring writers for their blogs instead of dealing with one-off freelance content providers or all the hassles associated with finding quality guest bloggers. But you don’t want just any writer, you want the best writer who can do the best job for your blog.

Why Hire Paid Writers?

Paid writers, like guest bloggers, add a different voice to your blog. They may also be experts in areas that you’re not which will allow you to expand your topic coverage and appeal to a wider audience.
Paid writers are also professional writers, which many guest bloggers are not. The know how to engage the reader and you won’t have to spend time editing their content.
One key benefit of hiring paid writers is the continuity of their content. Unlike guest bloggers who may appear once or twice on your blog, a paid writer is around for the long-haul which enables him to get to know your readers and their needs. He also gets to know more about your blog and can create content that lends itself to internal linking.

How To Hire Paid Writers

Have a clear idea of what you want in a writer:

1. Do you want them to have a certain level of expertise in your niche?
2. Do they need a journalism or writing degree?
3. Do they need to understand SEO?
4. Do they need to know how to use your blogging platform?
5. Are you looking for a particular voice or style?
6. What audience would you like them to appeal to?
7. How frequently do you want them to post?
8. Are there specific days and times you want them to be available?

Don’t be afraid to make a lengthy wish-list. After all, this is your blog and your business. But do be prepared to be flexible. You’re going to have some amazing writers who won’t fit all of your qualifications but they’ll be well-worth bending a little.
Put together an application to start your selection process and include a detailed description of the job, the compensation you’re offering, and how the application process will work.
Ask applicants to submit appropriate writing samples and let them know that if they’re shortlisted they’ll be assigned another post to write, which will be published on your blog and for which they’ll be compensated.

Advertise Your Writing Job

One of the best places to advertise for a writer is Twitter. There’s a huge community of writers of every niche and genre on Twitter and your Tweet will immediately attract attention. You can also try online job boards, like ProBlogger’s job board, or freelance sites like Elance.
Send candidates to your web page where they can download your application and be sure to include a final date for submission.
Once you’ve received all your applications it’s time to start comparing and creating your shortlist. As I said, you’re going to see some surprising candidates so be prepared.
After you’ve created your shortlist, assign a topic for each writer and ask them to submit a post for publication. Again, you’ll want to compensate them for this post since you’ll be using it on your blog. Use this post to gauge your readers’ reaction and engagement levels and monitor traffic and social sharing.

Compensation For Writers

Compensation varies and it’s entirely up to you and the writer. If you list your compensation package on the application then writers will know going into it what you’re willing to pay and that eliminates a lot of negotiation.
Keep in mind, too, that part of your compensation package can include a byline, a link to the writer’s own site or business, or free ad placement. Some blog owners also allow writers to split AdSense revenue.

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What Are You Taking For Granted That Might Be Useful to Others?

When you take something for granted that means it’s subconsciously assumed. In the movies, the husband doesn’t even think about what’s going to happen to his socks when he drops them on the floor. He takes his wife for granted and automatically assumes she’s going to pick them up. When she doesn’t, he’s eventually going to run out of clean socks and then he’ll have a problem.

What Are You Taking For Granted?

In my early days of blogging I bought quite a few of those Make Money Online guides and I used to get very upset because they never really revealed every “secret step.” It seemed like there was always some reason I’d have to go find another guide to fill in the blanks or do some searching on Google.
But then it occurred to me, the bloggers who created these poor-quality guides weren’t purposely leaving out steps to protect their secrets. They were just taking for granted that I’d know what they were talking about.
Every blogger will write countless How-To posts during his blogging career. But here’s the problem… Most bloggers are not trained educators, and there’s a knack to teaching. If there weren’t, if anybody could be a teacher, then there’d be no need for a teaching degree.
Because we’re not trained as educators, it’s easy to take it for granted that our readers understand what we’re talking about. It’s easy to automatically assume they know they need to thread the needle before they take a stitch, or boil the potatoes before they put them in the salad, or get a Twitter account before they start posting links.
But you know what happens when you assume…
At the very least, when you take something or someone for granted you’re setting everybody up for potential problems:

• Your reader won’t be able to follow your directions and, like me, he’ll think you deliberately left out a “secret” step.
• You lose credibility because the reader doesn’t get the promised results when he does follow your directions
• You miss the opportunity to make yourself look like an expert
• You miss the opportunity to improve your SEO
• You miss the opportunity to provide more value for your readers
• You weaken your entire brand and online reputation
• You damage your SEO with poor quality content

Don’t Take Anything For Granted

If you’re crafting a How-To post, don’t leave out a single step, no matter how trivial it seems to you. That’s not to say you have to include every single detail.
For example, if you would normally assume the reader knows he needs to create a Twitter account and not include that in your how-to post – don’t. But, don’t make your post too long or distracting by including the directions for setting up a Twitter account. Put those directions in another post and link to it. Like this:

Step #8: Now all you need to do is copy and paste your link in a Tweet. (For information on setting up a new Twitter account, read my post “How To Create A New Twitter Account.”

Many of your readers are going to be beginners and they’re taking it for granted that you’re going to give them expert advice and guidance. Make your content more useful for your readers by not taking it for granted that they know what you’re talking about.

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