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Do you need content for your website? There are thousands of freelance writers that can write well-researched, detailed blog posts, articles and webpages for a variety of businesses, including HVAC, chiropractic care, plumbing, home remodeling and human and pet dental care, and many of them have years, if not decades, of experience. The caveat is that they need to know what you want in order to write the content you desire. This means that you’ll have to provide a few details.
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While you’re freelancer wants you to be happy with your content, there are some things they do not want to see when it comes to revision requests. Let’s learn what NOT to ask for when it comes to revisions.
Read more: Understanding When NOT to Ask for an Article Revision
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Congratulations, you’ve made the decision to hire a freelance writer to handle your website content needs. Keeping your content up-to-date and adding new content on a regular basis can help you rank for your preferred keywords and help you attain a high page rank in Google, Yahoo, Bing, DuckDuckGo and other search engines. However, there are a few things you should never include in your article directions.
1. You Understand that I Can Post This Under My Name…
Freelance writers sell full rights unless otherwise stated. This means that once you purchase the content, it is yours to do with as you see fit. You can edit it, add your name as the creator and spin it. The content is entirely yours and the freelance writer does not retain any rights after payment has been made.
Read more: Items to Never Include in Your Custom Content Directions
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If you’ve been around the content block a time or two, you probably already know what a for-hire content article should contain. However, if you’re new, you may still be looking at content creation like those essays you wrote in high school and college – a title plus one or more paragraphs of text. Big blocks of text are not online friendly, and they don’t inspire website or blog visitors to read more. They look at that block content and move on to anywhere else that has skimmable content.
1. Accurate Information
The most important thing to put in an article is accurate information. This means you will have to pull up three or more sites with information on the topic you’ve been hired to write and skim them in order to determine what’s there and if it’s useful information that your client should have on his or her website. For example, if you’re writing about Common Problems with HVAC Units, you’ll need to look up websites that list those problems. Then, you’ll need to write about those problems in such a way that it isn’t plagiarism. If you’re worried about accidental plagiarism, I prefer Small SEO Tools, which is free.
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You’ve scoured the Internet or the content mill where you want to hire your writer, and you can’t find any good samples. You’re either seeing no samples or small excerpts of other pieces. While it is frustrating, it’s quite common. Freelancers tend to sell everything they write, so if you don’t see any samples, you can reasonably assume that they’ve sold everything. That’s not a bad thing, but how do you figure out your chosen freelancer’s writing style if they don’t have any samples?
1. Dig a Little Deeper
If you’re looking at a freelancer’s business website and not a writer profile on a content mill, take a look at the pages. A professional writer is going to maintain a certain level of quality across their website. Read a few articles. While this probably won’t give you their specific professional writing style, it’ll give you an idea of their standard writing style, which is still helpful, especially if you want a very relaxed tone.
2. Look for a Prewritten Content Section
Even if they don’t have any full samples you can read, most freelancers will have some type of Prewritten Content Section. These are articles that the writer wrote on various topics in various industries so that clients can view most of the article then purchase it hassle-free. Reading the 25 or 30 percent of the prewritten article can give you a good idea about your prospective freelancer’s writing style.
3. Ask
If you really can’t find enough content to determine the freelancer’s style, ask. Some freelancers do keep samples on their computers that they will send out to clients when asked, or they may have bi-lined content on other sites where they can direct you (The latter only works if you are using an independent freelancer that’s not bound by the TOS of a content mill.). Other freelancers don’t have any samples available because it’s all been purchased. It really depends on the freelancer. Either way, it doesn’t hurt to ask.
4. Order a Sample Article
If you really think the writer is going to work out, but you want to make absolutely sure, most writers will accept paid test orders. This is typically an article topic of your choice between 500 and 1,000 words. You can expect to get anywhere from a 30 to 50 percent discount on the sample order with no obligation to purchase future articles. If you love it, you can order more articles at full price. If you hate it, well you can continue your search for a freelance writer.
It's important to note that if you are using a content mill, the writers have profiles, and everything the writer wants you to see is in that profile. It's unlikely they'll send you a sample even if you ask. The truth is that they can't. They are bound by the TOS and can't point you to any bylined work. If they have a website, professional or otherwise, they can't send you to that either because you're not supposed to contact them outside of the content mill. You are stuck with what you see on the profile.