Where To Find Content Writers? Top 5 Places To Find And Hire Your Next Digital Writer
Are you planning to write blog posts, web copy, and other content yourself? Let me stop you right here.
Good content can put you at the top of your industry and search engine pages, but bad content or content without a purpose and value can damage your brand and waste your time.
To have quality content, you need a professional content writer. And while the internet is flooded with content writers, copywriters, email writers, etc., finding a good match for your company is not easy.
When you start your quest to find the right freelance candidate, soon, you might get overwhelmed with the supply and abundance of websites and people offering content services.
However, quantity doesn’t always translate to quality, and you must be careful looking for a suitable writer. That’s why I’ll help you find the best places to find and hire freelance writers online. I’ve never hired a writer myself, but after working for many years in the field, I can tell which sites are reliable and which ones are exploiting people for a few euros.
How do I hire a good content writer?
To hire a freelance content writer for a long-term partnership, you need to make sure their writing experience, portfolio, and skills match your expectations and projects.
Whether you’re looking for a freelancer or an in-house employee, the hiring process takes time. It’s common to let your guard down when hiring freelancers. You see it as something temporary and non-binding. But the wrong candidate will waste your time, energy, and, most importantly, money.
Read next: How to hire the right freelancer.
How much is the rate of a content writer?
Content writers charge different rates based on many factors. You have to keep in mind that a freelance content writer isn’t only charging for the work they do, but also for their experience, tools they use, taxes they pay, and many other things.
Also, consider the country where your hire resides (if it’s a remote position), which can also influence the rate.
On average, my rates start from 100 euros per 1000-word article, with the higher rates for landing and sales pages. But other content creators charge 500 euros or more for the same thing, and you can find more than enough of those who charge 10 euros or even less (although the quality often matches the price).
So the question is: where can I find a content writer?
There are more than plenty of places where to find content writers, but some are better than others, and here’s why.
Fiverr, Upwork, freelancer.com
These are all great places for freelancers and companies to expand their businesses and find each other. A minimal registration process is required, and usually, you don’t need to pay anything to start looking for talents. Upwork and Fiverr are the largest gig job posting platforms offering freelance talents with different skills and backgrounds.
Advantages
An easy registration process
Many options to choose from
You can hire people for multiple projects (design, content writing, web development, etc.)
Broad price range, meaning you can find very cheap deals
The platform ensures safety and protection if you communicate and conduct business only on the platform.
Disadvantages
Hard to find reliable content writers – many people have fake reviews or don’t provide quality. The lowest rate freelancers often use templates to produce work faster.
Safety – yes, safety is also a disadvantage because of the numerous scams on these platforms. You have to always make sure to communicate and make payments through the platform.
Automated customer service – large platforms like that can take time to respond to your requests and might have problems solving any issues, especially if you’ve done business outside the platform.
Overworked freelancers – competition on these sites is fierce. Newly registered freelancers often need to lower their rates to gain traction. When you are paid cents to do work, you must take on many projects simultaneously to sustain yourself. Hiring an overworked content writer can damage your business because they don’t have enough time to invest in researching information and getting to know your company.
Traditional job boards
Traditional job boards like Indeed, Glassdoor, and the ones more focused on content projects like ProBlogger, BloggingPro, etc., are great options to find writers fast. You can post a job ad and wait for the right candidate to show up.
Advantages
Cheap – you can create job ads for free;
Fast – You only need to upload an ad and forget about searching for candidates yourself.
Big exposure – many people will see your ad, and you don’t need to promote it.
Disadvantages
Significant traffic of applicants. While that might seem advantageous, too many candidates flooding your email prolongs the hiring process. Also, you need to be more vigilant with fake accounts and inexperienced applicants, who usually make the majority.
No protection over scammers. You have to do the detective’s job yourself.
People apply without meeting your requirements.
LinkedIn is a social media platform for professional networking and businesses. It also has a job board that allows you to post jobs. I will be partial here because LinkedIn is my favorite platform to find and communicate with potential clients. Although LinkedIn has become a bit cringy in the past few years, the social network is an excellent choice for many reasons.
Advantages
You can see the prior candidate’s experience
You can see their network
You can search people by the title and connect with like-minded individuals
You can connect and communicate first
You can post jobs for free
You can access statistics and other data about your job ad and candidates
It suggests your job ad to the applicants with matching skills and interests
Disadvantages
It can be misleading – just because someone posts a lot on LinkedIn or has many followers and connections doesn’t mean they are a good choice.
Too much noise – LinkedIn is moving from being a professional network to a second Facebook, which can be annoying.
Expensive premium – while many LinkedIn features are free, its premium subscription is costly. However, many recruiters buy it because it gives more flexibility when hiring. Also, you can get a trial month for free.
Social media
Facebook and Instagram can be useful when searching for content writers. After all, a good content writer must have a credible online presence, and these social media channels make it very easy. Facebook groups gather professionals from similar fields and allow members to share job ads, communicate and connect.
Advantages
Fast and easy – If you post a job ad on your Instagram story, you probably will attract people who are already interested in your brand. Just a short post or a story, and you can wait for the results. Hashtags can also separate the wheat from the chaff to help you target only a particular audience.
Many target groups – Facebook has a group functionality, allowing freelance communities to form. So, if you’re looking for freelance writers, you can find many groups where writers look for jobs.
You can learn more about candidates – social media platforms let you see what they are posting, their interests, and their communication style.
Disadvantages
High risks – you can’t be sure you are hiring a reliable person. You have no guarantees as the platform isn’t responsible for job deals done on it. And you can’t even be sure the people you contact are what they claim to be.
Many unprofessional people – again, you will encounter many people who say they can do the work, but they provide very little value.
Trolls – I don’t know if this exists in other countries, but in Lithuania (where I’m from), people aren’t afraid to put employers in their place. If the salary you offer is too little or the job description is too broad, expect to be critiqued. Everyone can comment under your posts, so don’t be surprised if some troll joins the chat.
Recommendations from friends and colleagues
Good old word of mouth. I think it’s a great way to find professional content writers and make long-term partnerships. I’ve found many clients myself through referrals and recommendations. Of course, you need a network that is open to recommending people.
Advantages
High-quality work – if someone you know and trust recommends a content writer, you have a much better chance that they are a reliable candidate.
Social proof – you can see the writer’s work and hear first-hand experience from their clients.
Trust – if your good friend or colleague recommends a content writer, you can be sure they are trustworthy and won’t run away with your money.
Disadvantages
You need to be proactive – no one will just come and give you the names of their best writers, you have to ask.
Little talent pool – rarely would you get more than one recommendation. But one good recommendation is usually enough.
People lie – you have to trust the person you receive the referral from.
Of course, there are many more ways to find and hire digital writers, but these are the ones that have worked for my clients and me.
But what about content mills?
You probably are wondering why I haven’t included content mills.
Content mills are companies that hire writers to produce large amounts of content for a meager price. I didn’t include these platforms on my list because I think they are digital slavery. If you look at the rates they pay for their writers, it’s beyond my understanding. Even if you are from the poorest country in the world, you can’t charge a cent or even lower for a word.
People who work for these mills are overworked and exhausted. You can’t expect them to put any soul into their work because it just isn’t profitable.
Final thoughts
Finding the right people to work with is challenging. Before starting to work together, you must be alert to notice red flags and cues. But everything starts with the right platform or website where you can look for employees. My suggestions offer different content writer rates and flexibility. But the decision is up to you.
If you’re tired of looking for a professional content writer, say no more. Check the work I’ve done, and let’s chat! Together we can analyze the content you already have and plan on how to improve it.
