Content Writer

We can't all be experts in everything, so it's important to ask questions that will help us understand what you do. Even if I do know what your product/service is, it still helps to hear your own description of its purpose.

It is part of my job as a copywriter to help define and/or express your brand in a way that your audience will remember. This question is not just to go on your "about page", it's about identifying your top selling points.

Working with different clients often means having to change not only the topic of your work, but even the tone and style. This is where a very good writer is going to be your goal, and the research about the topic can be learned.

For this job, it's important to be happy working alone and setting your own daily goals.

This is a great opportunity for the candidate to talk about Google+ and the importance of Google+. This network is only going to get more important as Google begins to alter SERPs based on connections and shares, and this is something a writer should be aware of when it comes time to get involved with authorship and social sharing.

The prospective writer's answer to this question will help you figure out how she thinks and whether her thinking will work well with your industry, your company and the type of content you want to create.

This is one of several questions I ask that are part of a SWOT Analysis, and it helps define your Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats.

Creating content for marketing purposes requires a collaborative effort. You want a content marketing writer who is open to receiving feedback - both positive and negative - on their work, and who is willing and able to incorporate that feedback into their future writing efforts. A writer who gets defensive or isn't open to suggestions will just cause you headaches.

On two occasions at my last corporate job, we hired writers who showed up on their first day, took one look at their computers, and said, "Oh, you use PCs." Yep, they'd only ever used Macs. Each assured us it wouldn't be a problem, but … yeah, it was. So if you're hiring a content creator to work on-site with your team, make sure he or she is hip to the program-literally.

I typically go around to different blogs to find a topic, and then I take that topic and find a bunch of articles regarding that topic. I try to take bits and pieces of each, and the majority of the time a new angle or opinion will come to me through all of the research.

The best content writer in the world is of no use to you and your business if they never submit their work to you. Some people might worry if a writer has a full-time job in addition to freelance-writing gigs, but if the writer is skilled at time management or realistic in what he or she can accomplish, a full-time job shouldn't be an issue.

Instead, ask writers about their process in completing jobs. Do they use the entire time available to them, or do they wait until the last few days to complete jobs. Have they ever turned work in late? If they have, did they let the client know ahead of time, or not?

As you look through a prospective writer's "clips" or writing samples, select one to ask about in detail during the interview. The goal is to get an idea of how they go about getting to the final product.

The hourly rate for a web content writer is generally between $50-$75 with some specialized writers charging as much as $100 or more. A WAI web writer will review your project with you, determine the scope of work necessary, and present you with an estimate on cost usually determined by the hours the project will require. Some web content writers will work for a flat fee.

This is a tough question to answer, but most good candidates will explain that the target audience is typically small business marketing departments. This of course depends on the type of company that the candidate wrote for in the past (which might very well be slightly different than your current audience).

Use of SEO best practices is vital if you want your company's content to be found online, so you want to hire a content marketing writer who understands and knows how to do SEO and do it well.

Copy is sales-oriented, while content is value-oriented. Copy is the stuff you'd find in a brochure, while content is what you'd find in a bona fide newsletter. A good writer should know the difference between the two.

There are many ways to ask this question, but the point is to identify your goals. It is important to me, personally, that I only work on projects that I am qualified for. If I am not confident in my abilities to achieve your goals, I'll help you find somebody who is better suited for the job.

On the other hand, if your writer doesn't ask this question… they obviously don't care about your goals.

Depending on your specific needs, you want to make sure your content writer can get you the results you're looking for. If you need someone with advanced SEO skills, or a social media guru, make sure they have these skills before work is done.

If you want your content to go viral, make sure the writer has a large Twitter following and knows how to generate buzz for your site or business. Ask to see successful stats from the writer's previous clients.

Yes, it sounds asinine. But I see this mistake All. The. Time. And I know at least some of those errors are the work of allegedly professional content creators. A good writer knows that a spellcheck program can only get you so far.

A key part of building a strong, cohesive brand is establishing a style, tone and voice for all of the content you create. Some good writers can write well in a variety of styles, while others are more limited. It doesn't matter which you hire, but you want someone who will be able to match the style, tone and voice you've decided on for your brand.