Tips to Find a Freelance Writer Online

I don’t have a freelance writing company which accepts freelance writing jobs but I do have tips I can share to find a freelance writer or a freelancer writing group or company. I had my own share of experience when looking for people to trust or entrust small and personal as well as large and business projects with and I’ve learned a lot even after only a few writing jobs I’ve offered.

Image: Michal Marcol / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Experience is a must

Whether you find a writer or writers in a saturated freelancer site or a relatively new market for freelancers such as forums and even social network sites, experience is a must when choosing a freelance writer. Carefully check the account profile, portfolio, or work experience to see how long they have been writing. Although scholastic writing experience is good, it’s nothing compared to a writing experience online. Professional writing is what you need to look for but in case there’s none; personal blogs are also reliable sources to gauge a writer’s writing style. The rest including SEO, keywords, press releases, article writing and submission, etc. can always be learned in time.

Choosing a freelance writer among newbies may mean investing time and effort to teach them the basics first but at least you can have the confidence that they won’t waste the opportunity. They tend to be more humble than experienced writers are and will not charge too much so you even save money. Not all newbies are inexperienced by the way as some are probably just new to the site but have worked elsewhere. You can take advantage of the fact that these writers need to fill up their account with work experience within the site by hiring them. It’s mutually beneficial if you are a new employer to the freelancer site as well.

Not all newbies are worth the time though and you won’t even know until you hire them. I worked with someone who didn’t bother to reply anymore after a few emails. I wish I can drop names but it doesn’t matter anymore. Time and freelancer fees are already wasted anyway and there is no refund for the fees. At least, a got the escrow back.

There was another writer who did the exact same thing. I gave him another chance as he pleaded for it but he still did not send anything. Choosing a freelance writer with great writing quality is worthless if the writer does not reply to communications being sent and cannot deliver on time. I used to write on a part time basis before writing full time so I know what a lame excuse it is to say that it’s a weekend and not even a day has passed since the assignment was sent. Also, anyone who makes mistakes and are given a second chance will do everything to make up for that mistake. For a writer, this means writing even a single article as soon as possible and writing even during the weekends. In a span of about four hours after work and before going to bed as a part time writer, a 500 words article can actually be written with ease unless you’re not really writing at all.

Going back to experience, I can personally say that I’m a self taught person. I don’t simply write for the money. I learn while earning. I have to give my hats off to my first boss, Lei. She didn’t exactly teach me tricks, but I’ll never be interested with the world of SEO and the like if I didn’t start writing for her. I’d like to thank a fellow former phone support agent as well as she was the one who introduced me to Lei.

Individual writers are better

I used to work for a writing group and accept assignments from the team leader so I know that individual writers have differing writing style. In relation to this, individual writers are better candidates when choosing a freelance writer. The team leader is obviously a prolific writer but it doesn’t necessarily apply for the rest of the team. I also don’t like the idea of team leaders earning more for articles they don’t actually write while writers, who write with blood, sweat, and tears earn less.

The only down side with choosing a freelance writer on solo is the lack of mentoring. They’re like untrained soldiers who are sent off to battle without being properly equipped with what they need to know first. Aside from the writers I’ve mentioned earlier, there was another writer who had issues with Copyscape hits. I tried to talk her out of copy pasting contents from resources but she didn’t reply anymore.

Don’t expect much with minimal fees

When choosing a freelance writer or writers, you won’t expect much with minimal fees. Although writers who bid low actually dictate the game, you can’t always expect high quality written material. Offering too low may save you money but doesn’t save you time when it comes to editing the articles afterwards. You may even end up rewriting the whole thing. I believe that you shouldn’t be offering less than what your skill is worth but with a lot of competition, some are forced to do so. As for me, I’m slowly working my way up for higher pay. I still keep writing jobs that doesn’t pay much for various reasons like the fellowship with other writers and in gratitude for everything I’ve learned through those companies and projects.

I expected too much and probably rushed choosing a freelance writer (see next tip) so even with a competent offer for one job posting, there was still something missing. One of the people I’ve worked with (not the previous three mentioned earlier) doesn’t deserve what she was paid for in terms of quality content. I can say that what I’ve offered for my personal projects are very competitive and are even close to what I’m actually earning so it was a waste that I had to put up with something less than what I expected. In relation to this, you should set an expectation for applicants (before choosing a freelance writer) on the level of writing skill you are in need of. The next set of job bid I posted included a URL of an article which exemplified the writing skill level I was looking for. Humorously, one writer said his skill is at par and may even be better (it was a link to my article in Info Barrel) but I never got to see how good he says he is because he was the one who never submitted any. I am trying to get the milestone or escrow back as of the moment. Update: got the milestone back but not the fees. :(

Gauge writing skill through questionnaires and emails

Sample articles through attachments and even through article submission sites is never enough. It may not even be their work to begin with or they may have outsourced the content even if it was under their name. I don’t believe in writing test articles so I didn’t ask for one. I only asked questionnaire which cannot be researched anywhere online whenever I post jobs. This way, you can already gauge the writer’s vocabulary and writing skill early on. Before choosing a freelance writer, you can also exchange a few emails. Doing this and providing a questionnaire to be answered by bidders (in about 50 words) will make it easier to spot a genuinely great writer from one who probably is just bluffing. I can cite one writer with great experience and a number of feedbacks. Previous employers were even saying that the content he wrote are of good quality but when I asked him to reply to a simple question, the answer didn’t sound like from a writer with good writing ability.

Following the tips outlined in this blog post, you will surely find an ideal freelance writer.