Smart marketers know that valuable content sways buyer behaviour in favour of your brand. High-quality content catches the eyeballs and keeps readers engrossed, thus driving up your chances of successful conversion online.
Why is a content writer valuable to digital marketing success?
High-quality content is crucial for any business that wants to attract and retain customers in the form of blog post, social media update, or website copy.
No wonder that content writers have emerged as valuable success partners in any digital marketing campaign.
Their demand is increasing by the day. But how can you, as a client, assess if your chosen content writing company is ideal for your distinct content development needs?
Well, there are several points to check before hiring a content writer. However, a good starting point would be to scrutinize their past projects or portfolio.
What do you mean by a portfolio?
A good content writing company wants to build trust in the mind of a first-time client or a new site visitor. They want their company to be shown in the best possible light.
For this, they can highlight their successful projects executed in the past. It gives first-time clients and prospects a glimpse of the capabilities of a content writer.
As a client, you may have a set of expectations from a content writer. These may include:
1 – Familiarity with their own industry vertical
2 – A specific style and tone of writing
3 – Adherence to quality protocols like zero spelling misses or typos.
4 – Adherence to formatting standards
You can gauge their credibility on these pointers when you go through their portfolio.
It is a classic case of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’ with these past projects shown in the ‘Portfolio’ page. While the rest of the website will tell the readers about their content writing expertise, the Portfolio page will show them the stuff the content company is made of.
How to check the portfolio of a content writer?
There are several ways a content writing company may advertise the stellar work done in the past.
1 – Own website
It is common to see past project snippets displayed on the content writer portfolio website. This is commonly present in a ‘Portfolio’ webpage for prospects and leads to browse through.
Doing so will give you an idea of the quality of their writing and the types of projects they have worked on.
2 – Social media profiles
Many content writing companies will post their recent work on their social media pages. Check their social media profiles to see if they have shared any recent content that aligns with your digital marketing needs.
3 – Ask for references
Don’t hesitate to ask for references from the content writing company. Contact the references and ask them about a few key facts. These include –
1 – Their experience working with the company,
2 – The quality of the writing,
3 – Their ability in customer servicing on factors like timeliness, responsiveness, and quality, and
4 – If they were able to meet their specific needs.
4 – Check online reviews
Search for the content writing company online and read reviews from previous clients. You can look at popular channels like Google Search or Yelp. This can give you an idea of their reputation and the quality of their work.
Evaluating a company’s competencies becomes a lot more streamlined when you leverage these channels and know about its past works.
Why is it important to check a content writer’s past projects?
One of the most critical factors to consider when hiring a content writer is their past projects. In this section, we will explore why it is essential to check a content writer’s portfolio before hiring them.
1 – A Content Writer Portfolio Reveals Their Style of Writing
The content writer portfolio gives you an idea of its writing style and quality. Content writing requires a unique style and tone, and not all writers can deliver the style you require.
By reviewing their previous work, you can determine if the writer’s style aligns with your brand voice and target audience.
For instance, if your business focuses on a professional tone, you will want to hire a writer who has experience writing in a similar style. Reviewing their past projects will help you determine if the writer’s writing style aligns with your brand.
2 – Helps Assess the Versatility of a Content Writer
Secondly, past projects allow you to evaluate a content writer’s versatility. Every content writer has their writing niche, which may be in a specific industry or format. However, the most sought-after writers are those who can adapt to different topics and formats.
By reviewing past projects, you can see the writer’s versatility in action.
Let us consider an interesting example. Say you require a writer to create content for a website. You will want to ensure they have experience writing website copy that has a sales-persuasive narrative without the sales-y aggressive push.
Similarly, if you need a writer to create social media updates, you will want to check their experience writing social media posts.
Doing so will help you hire the best-fit content writer for your content requirements.
3 – It Gives an Idea of the Content Writer’s Research Skills.
Good content writers do not just rely on their writing skills. They also need to conduct research to create high-quality content. By reviewing their past projects, you can evaluate their research skills.
– Did the writer use credible sources to support their writing?
– Did they do a deep dive rather than superficial coverage of a given topic
– Has the writer aligned the topic to the keywords?
– Did they ensure a smooth follow of the narrative from start to end
– Have they properly cited their sources?
– Has the content creator fact-checked their work?
These are essential questions that you can answer by examining their past projects.
Professional content writers are adept at getting out of their comfort zones during research and drafting. The content samples on the ‘Portfolio’ page can help you determine if a writer meets this requirement.
4 – Know about the content team’s discipline to meet deadlines
Timeliness is critical in the world of content writing, and missed deadlines can be costly.
Inspecting past projects and talking to past clients help you evaluate a content writer’s ability to meet deadlines.
By reviewing past projects, you can determine if the writer has a history of meeting deadlines.
Assess them on these factors –
1 – Did they deliver the work on time?
2 – Did they routinely miss project ETAs
3 – Were they reachable/ communicative in case of ETA escalations?
4 – Did they proactively suggest ways to minimize damage caused by delays in deliveries (maybe they could suggest piecemeal deliveries to placate an angry client)
These are important questions to consider before hiring a content writer.
5 – Know if the content writer has industry experience
When clients review past projects, you get to know if a content writer has experience writing for your industry. Depending on your industry, you may require a content writer with industry-specific knowledge.
For instance, if you run a law firm, you will want a writer with experience writing legal content. When you check their Portfolio page, you can determine if the writer has experience writing for your industry.
This is particularly important if you require technical writing or specialized knowledge in a particular field. A writer with extensive experience writing for your industry will be a better choice than someone who doesn’t have much experience in your domain.
6 – Learn about their ability to create engaging content
Quality content writing is all about driving engagement and conversions. The primary goal of content writing is to engage and inform your audience. A glimpse at the portfolio helps you evaluate a content writer’s ability to create engaging content.
– Did their writing capture your attention?
– Have they used trigger words to keep readers hooked?
– Did they use storytelling or other techniques to make their content compelling?
– Have they used success stories or real-life cases to explain their points better?
– Does the content have a call to action to let the readers know what they need to do after they finish reading your content?
These are essential questions to consider before hiring a content writer.
7 – Helps Gauge their Grasp over SEO
You also get to know about the content writer’s ability to optimize content for search engines. Search engine optimization (SEO) is essential for any online content. So, examine the content portfolio on these factors:
– Did they create catchy headlines for the content
– Have they optimized meta tags for the keywords
– Have they used internal and external linking to substantiate the topic discussed in the content?
– Did they optimize the content for keywords without overstuffing them?
– Have they factored Search Intent in content writing?
These pointers will guide you in knowing more about the content writer’s calibre.
To sum it up
It is a difficult choice to delegate an important marketing function like content writing to an unknown content writing company. But you can carry out your due diligence as discussed above.
When you have a look at their portfolio, you get a sense of whether you are hiring the right company for your content requirements. Doing so will help you pick the right choice of a professional content agency like Textuar.
