How to hire a better freelance copywriter to create whitepapers, downloads, product collateral, email copy, newsletters, website copy, and more. Quick tips and a basic briefing template to make the process easier:

1. Better Practice Series
How To Hire A Better B2B Copywriter
If you are developing B2B marketing content, one effective approach is to hire a freelance copywriter to
create whitepapers, downloads, product collateral, email copy, newsletters, website copy, and more.
Here are some quick tips and a basic briefing template you can download to make the process easier:
Use a formal brief
The content development process is hard work for everyone. Reduce its
uncertainty by setting clear expectations with a written content development
brief. The more specific you can be in the brief, the more likely you will be
happy with the content that is developed.
Click here to download a brief template
Understand the copywriter’s content development
process
Every writer uses a development process, which can include: custom
research, subject matter expert interview, outline development, drafts, and
approvals. Ask them to outline their process and explain how they can deliver
the content you want. Focus on how they will interview your subject matter
experts and research your topic. You are hiring them to create your content,
not to recreate content they have written in the past. Better marketing content
will take interviewing and researching skills as well as great writing skills.
Ask to see their portfolio
Review their portfolio to look at their general format and tone of voice. Check to make sure the writer has portfolio
samples that match the style you are looking for. While many writers have mastered different styles, you want to
make sure you will get a style that matches your brief. Ask them to describe the tone of voice and process used to
develop the content in their portfolio that best matches what you want. Unless you need them to rely on their own
subject matter expertise, which is rarely a good idea, related industry experience matters a lot less than the right
tone of voice, great writing, and excellent research skills.
Ask for client references
Ask to speak with the clients that commissioned the work in the writer’s portfolio that best matches what you want.
All writers can produce great references. Make sure you speak to a reference that has experience with the kind of
project you are doing, not just their standard client list.
What Should You Do Next
Download the content development brief template
Understand customer decision stages and how to use them to create better content
Request a Brainrider content development quote
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