For a B2B business, having a blog and promoting content on social media channels is essential to establishing an online presence. Quality content can help establish your business or startup as a thought leader in the industry and enables you to carve out your niche and stand out from the competition.
One of the best ways to create quality content is to hire a professional writer. These individuals use their skill set to increase engagement and drive sales. How do you find a writer to produce high-quality web content? Here, we've put together a list of the best resources for finding a freelance writer.
The Best Websites to Find A Writer
The Writer Finder
The Writer Finder is a writing services agency that helps connect business owners to qualified professional writers. The platform does all the legwork when it comes to helping businesses find a writer. Services such as this help save you time when hiring freelancers. You can also save money by choosing to outsource your content writing to a freelancer rather than hiring an in-house writer.
Here's how it works: you submit a writer request outlining your budget, niche, and desired expertise level. We comb through our database of writers to find the perfect fit for your company. Within 72 hours, you'll receive a list of 3 to 5 hand-picked writers along with their writing samples, LinkedIn profile, portfolio, and rate. You choose which writer or writers you want to work with and take the hiring process from there. Writing agencies are among the easiest ways to hire freelance writers. These writers can help on various writing projects, creating different types of content including long-form article writing to increase search engine rankings.
Contently
If you need the best writers and bloggers in the world, Contently is the place to go. This platform features the writing world's top talent and each package is customized to the client. The first thing you need to do is set up a meeting with one of Contently's consultants. From there, they'll put together a marketing and writing package that is designed specifically for your company.
Since this site offers only the highest quality writers, it's not a great choice for small businesses or companies that don't have a large writing budget. This platform really is designed for businesses that need the most experienced writers out there and are who are willing to pay for great writers. It's also great if you need a very specific type of content — like a technical manual.
Writer Access
Writer Access is another writing agency that helps businesses tackle their freelance writing goals. The site currently boasts a database of more than 16,000 freelancing copywriters located in the United States from Los Angeles to New York.
Writers on the platform earn anywhere from $0.02 to $2.00 per word depending on the complexity of the project. The range in pricing makes it easy for new blogs to get established and offers high levels of expertise for larger companies that already have a massive online presence.
The platform also allows businesses to make upfront payments that give them access to dedicated account and project managers and expert advice. You can use the range of services to tailor the platform to suit your specific needs and budget.
ProBlogger Job Board
ProBlogger has long been a go-to resource for content marketing and blogging aficionados looking for copywriting jobs. The job board enables business owners to post job opportunities for one-time gigs, part-time jobs, and full-time employment. A job listing on the ProBlogger job board costs $70 for a 30-day ad.
The site features thousands of experienced freelance writers. When you post an ad, it's also shared to the website's Twitter page. That means your job ad will be seen by thousands of potential applicants.
Upwork
Upwork is one of the largest and most well-known freelance marketplaces. Business owners can find everything from graphic designers to accountants and professional writers on the platform. Posting writing jobs is quick and easy and you can also perform searches for writers based on specific criteria. You can narrow down to a certain region such as Seattle, Chicago, or Miami. You can also filter by budget, experience level, and project length.
The site also makes it easy to conduct job interviews and perform payment. Since the platform handles all transactions and offers dispute resolution services, you can hire a freelancer without any hassle or stress.
TextBroker
Textbroker is a writing agency that handles all of your content marketing needs for you. Writing agencies are different from these other job boards in that they help you find the best writer for your needs. These agencies are also strictly content creation and marketing focused so you won't get distracted by freelancer profiles that offer other services.
Business owners can choose from different tiered plans to commission high-quality content. The cheapest plan opens your content needs to Textbroker's database of over 100,0000 writers. The pricing increases depending on the quality level you need. The site also offers highly customizable plans where you can hand pick all of your content writers and team members. Similar companies include Scripted and the Writer's Den.
Guru
Guru is another site similar to Upwork that enables small business owners and large corporations to find qualified freelance writers. It's free to post a job ad and you can easily find general writers for large projects or specialized professional writers to draft white papers or manage social media channels.
What sets Guru apart from Upwork is the built-in project management tool. The site enables you to control the entire workflow without having to integrate multiple apps and resources. With Guru's project management tool you can create tasks, share documents, and communicate directly with content writers all in one place.
Great Content
Great Content is a writing agency that offers high-quality content creation in more than 30 languages. The company boasts a writer database of more than 10,000 individuals. The benefit of this service is it allows you to create content in different languages—a plus if your target audience doesn't speak English.
Aside from writing, the site also makes it easy to hire for freelance work including lead generation, SEO audits and creating editorial calendars. Big names such as Kayak and eBay have used the platform to hire freelancers for writing gigs and to create high-quality website copy.
Craigslist
Craigslist is a local online job board. The site makes it easy to post a job ad looking for writers or to search for writers who have posted their services for hire. Writers can craft everything from product descriptions, press releases, and social media posts to website content and sales copy. To use Craigslist successfully, you'll need to have a good set of criteria for narrowing down job applicants. Being specific and listing your exact expectations in your job posting will help you start off in the right direction. Make sure to ask for writing samples from applicants since the writers on this site are not vetted.
The freelance writers on the site can range from experienced professionals to entry-level writers. Depending on your location, you may need a hefty dose of good luck to find a good writer on Craigslist. The platform doesn't screen for quality or offer any additional marketing services. While not the most tailored site for finding writers, it's a good choice for business owners who want to create simple content on a small budget.
Choosing The Right Fit
Hiring a new writer can be a scary prospect. Fortunately, there are dozens of sites that make the process easier. Some sites feature an open marketplace where you can conduct your own search for writers. Others do all the hard work for you and find writers that are qualified for your needs. Whether you're looking for a ghostwriter to create an autobiography, a writer who doubles as a strategist and can work on your content strategy, or a writer with years of experience creating landing pages, blog posts, and social media content, hire writers using these platforms and you'll find exactly what you need. Plus, some writers can use their writing skills to take over other tasks like proofreading, publishing, and marketing.
Choosing the right platform will depend largely on your needs and budget. For small businesses, free job marketplaces such as Craigslist, Upwork, and Guru are a great place to start. You can also ask for referrals from other marketers and business owners in your niche. For businesses that prefer to save time and use an agency to hire freelance writers will benefit from using The Writer Finder, Writer Access, or TextBroker. For businesses where money is no option and high-quality is the name of the game, a site like Contently will be the way to go. Mix and match a few different sites and see what works best for your company.