Should You Hire a Freelance Writer?

No matter your line of work, you need written content if you have an online presence. Web pages, blog posts, social media posts, and product descriptions have valuable information that markets your business and sells your stuff.

Should you hire a freelance writer or write it all yourself? Writing seems simple, but a lot goes into the process, making it far more complicated than it looks. Let’s dive into what writing entails so you can make the right call for your business.

What Does a Freelance Writer Do?

A freelance writer writes—right?

Writing is only a fraction of the work involved in completing a piece. A writer may have to plan content, do some light graphic design, and format the web page. Research, writing, and editing are the key parts requiring some know-how.

After publishing the work, they may have to do their own social media marketing to get it out there.

Content Planning

Any great content marketing plan will have a thorough schedule backing it up. The plan should indicate:

The planning stage can be complicated since you have to plan weeks to months in advance. The internet moves fast, so what’s trending today may be irrelevant by the time you get around to writing.

Search engine optimization (SEO) further complicates this process. If you want your site to rank high on search engines like Google or Bing, you must plan your content and research keywords and trends to stay relevant.

Writing

Writing isn’t just writing. It’s researching, outlining, drafting, erasing, rewriting, erasing again, and giving up for the night. (It happens, what can I say.)

Not every piece will require research, but if you want people to take you seriously, back up your facts with sources. This is especially true if you’re in an industry where the wrong information could have serious consequences, like finance or health.

Editing

Writers make mistakes; it’s what we do, and we do it well.

Editing corrects those mistakes. It’s what makes bland content into money-making content. It’s what removes embarrassing mistakes that could ruin your reputation.

This step will be challenging if you aren’t a whiz at grammar or writing in general. If you don’t hire a writer, you should at least find an editor.

Graphic Design and Image Sourcing

After finishing the piece, the writer may have to transform into a graphic designer for a few minutes to create an image to accompany the article.

Or they may have to sign into Shutterstock or other places to find a good image. The need for an image depends on the project and the client.   

Formatting

From elementary school through college, teachers and professors always told us to use Times New Roman in a 12-point font, double-spaced, and 1-inch margins.

Formatting is everything. Writing in all italicized letters would change your reading experience of this blog post.

So would a tiny font.

The wrong font, font size, spacing, and color choices could cause people to click away faster than their internet loaded the page, and that’s bad for business.

Marketing and Social Media

After formatting and publishing the post, a writer may need to put on their business marketing manager hat and start sharing the link across social media. 

Quick scribbles on Threads or X (formerly Twitter) are quicker than making a TikTok or Reel, but it all takes valuable time.

You Must Write Well for the Best Results

A blog post is only as good as the writer, a fact that may haunt new freelance writers trying to find their footing. If you’re not a good writer, well…

A writer doesn’t need a degree to write well, but they do need a deep understanding of what good writing looks like. It’s ultimately subjective, but there are objective elements you can’t ignore.

Know Your Purpose

Why are you writing?

A veterinarian may write a blog post to inform pet owners about vital care information. A hobby store may want to inspire its customers with project tutorials to prompt them to buy materials.

Every blog post has a purpose:

No matter what you’re writing, knowing why you’re writing it will help you shape your ideas.

Understand How Minds Work

People aren’t stupid.

They won’t read just anything.

It’s important to know how the mind works and what it will want to read. You could learn that information in a course or pick it up on your own by reading various blog posts while paying attention to how they were written.

See how I mix short and long sentences instead of creating giant blocks of text? Nobody wants to read huge chunks of words.

They’re annoying.

Mind Your Ps and Qs

A writer knows what will step on toes and hurt feelings and what won’t. You don’t want to alienate your future and existing customers by saying something that comes off the wrong way.

An essential aspect of writing is knowing how to communicate well. You can be punchy if it’s part of your brand, but even so, there’s a way to go about it. Handle tough subjects with grace so you don’t upset your readers.

A seasoned writer will know what it takes to get the message across without going overboard.

Personality, Tone, and Vibes

“Vibes” are not something you’ll find in a writer’s handbook, but you’ll see it on the internet. If your vibes are all off, you’ll drive your readers and customers away.

What I’m actually talking about is your words’ personality and tone. 

I keep this blog semi-professional with some humor here and there. Many bloggers advise against saying “I” and getting too personal when providing information, but that’s not how I roll. This is my site; I’m the writer and I want to talk to my audience.

Your personality and tone say a lot about your brand. Would you trust a lawyer if their website is splattered with emojis? Would you enjoy a personal blog if they sounded like a university professor? It may work in some cases, but it largely depends on who your audience is.

You’ve Got to Know Grammar

If you want to write blog posts yourself, you better:

I’ll let you in on a little secret: I’m not perfect. I know, it’s shocking.

If it weren’t for grammar checkers, I’d make a fool out of myself. That being said, I have an English degree, and while I didn’t take specific grammar courses, I did a lot of reading and writing.

Sometimes, I question my grammar checkers and go against what they suggest because I know better. (You can’t trust AI-powered programs these days.) Not because I’m a know-it-all but because I’ve put the effort into learning.

You need to know grammar because computers get it wrong sometimes.

Style It Right: MLA, AP, Chicago

Does your site capitalize things the MLA or AP way? Or do you do something else?

Consistency is key online, and style guys help with that. Some style guides capitalize “with” and “from,” while others don’t. If you sometimes do and sometimes don’t, the inconsistency could make you look unprofessional.

SEO Is the Boss

If you want your hard work to be seen online and rank higher on search engines, you need some knowledge about SEO.

There’s a rhyme and reason to Google rank results. If you do your research and play by the rules, you’ll get more viewers on your site and turn into more customers.

Consider Time and Effort

When deciding whether to hire a writer or do it all yourself, it all boils down to time, effort, and whether the reward is worth the work.

Writing takes a lot of time, especially if you want to post in-depth articles or post several times each week. Do you have that kind of time to spare? Will it get in the way of other business duties?

How long it takes to write a blog post, newsletter, web page, or other content will depend on several factors, so let’s take a look at them.

Prep Time

You must prepare if you want to write well. Prepping can include:

This certainly isn’t a full list of prep work since it varies between projects.

Typing Speed

Do you peck at the keyboard with two fingers, or can you type 100+ words per minute? Your typing speed will affect how long it takes you to create content.

I type at least 75 words per minute according to typing speed tests. This blog post is about 2,000 words long. If I typed 75 words per minute, then it would take me about half an hour. (Theoretically, at least.)

Writing It Out

I don’t see writing as the same thing as typing. Typing is a tool we use to create, and writing is the act of creating.

The writing process slows down my typing abilities. Sometimes, I have to stop and think to process the thoughts in my brain. Other times, I stop and look for resources or fact-check myself to make sure I’m not lying through my fingers.

Every writer has a different writing process tailored to their brains. If you’re new to writing, expect your process to be slow,  especially if you’re working on a long piece like this one.

Editing the Mess

Even great writers have to edit their work; the first version is never the published version. Editing may take longer than writing if you need to rewrite parts of your text. To edit well, you’ll need to slow down and pay attention to everything to ensure you’re not missing anything.

Formatting Just Right

Depending on your website, formatting everything to be just so could be a bit of a headache. You also need to make sure it matches with the rest of your website to ensure you maintain professionalism.

Double-Checking (for the Third Time)

Is everything spelled correctly? Are your titles appropriately capitalized? Are all your links working correctly and linking to the correct pages?

I like to step away from my work for at least a day if I have the time. It’s easy to overlook mistakes after looking at the same words for hours.

Is Paying a Writer Worth It?

Writing is a time-consuming service writers will certainly charge for. As a consumer, it’s up to you if the service is worth the price.

In exchange for money, you receive well-written content optimized for search engines. You don’t have to dedicate evenings and weekends to writing something that may not perform as well as you’d hoped.

Every writer prices their services differently. Before you choose a writer, research them well, look at their portfolio, and decide if you like what they see.

Don’t Fret—KB Freelance Writing Is Here

Should you hire a freelance writer? Or is it something you can handle yourself?

Now that you know everything that goes into writing for your website, you can make the judgment call. You’re well aware that writing something isn’t just writing. It may seem like something everyone can do, but it really isn’t.

If the thought of writing everything yourself feels daunting, don’t worry about it. I’m here to help. I offer writing services for any content you need for your website.

Get in touch with me today, and let’s discuss your next project!