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A Few Quick Tips to Help You Find the Best Freelance Writer

Who uses a freelance writer anyway? The answer is a large number of people and organizations.

  1. Students use freelance writers when they are pressed for time, when they really dislike the topics that have been assigned for essays and papers, or when their writing skills are not good enough to get decent grades on written assignments.
  2. Entrepreneurs use freelance writers to write the content for their websites, blogs and social media pages
  3. Businesses use freelance writers on a contract basis to produce manuals, e-guides and books, news articles and press releases, and, sometimes, business proposals
  4. Non-profits use freelance writers when they need grant proposals written and do not have an on-staff person to do these well.
  5. Public figures and other famous people use freelance writers to produce their memoirs and write their speeches
  6. Career professionals use specialized freelancers to create their resumes, CV’s, and cover letters, along with their professional profiles for social media

So, Where are the Good Ones? And How Do You Find One?

As promised by the title, here are some tips for finding good freelancers. In general, anyone wanting a freelancer can begin a search on the internet. Reputable and experienced individuals and services will all have websites with portfolio samples and LinkedIn profiles. Most will also have at least a Facebook page. And as you narrow your search, Google the individual or company and read reviews of others.

  1. Students: The best place to get qualified writers to produce high quality writing is from a reputable academic writing service. To find such a service, look for the following:
  • The website is well organized and all of the text is written in proper English
  • There are samples available to read, and those samples are of good quality
  • There is a phone number for contact
  • There is personal access to the writer who will be producing the piece of writing.

 

  1. Entrepreneurs: You may find a great freelancer who works on his/her own and advertises on the web, or you may find excellent content writers through writing services that specialize in web-based writing. Here are some tips for you:
  • Ask to see samples of content that has been created by this individual or service
  • Ask for references of happy clients
  • Ask any references for the URL addresses of their sites and their blogs
  • Ask the freelancer for blog post URL’s that have a bio attached to them.

 

  1. Businesses: You can find business writers who operate as individuals, who are a part of a firm specializing in business writing, or who work for generalized writing services. In all instances, you will want to ask for the following:
  • A digital portfolio containing the freelancer’s writing of the same type you want. If you need a business plan written, reviewing someone’s news articles and press releases will tell you nothing
  • Ask for references
  • Check out the freelancer’s LinkedIn profile
  • Google the freelancer and see if there are reviews or comments on his/her work.
  • Ask colleagues you know in other businesses who they use and recommend
  • Go to online organizations of business writers and check out their reputations for high quality work
  • Get on LinkedIn and search for business writers – you’ll find thousands of them

 

  1. Non-Profits: Your task will probably be the easiest of all
  • There are grant writing organizations all over the web, as well as individual freelancers who advertise and have their own websites. Do some investigating
  • Ask for references of organizations for which the freelancer has written grants that were successful in obtaining the requested funds.
  • Ask to see a sample grant and review it carefully for structure and composition
  • The “proof” of a good grant writer is one who gets results!

 

  1. Public Figures and Private Individuals who need Speech and ghostwriters: Public figures do not need to search for freelancers. You may be one of those private individuals who has the occasional need for a report, an article or a speech.
  • Search on LinkedIn by the type of freelancer you need. Read their profiles and select a few to investigate further.
  • Get samples of previous work
  • Google the individual and read reviews of others
  • If the freelancer has a website, check it out

 

  1. Career Professionals: You will find both individual freelancers, large resume writing organizations, and writing services that offer career writing.
  • Do all of the things that have been suggested previously
  • You need to see sample resumes or CV’s related specifically to your niche and for people whose careers are similar to yours.
  • Be certain to ask for references
  • Make sure that whoever you choose sets a price up front and will commit to continue to work until the finished product is exactly what you want.