Hiring freelance content writers could benefit any company if both the recruiting and managing processes are handled smoothly. Professional writers can deliver you high-quality content even if they don’t attend your office each day. However, without proper management, they could remain a group of writers instead of a team – and that could be a problem.
Why is it so important to manage a team of freelance content writers in the first place?
Well, because if all content writers work for your company, not for its different branches, it’s up to the manager to ensure their writing is consistent. It’s okay for your freelance content writers to have their own voice, but if these voices and styles are too different, your content strategy might turn into a mess.
Moreover, you need to know when you are able to access your content writers if you have any questions or requests – and they need to know the same about you too. Otherwise, you might find yourself waiting for a writer to appear online and make edits that had to be done hours ago. You also need to set deadlines and monitor if these deadlines are met – and that’s where management helps too.
But though many of us know exactly why management is important this knowledge itself doesn’t help a lot. That’s why let’s be practical here and see what exactly needs to be done for effective management of your team of freelance content writers. Here are 4 tips to keep in mind.
Establish a channel of communication
If your freelance content writers have to communicate with each other, this could be done through a group chat or a group messenger (for example, Slack). If your writers have to communicate with you only, a messenger of your preference would be enough.
Either way, communicating via chat or messenger would be much quicker than via email. You won’t need to guess whether the writer is online or not – you’ll simply see it by their status.
Define the style
This is especially important if all the content writers work for one website or blog. While the texts themselves could have a different voice, the formatting of these texts has to remain consistent – and that’s what the style sheet helps with.
Be sure to write all the important details there, from images and their formatting to the size of the text and type of the font (if this matters, of course). Then ask each writer to confirm that they received and read the guidelines.
Improve the process
Even if all the important things were discussed at first, there’s still a chance you might experience some troubles with certain stages of the management process later. It’s okay to improve the process, adjusting it according to the situation. However, you need to know what exactly needs to be improved in order to do that as effectively as possible.
That’s why you need to ask your writers for feedback from time to time. This could be done in many different ways: you could send them a survey each month, you can provide a form allowing them to send anonymous feedback, or you can ask each one of them personally. Choose the option that appeals to you the most. But don’t forget: if you want your writers to be honest with you, you have to show them that their opinion matters and is appreciated. Using an-online project management software, such as Wrike, can help to organize the whole work process.
Hiring freelance content writers could benefit your company a lot. You’ll be able to build a team of professionals with different backgrounds and expertise and you can choose the best and the most productive workers. Sure, the process itself might not be easy, just as the management process that follows. However, if you work hard and continue to improve every part of the process, soon you’ll be able to enjoy managing an effective team of professional writers without too much effort!
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Bio: Christina Battons I am a web content writer and blogger from LA and a graduate of the University of Southern California. Currently, I write for various blogs like ProWritersCenter or similar. I am interested in topics about writing, motivation, etc. My writing I use as a tool to further the education of others. You can connect with me through Twitter . Just drop me a line, I’ll be happy to hear you.
