Friday, June 6, 2014

The Secret To Finding The Perfect Freelance Copywriter

By Sally Delacruz


In any kind of business, you need to tell potential customers about your product. You do this though advertisements, brochures, your websites and other marketing materials. These all require engaging text and a good freelance copywriter is just the person to provide you with that text. However, you need to know how to find the perfect candidate.

There are several websites where you can outsource almost any kind of project to a freelancer. Freelance workers from all over the world use these sites to look for projects that they'd like to work on. The advantage for you as an employer is that you can find the best person for the job, even if that person lives in Kathmandu.

One way to get the best freelancers to respond to your advertisement is to know how to describe the project. Be clear about exactly what you want and what skills or knowledge you need the freelancer to have. If you want the text to be in a language other than English, place your advertisement in that language to ensure that those who respond really can speak, read and write the language. Also find out what market-related fees for the job would be because good freelancers won't apply for a job that pays far too little.

You'll probably be inundated with proposals, so you'll need to create a shortlist of likely candidates. Start by checking the grammar, spelling and general writing style of each proposal, because this can give you an idea of the applicant's writing abilities. Professionals will write personalized proposals rather than using a generic template and they'll usually quote within the range of the market rate. They'll also be realistic about the time they'll need for the project.

Some people only look at the nationalities of potential freelancers and base their decision on this. However, just because someone's profile says they live in an English-speaking country doesn't mean that they'll be a good writer or even speak English. There are many excellent English writers living in other countries too, from Guatemala to Thailand, and most won't mind providing you with a sample of their writing.

A step that will require some time but is essential is to look at the profiles of the possible candidates. If you can barely understand the way they describe themselves, you probably won't understand the way they describe your product either. Their portfolio may give you insight into the style in which they write while their resume should tell you more about their education, their work experience and any special expertise they might have, such as knowledge about computers.

Freelancing job sites normally allow employers to review the freelancer's work. Read some of these reviews rather than simply looking at the overall rating the person scores. The negative reviews are especially useful for identifying potential issues, such as poor communication or missed deadlines. You'll also get a sense of the freelancer's level or professionalism and their personality by reading how they react to negative reviews.

It's a gamble to use any freelancer that you haven't used before. To prevent losing too much when your choice turns out to be the wrong one, leave sufficient time for reviewing the completed project and finding ways to fix problems such as bad quality or missed deadlines. However, your gamble may also pay off in the form of a freelancer who'll be an asset to your business.




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