Well! My
last post got some feedback - not all of it positive. Apparently I came off as
"cocky." I expect my assertion that writers deserve to be paid real
money and not scraps was to blame, or my failure to show "gratitude"
for being paid at all, as someone suggested. Which springs from the exact
attitude I decried, that writing and other commercial arts don't count as real
labor.
But
rather than dwell on the negativity, or take snarky shots, I'm going to put on
my client hat - which I do wear from time to time. I hire people too, after
all, not just designers or contractors, but other writers for various projects.
And like many clients, I've been burned. Writers who failed to make deadlines,
failed to show up at all, failed to deliver work that looked anything like the
specs requested - it's happened enough that I understand where the Flaky
Creative stereotype comes from. So I get why some people only want to pay some
creatives a pittance.
To make a few points on getting your money's worth from your writer:
- Look at your marketing as an investment, not an expense. You're not throwing away money when you hire someone to write a press release or case study or web site - you're investing a small amount of money that will be paid back many times over in sales.
- Realize that saving two hundred dollars by hiring a mediocre writer over a good writer is a short-sighted business decision. Just as good content makes money for you, bad content loses money.
- On that note, don't get hung up on the hourly wage. This is the element that sticks in the craw of most clients - namely because it's sometimes higher than their hourly wage. Leaving aside the obvious compensation package comparisons, consider that a good writer will often work more quickly than the cheaper writer and need less hand-holding and review cycles. The higher hourly wage writer may end up costing less.
- If your cash flow is tight, be strategic. Figure out the priority collateral and don't be shy about repurposing content. (But do be aware of the difference in web writing and print writing if you do that.) If you tell your writer you can't afford as many projects as you need, the writer might work out a volume discount with you or figure out ways to maximize the impact of the collateral you do produce. A few smart pieces are better than multiple clunkers.
- If you have a decent wordsmith in the office, have them take a stab at the work and then hire an editor. Mind you, this works only when the writing is decent. It's faster to edit good work than it is to write it; but it is faster to write from scratch than it is to edit badly written work.
- If you have a major project that is so critical you're nervous about entrusting it to a freelancer's hands, test-drive them first. Have them do a small project or two, and see if they're prompt and pleasant to work with and can hit the target without multiple phone calls and corrections. It's normal (and smart) to be wary of spending six thousand dollars on an unknown.
- Understand that your writer doesn't just sit down at a laptop and start typing. There is competitive research to do, background reading, studying your style guide, lexicon and branding. There is concepting time. There are revisions. It's not as simple as "You can write 700 words in an hour, right?" which is the kind of thing a surprising number of people say when discussing project fees.
- Lastly, if you come upon a writer who claims she can deliver a compelling, high-performing project for a tenth of what other writers would charge - ask yourself why she's leaving money on the table. Plenty of creatives have great recommendations on LinkedIn (from friends) and slick pieces in their portfolio (edited, polished or even created by someone else.) But if they're charging bargain-basement rates, it's a pretty accurate sign that they aren't good enough to compete with the real talent.
And
there you have it - my cocky advice on hiring freelance writers.
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