If you're planning to take your clients' small business websites in a new direction, you may be thinking about hiring a writing services company. However, with so many of them to choose from, how are you supposed to know which one to start working with? The answer is a bit complicated, as different writing services companies are, well, different. With that in mind, here are some things you need to consider before making a commitment:
Establish Your Needs
Sometimes it can be difficult to figure out exactly what you want, but you need to do this before you decide on hiring a writing service company, as some of them may not fit your needs. Are you looking for writers that can independently come up with topics and keep your blog full? Or are you willing to take the time to give them a bit of direction?
Do you need photographs, or are you planning on supplying the images? Furthermore, are you expecting an editing service to come with your writing services company, or do you plan on handling that yourself? Are you looking for a writing services company that can guide you through basic SEO, or do you already have a plan for your clients?
Once you've answered some of these questions, it's time to take a look at your shortlist and start narrowing things down.
Related: Making SEO Content Writing Services Work For You
How Are You Matched?
Another thing you need to keep in mind is that different writing services companies will have a different way of matching you with writers. Just because a certain company has more writers doesn't necessarily mean the quality of their writing is better and doesn't necessarily mean you'll be able to establish a larger team that you can work with. Read the testimonials on their website and their FAQ to see how people who have worked with this writing services company have found the perfect copywriter for them. Then, go ahead and look for less-biased reviews online.
If you feel like you can't get enough information on how to work with the writing services company, but you've seen good reviews, you might want to reach out to them. This serves two ends: one, it gives you an idea of how responsive the company is to your needs, and two, it will get you more information on them.
How are Deadlines Handled?
Every agency needs to make sure that their content is being delivered in a timely manner. At the same time, you need to understand that your writers may have things come up that occasionally make it difficult to meet deadlines.
Because of this, you should look into how the writing services company handles deadlines, and what kind of consequences there are for missed deadlines. If a writer misses too many, will they continue to be part of the writing services company's team? Also, is there a way for the writer to contact you quickly and efficiently if something has come up, so that the least amount of your time is wasted?
These are all basic things you should know before you decide to work with any writing services company.
Related: Do You Really Have Time To Keep Up With Content? 4 Reasons to Use Professional Writing Companies
Are the Writers Knowledgeable?
If someone is going to be helping establish you in your clients' industries, it makes sense that you want a writer who understands your niches. Find out if the writing services company you're considering has a way to narrow down writers based on their levels of expertise or if there's a way to tell what kind of credentials they have. This can help you get matched with a writer or team of writers much faster, as you'll waste less time picking through those who aren't qualified for your work.
In the end, it's difficult to tell you how to choose a writing services company that will fit your needs because everyone's needs are different. However, by doing some due diligence and research, you can make sure that you don't waste time with a writing services company that's going to leave a bad taste in your mouth.
To learn more about business writing services, check out our white paper, "Don’t Hire a Content Marketing Agency Without Reading This First."
