How to Outsource Writing Services to Freelancers

One of the most exciting things about freelancing is that it has a low barrier to entry.  

While that’s great for aspiring freelancers, it makes it tricky for a business to find the most cost-effective option.  

You can either post a job and receive thousands of irrelevant applications in your inbox.  

Or, you can outsource writing services using the tried and tested method we’re going to talk about in this article.  

We’ll also tell you about the best online resource where you can outsource writing services cost-effectively.  

Let’s start talking.  

When Should You Outsource Writing Services?

There can be multiple reasons why would you outsource writing services to a freelancer.  

You’re Too Busy  

You might be a great writer and have been creating your own content for quite a while.  

But, there comes a time when you need to set your priorities as a business owner.  

Smart business owners outsource the tasks that can be effectively outsourced.  

If you are one of those, you’re probably too busy to write your own content.  

You Don’t Like It

Another reason why you might outsource writing services is that you simply hate writing. If writing is not for you, and you don’t enjoy it, you can’t get better at it.  

Your Industry Requires Topic Expertise

Maybe you aren’t too busy and love creating your own content, but you are not an expert in your niche.  

There are a few industries where you simply can’t give advice to people.  

For instance, if your content revolves around medical topics, you’d be better off working with the subject matter expert.  

That said, the number of industries that require subject matter experts is quite low.

You Can Invest  

The fourth reason to outsource content creation is that you have the budget to do so.

For instance, let’s say you already have a blog that’s generating a decent monthly income.  

What you can do is, take that profit and invest it in a professional writer.  

That’s blog expansion tactic 101.  

Benefits of Hiring a Freelance Writer

So, by now, you might have a solid reason to outsource writing services.  

But, hiring a freelance writer isn’t the only option; you could try hiring an agency.

Or, maybe you have the budget to rent office space and want to hire in-house writers?

While both of those options can be great, they aren’t the most cost-effective ones.  

On the flip side, outsourcing writing services to freelance writers come with a bunch of benefits you can’t ignore.  

It’s Cheaper

Working with freelance writers is the most cost-effective option if you know where to find the right one for your business.  

By contrast, when you hire an in-house writer, you have to pay for the physical office and monthly pay. Agencies don’t come cheap, too.  

Offers Hire & Fire Flexibility  

You typically don’t have a binding contract with a freelance writer, so you can opt-out of the partnership any time you want.  

Plus, hiring a freelancer is relatively easier and hassle-free.  

Flexible Payment Options

You can pay a freelancer on a per-article basis. So, no matter how much time they take to write a piece of content, you pay a fixed amount.  

Hire As Many As Needed

You also don’t have to rely on a single freelance writer at a time. You can hire as many as you want and publish a lot of content in no time.  

Diverse Viewpoints and Writing Style

By working with multiple freelance writers, you can get a diverse viewpoints and writing styles.  

This makes your content more exciting and unpredictable.  

A Lot of Options

There is no dearth of freelance writers looking to close their next client.  

While that can make choosing the right one a bit tricky, you’d never again have to depend on a single resource.  

But, of course, outsourcing writing services to freelance writers isn’t always a smooth sail.  

You might have to face some challenges like freelance writers disappearing on you, or they might not be as loyal to your brand as an in-house writer.  

But, all in all, the benefits of outsourcing writing services to freelancers outweigh the drawbacks by far.  

And, that’s true for new as well as established businesses.  

With all that out of the way, let’s see how you can get started with content outsourcing.  

How to Outsource Writing Services?

Before you get in touch with prospective writers, ask yourself a few questions to identify your needs and wants.  

What Type of Writer Do You Want?

One of the first things you need to ask yourself is what type of writer is suitable for your business.  

For instance, is the nature of your topics technical, or do you want a copywriter to help you sell your products?

Or, maybe you need a journalist to represent your company in media outlets?

Getting a journalist to write sales copy for your e-commerce product isn’t going to help your marketing goals.  

Or, asking a copywriter to report news won’t bring the desired results.

So, before you even get in touch with a writer, it’s important that you’re clear about what you want.  

Here are a few more questions that can help you hire the right talent for your business:

What kind of content do you want to create?  

Do you want to produce engaging long-form blog posts or are you doing interview pieces?

Or, maybe you are considering updating your existing content for now?

Do You Need a Subject Matter Expert?

This one is important. Generally, the opinion of a subject matter expert carries extra weight, and rightly so.  

Google also takes domain expertise as an important factor while ranking a piece of content.    

That might also have to do with discouraging non-experts to offer advice to the public on sensitive subjects like health and finances.  

That’s what Google’s “Your Money or Your Life” update addresses.  

The point is: If you think your content can impact people’s health, finances, or life in general, it’s a better idea to stick with a subject matter expert.  

Typically, you’d have to pay more to a writer that has more industry knowledge.  

What’s Your Budget?

Generally, your per-article budget will determine the type of writer and quality of that piece of content.  

For instance, if you want someone with 5 years of writing experience in a particular industry, you’ll have to pay accordingly.  

On the flip side, you could try your luck on a beginner writer and pay less. And, because you aren’t paying a lot, there would be a minimum risk.  

Plus, who knows; you might get a great writer after trying out a few newbies.  

Your answers to all those questions will affect the whole hiring process, including:

• What places do you look into
• Your copy in the job listing  

You don’t want to rush into the hiring process, though.  

Just remember that working with the right talent is important, otherwise, you may have to start from scratch.  

Prepare a Listing  

This is crucial if you don’t want to go through a long list of unrelated applications or pitches.

Providing clear instructions right off the bat will help you filter out a lot of applicants that you’d never eventually hire anyway.  

Structure your listing so that it only attracts the right kind of freelance writers; the ones that can help you move the needle for your business cost-effectively.  

Your goal here is to:

• Discourage low-quality freelance writers from applying
• Attract the right ones  

Provide Clear Instructions

In order to make your listing attractive to high-quality writers, you need to be specific about your requirements.  

Tell them how they should apply. Don’t hesitate to ask any number of questions you think are relevant.  

For instance, you might want to know how much SEO knowledge a prospect has.  

Don’t worry if you have to ask multiple questions. It’ll dissuade the ones that aren’t taking the job seriously.    

Here are a few things to ask in a job listing. Or, maybe when you are communicating with them before you place an order with them?

Ask them:

Which industry blogs they read or like: This can help you gauge their industry knowledge.  

If they’ve ever written a guest post on any one of them: It’s a green signal when someone has already written a blog post on a popular industry blog.  

For a link to their portfolio or personal blog: This will tell you if they’ve worked with other relevant clients in the past.  

A well-managed personal blog would mean they like to keep things professional.  

How experienced they are in writing content in your industry: Generally, more experience means higher quality and price.  

What do they think about your business blog: This can be a tricky one, but it doesn’t have to be a deal-breaker.  

If they point out genuine flaws or potential improvements, it’s a good sign. However, the criticism should make sense.  

By asking all those questions, you’ll be repelling the lazy, non-serious writers right from the word go.  

Only the ones that are genuinely interested in working with you will answer those questions.  

You want the ones that carefully read your instructions and follow them.  

Once you connect with the right candidates, you want to give them a good reason to work with you.  

Now, if you are trying to outsource writing services on a freelance platform like Legiit, you won’t have to offer a package.  

They’d already have their pricing set up.

Red Flags to Look For

We’ve talked about the things you should be looking at before hiring a freelance writer.  

Let’s talk about some potential deal-breakers.  

They Don’t Ask Questions

An experienced writer would want to know a few important things about your business before agreeing to work with you.  

For instance, they would ask about your target audience and brand voice/tone. They’d want to have a look at your website to understand your business.  

In addition to that, consider it a red flag if they don’t ask for specifics about your project.  

This includes the pay rate, deadline, word count limits, and any other requirements.  

So, in addition to getting answers from them, you want to give them a chance to ask questions, too.  

They Don’t Provide Work Samples

Experienced writer is always ready to share their work samples. They know it’s one of the primary requirements.  

So, it’s a red flag when a potential writer isn’t willing to share their past work.    

It could imply that:

• They don’t have the experience  
• They aren’t confident about the quality of their work

They Have No Reviews  

This isn’t necessarily a red flag, but positive client testimonials can tell a lot about a writer, especially the long, detailed ones.    

Freelance platforms like Legiit encourage buyers to leave honest reviews about the services they use.  

If someone doesn’t have any reviews, it could mean they don’t have enough experience.  

Their Content Has Mistakes

This is one of the more obvious red flags. You don’t want below-par content even if you’re getting it cheap.  

Spelling and grammatical mistakes tell you that the writer isn’t professional and doesn’t take their client’s work seriously.  

They Use Spinners or AI Writers

Spinners are online tools that take an existing article, change the wording a little bit, and reproduce something similar.  

Obviously, you don’t want that for your blog; it’s the easiest and fastest way to ruin any content-based business.  

Thankfully, it’s pretty easy to identify an article that’s written by a spinner. The red flag? When you see a few words or sentences that don’t make any sense  

They Overpromise

If someone is offering a “high-quality” piece of content at a ridiculously low price, more often than not, it’s too good to be true.  

See, beginner freelance writers that have zero experience, try to get their foot in the door by offering such rates.  

It’s good to help someone get started, but not at the expense of your business.  

Where to Outsource Writing Services?

Now that you know how to approach the hiring process, it’s time to look for writers in the right places.  

One way would be to join industry-relevant Facebook groups and post your listing.  

However, that’s not the ideal way to go, especially because there’s no intermediary.  

So, the whole responsibility of hiring falls on your shoulders in case anything goes south.  

You could go to any freelance marketplace and pay an unreasonable service fee every time you purchase a service.  

That’s just going to further add to your expenses.  

What if we told you that you can hire pro writers that know SEO on a top freelance platform without having to pay a service fee?

Sounds too good to be true? It’s not!

What’s the Best Place to Outsource Writing Services?

Legiit is the fastest-growing freelance marketplace for a good reason; it lets people purchase freelance services at zero service charges.  

You heard that right!

Here is how it works on Legiit:

• You find the right talent, for instance, an experienced writer that knows your industry
• You place your order  
• You pay for the piece of content you get  

And, because Legiit runs on a powerful review and rating system, sellers do their best to provide industry-leading services at affordable costs.  

Moreover, the freelance platform hosts multiple safe and secure payment gateways, including PayPal, Payoneer, and even Skrill.  

So, your funds are always in safe hands.  

Let’s talk about the best writing services on Legiit.

Seoamber

The reviews, ratings, and portfolio of writers on Legiit speak for themselves. Plus, you don’t have to pay through the nose to get a 500-word blog post; it’s just $15.  

Remember, we are talking about a piece of content that’s optimized for search engines and readers.  

And, don’t forget that there are no service charges on your end.  

Get in touch with the seller here!  

Deboxe

Do you regularly find yourself looking for writers that know how to keep prospects hooked with long-form content?

This service might be it!

Long-form blog posts tend to rank higher on search engines like Google. Plus, they can add a lot of value to your prospects’ lives, which helps you build your brand.  

The blog post writing service can take care of all your blogging needs cost-effectively.  

For instance, you can get them to write a 2000-word, attention-grabbing, SEO-friendly blog post for just $78.  

Plus, it pays to work with a writer who knows how to rank your content on search engines like Google.  

Get in touch with the writer here!

BlogCave

If you are constantly in need of 500-word attention-grabbers, you need to try this service out right now!

All you’d have to do is provide your target keyword/topic and he’ll take care of the rest.  

Have multiple topics and want to outsource all of them at once? BlogCave’s Combo-10 and Combo-5 deals are for you.  

Want to try his service? Get in touch here!

Textthoughts

You’d be amazed at how cost-effective this writing service is.  

How would you like to get 3000 words for just $35, and that too, SEO-friendly?

Here is something interesting: You don’t have to hire him for a single 3000-word blog post either. Have a bunch of 500-word articles to be written?  

Hire him for $35 and get 6 of them done (3000 words)!

Have any questions? Get in touch with Textthoughts here!

Now, that was just the tip of the iceberg.  

There are tons of other seasoned writers on Legiit that you might like to work with.  

Explore for yourself here!

Things to Do After You Find a Good Writer

Whether it’s a service or a product, making an investment decision can be a little tricky.  

Hiring a freelance writer isn’t much different.  

Let’s talk about the things you could do to make this decision well informed.

Get Started with a Test Article

A test article shouldn’t mean free content.  

You can get a good idea about the writing style and quality of a writer just by seeing their past work samples.  

But, if you think they haven’t done something related, you can always ask them to write a short paid test sample for you.  

Providing Instructions

Let’s say you get someone to write a sample piece for you and like it, too.  

You want to hire them to write your main content regularly.  

To make sure you both are on the same page right off the bat, provide clear, detailed instructions.  

What you can do is, create a detailed guideline once and ask them to follow it for every future article.  

Google Docs is a good option as you can share a live link with them.  

Keep Them Motivated

Now, freelance writers may not be your permanent employees, but it shouldn’t mean you can’t work with them for the long term.  

You might already know by now how tricky it could be to hire the right talent.  

So, once you find the one that can really help your business, don’t let them go.    

Of course, monetary benefits would be at the top. But, they are not the only motivations.  

Here are a few tips:

• Praise their work  
• Share your progress with them. It’ll make them feel important  
• Treat them like they are a part of your team  
• Help them improve  

Final Thoughts

This was all about how to outsource writing services.  

Hiring a freelance writer doesn’t have to be a pain in the neck.

All you need to do is:

• Look for them in the right place (Hint: Legiit.com)
• Ask them the right questions

That’s it! You can outsource as much content as you want at great rates.

Still haven’t checked our writing services? Have a look now!