
You have a business.
You have a blog.
BUT…
You don’t post on your blog because you just don’t know what content to create or how to add that into your ever-expanding to-do list for your business. As an entrepreneur, you have a lot on your plate and you just don’t see how you can fit writing a blog post into your schedule.
I mean, let’s face it, blogging or writing, in general, isn’t your strong suit and you just want to avoid it at all costs so that is what you do. You decide that you don’t need a blog that badly and just do the things that you love to do in your business.
BENEFITS OF BLOGGING FOR YOUR BUSINESS
However, there are so many benefits to blogging for your business.
1| Blogging helps to establish you as an expert.
2| Blogging helps your SEO by consistently adding new and fresh content to your website.
3| Blogging helps to create a connection to your ideal client.
4| Blogging helps you to provide value to your existing client and to future clients.
That is just a small sample of the benefits of blogging for your business. You know the benefits but yet you hate blogging. The solution is to hire a freelance blogger but as you look at doing so, there seems to be an endless supply of freelancers out there and you are now more confused than ever. I want to talk about some of the most important things to know about the freelance blogging industry.
HOW DO YOU KNOW THAT YOU ARE READY TO HIRE A FREELANCE BLOGGER?
Well, you either don’t have a blog or you just don’t have time to keep your blog updated on a consistent basis. The average time that it takes to write a blog is just under 4 hours. Imagine that. 4 hours per blog post. Let’s say that you want to write 2 blog posts per week. 8 hours of your time per week is just spent on creating 2 blog posts for your content. That is 1 FULL workday to get 2 pieces of content.
That time doesn’t even include creating the graphics that you need for that blog post. It doesn’t include the promotion of that blog post. Those 8 hours are just spent writing those 2 blog posts and that is it. Think of what else you could do with those 8 hours per week in your business. Oh, the possibilities.
Time is the biggest currency as an entrepreneur. We are always trying to find ways to be more efficient and save ourselves time. Freelance bloggers do that for you when it comes to your content.
QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE YOU HIRE A FREELANCE BLOGGER
With there being such an endless supply of freelancers out there, how do you know that you are hiring the right one for you. Here are a few questions to ask yourself before you even begin the process of finding the freelance blogger for your business.
1| How many times a week are you going to want them to post new content to your blog? This question is super important to know ahead of time. You want to be clear with them when you interview them. Having a plan in place is important.
2| What is my budget? This is an important question to know before you go into meeting with a freelance blogger. Knowing what your budget is when it comes to freelancing allows you to set boundaries and know what you want ahead of time.
3| Why am I hiring a freelance blogger? Knowing the reasons behind why you are hiring help is always a great thing to ask yourself. These reasons will be different for everyone.
4| What are my expectations for a freelance blogger? Make a list of what your expectations are for the freelance blogger you are going to hire. Bring this list to the interview with them so that you can discuss everything that you have on the list.
5| What are important qualities for a freelance blogger to have? Get clear on these qualities. Knowing these ahead of time will help ensure that you pick the right freelance blogger for you and your business.
QUESTIONS TO ASK DURING THE FREELANCE BLOGGING INTERVIEW
Now that you answered the 5 questions above, you are feeling confident and ready to pick a freelance blogger that is going to help you take your business blog to the next level. Before setting up interviews, you want to make sure that you have a list of questions to ask them ahead of time. This will ensure that you aren’t forgetting important questions during the interview process.
1| Why did you start freelance blogging? I think this is a great question to start with. It gets them talking about themselves and why blogging is important to them. You will also be able to hear and see the passion that they have when it comes to freelancing.
2| Do you have a specific niche that you work with? Yes most freelancers are willing to work with any clients but sometimes there are specific niches that they work with. I prefer to work with women entrepreneurs in the self-care and self-love industries.
3| How long have you been freelance blogging for? Get to know what their experience is with freelance blogging but more than that, ask them how long they have been blogging for. Most freelance bloggers have been blogging longer for themselves than what they have been doing as a freelancer.
4| What impact do you see creating with my brand? This will show you if the freelancer has taken the time to learn about you and your business. You want someone who is going to showcase your brand, your personality and your business.
5| What do you need from me in terms of support? Knowing what their expectations are from you will help to create boundaries in this business relationship.
6| How many hours a week can you dedicate to blogging for my business? Knowing how much time they have for your business will help you know if what you are needing and what they can give to you are a match.
7| Are there other services that you offer? This is a great question to ask. For example, I offer freelance blogging services but I also offer graphic design, scheduling the blog posts and helping to create social media posts based on your blogging content.
8| How do you research for content that you don’t know fully? This is a great way to get a sneak peek into how they conduct their business and how they work.
9| How many drafts do you offer per blog post? You want to know how many times they will rewrite your blog post if you are not happy. I stick with 1 revision per blog post. This helps to keep us on time when it comes to getting blog posts to you.
10| What is the turnaround time for the first draft? You will want to discuss what your content plan is going to be. Your freelance blogger may even be able to help you with creating that content plan. I know that I will help if you need it.
These are just a few of the questions to ask when you are interviewing a freelance blogger to help with your business blogging. If you are looking for more questions to ask, here is a workbook that is filled with questions to ask during your interviews.
MORE QUESTIONS ANSWERED ABOUT FREELANCE BLOGGERS
Here are some questions that I am asked often about freelance blogging. I hope these questions will help you decide who, when and how to hire a freelance blogger.
1| What should I expect to pay a freelance blogger? The range of pricing for freelance blogging is HUGE. You can pay anywhere from $25-$250. This is why knowing your budget beforehand is important. You also have to remember that you get what you pay for. This means you can get a blog post for $25 but don’t expect it to be the highest quality out there. Personally I charge $1100 for 5 blog posts. This equals to $220 per blog post. You have to remember that you are paying for their time and expertise. So that $220 per blog post that I charge is covering up to 4 hours of writing time plus creating graphics for that post.
2| Should you hire a freelance blogger that is an SEO expert? This is where the big difference in freelance blogging and freelance writing comes in. I wouldn’t say that they need to be an SEO expert to be a freelance blogger but they need to know the important SEO features for on-page SEO. That is the SEO that will be in your blog post itself. You want to ensure that they know how to do that before you hire them.
3| Where can you find freelance bloggers? There are so many different websites that you can go to to hire a freelance blogger. Just to name a few you have Upwork, Freelancer, and Fiverr. I would recommend that you ask in local FB groups to see if there is anyone local that does freelance blogging. This is a great way to support a local small business.
4| Should my freelance blogger work on their own or under my supervision? I think at the beginning of any working relationship, you will want them to work under your supervision but I think as time goes on and if they are a great fit for your company, they can begin to work without you supervising them. This will come down to how comfortable you are with them.
5| Who owns the work when it comes to the finished blog posts? A freelance blogger works for you. That means that their name will not be attached to the work and it is yours to use. Freelance blogging for your website is different from a guest blog post. You will want to make sure that you discuss if they can use your blog post as part of their portfolio.
Hiring a professional blogger can feel daunting but they are there to help you grow your business. I hope this blog post helped you to figure out if you are ready to hire a freelance blogger. They can truly help take your blog to the next level. The most important thing to remember is to know expectations for both sides. This will help to create a working partnership where everyone is happy and everyone is benefiting.
Samantha Laycock is a blogging coach for women and a freelance blogger for female entrepreneurs in the self-care industry. She is a HUGE self-care and self-love advocate, sexual assault survivor, mother of 3, a wife of 14 years, and a believer in the power of sharing your story. You can find her on Instagram and Facebook as @samanthalaycockblogging and on Pinterest as @samanthalaycockblogger
