Five Qualities To Look For In Content Writers
Content marketing has emerged as one of the most popular forms of marketing in the modern economy. This trend sort of came out of nowhere, making a huge splash and gaining a ton of traction over the past 5-8 years specifically. Perhaps this is partially due to the timeline of the first social medias and social-media influencers. No matter how we got here though, there are now entire digital empires built on this idea that content marketing is a powerful medium and here to stay as a marketing best-practice. Gary Vaynerchuck is even credited with coining the phrase, “content is king.” This of course refers to the booming business he’s built as an entrepreneur using content-marketing as his main strategy.
With all the rave surrounding content marketing, content-writers have started to see a much higher-demand than in years past. Of course writing has always had its place in the professional world, from consultants writing briefs, to marketing professionals coming up with ad-copy, and even lawyers writing dissertations or scientists composing research papers. Journalism, too, of course, is another classic example of how valuable writing can be in the professional world.
More recently, though, content writers are being sought by all sorts of companies, for a whole array of different roles and responsibilities. These roles range from social-media writers, to in-house bloggers, and a wide variety of other content-based roles. Hiring a content writer for your needs is easy enough if you know what to look for in candidates.
Creative Processing and Ability
To put it simply, writing is still an art form. This is often forgotten in the context of ‘professional’ writing or writing for brands, though. HR professionals, recruiters, and other organizational representatives need to understand that writing is a creative art form. As such, many talented writers carry with them creative personalities. This doesn’t sound like breaking news, and it shouldn’t be, but it is often overlooked and forgotten during the hiring and interview process.
Creative people typically operate with their right brain, more than their left. Of course, everyone is unique and organizations should take the time to get to know and learn about all of their candidates individually, but having a creative personality and exhibiting out-of-the-box-thinking, are both good indications of some creative talent.
Creative processing is an important skill for content writers to possess as they’re often tasked with presenting information in new and engaging ways.
Information Absorption
Being a quick-learner is another extremely helpful trait for content writers to possess. Most content writers today are going to be tasked with working on a wide array of projects and accounts all at the same time. Typically, good content writers have an agile mind and are able to shift focus from one topic or concept to another with little or no trouble.
Additionally, content writers are going to be faced with rush-deadlines, and assignments that come with very little direction. The ability to conduct independent research, vet resources, and verify valid information is the difference between a good content writer and a great one.
Curiosity
Curiosity may have killed the cat, but it only made the content writer better. This plays back into being a good researcher and a quick-learner as well. Curious content writers will dig a layer deeper than the surface-level information in order to create truly high-quality and valuable content.
The more curious a content writer is, the more base-knowledge they’ll acquire which will only help them get a faster start on assignments even in fields they’ve only encountered once or twice.
Collaborative and Flexible
Collaboration is an important part in any working environment these days. It’s no different in the realm of content writers. Good content writers are able to take direction, listen to and implement feedback, and offer flexibility on their end.
It’s important to keep in mind though that collaboration and flexibility are two-way streets. Good content writers are willing to be flexible, understanding, and can collaborate with just about anyone. However, quality writers, like any other quality employee, will also be able to recognize unfavorable working environments. Attracting quality content writers somewhat hinges on an attractive working environment.
Self-Managed and Organized
Finally, when it comes to content-writing there are a lot of moving pieces. There are different deadlines that need to be hit, various clients to serve simultaneously, and SEO best-practices to continually learn about and implement.
High quality content writers need to be self-organized at least to some degree. This helps in managing client deadlines and keeping projects on track. Additionally, and especially in the context of freelance writing, content writers have to be self-managed and have a sense of internal motivation.
Oftentimes, content writers are given their assignments and their deadlines, and then are left to their own devices. Writers without an internal fire to stay motivated and on top of assignments are prone to falling behind schedule, and losing track of deadlines completely.
Hiring quality content writers is something Kevin Miller knows quite a bit about as CEO of GR0. If you’re looking for content writers and don’t know where to start, it might not hurt to trust an expert.
