The Definitive Guide to Onboarding Content Writers

Finding and onboarding content writers is a complex process that requires time, resources, and patience. It’s important to ensure the writers you hire are properly trained to create high-quality content for your marketing campaigns. This article will cover all of the steps involved in identifying, training, and onboarding content writers while setting expectations and managing performance so they can produce results. 

From learning how to assess their skillsets accurately to rewarding successful work, we’ll explore each step needed when it comes to finding talented individuals who understand SEO best practices as well as how essential it is for them to deliver quality copywriting services on schedule.

Why Do So Many Writers Create Poor Content?

Before jumping into how to onboard the right content writers for your team, let’s first go through why many contents create poor and unsatisfactory content. There are several reasons why this occurs, and understanding them can help you make better content in the future.

Lack of Training

Many writers don’t have the skillset necessary to craft high-quality pieces. Without proper training and guidance from an experienced editor or mentor, they may struggle with grammar, syntax, punctuation, and other elements that make up a well-written article.

Inadequate Research

It takes time and effort to research topics thoroughly before writing about them. However, some writers fail to put in the necessary legwork when creating their content. This leads to shallow pieces that lack substance and accuracy – two important components of any successful article.

Unclear Instructions

If your instructions aren’t clear enough or if there isn’t enough information provided by the client/editor, then it will be difficult for a writer to deliver what is expected of them without further clarification or directions from someone else who has more knowledge on the subject matter at hand.

Time Constraints

Writers often find themselves under pressure due to tight deadlines, which can lead them down a path of cutting corners when it comes to researching their topic properly or double-checking their work for errors before submitting it for review/publication – both are essential steps in producing quality content quickly but efficiently as possible within given time frames.

Poor Writing Habits

Bad habits, such as relying too heavily on spellcheckers instead of proofreading manually (which helps catch typos), not taking breaks between drafts (which helps improve clarity), or simply rushing through projects without giving much thought to how each sentence flows together all contribute towards poor quality writing output over time if not addressed promptly by editors/mentors, etc.

Next up, let’s see how you can onboard writers for some effective results. 

How to onboard the right content writers for your team?

Here’s a step-by-step guide for onboarding content writers for your team. 

Step #1: Identifying Content Writers

Finding the right content writers for your business can be a daunting task. With so many options available, it’s important to take the time to find someone who is qualified and experienced in writing content that will help you reach your goals. 

Here are some tips on how to identify and assess potential content writers.

Before hiring any writer, research their background and experience. Look at their portfolio of work, read reviews from previous clients, and check out any awards or accolades they may have received for their writing. This will give you an idea of what kind of quality they can produce for your project.

Request samples of past work from potential writers so you can better understand their style and capabilities as a writer. Make sure these samples match up with the type of content you need them to write – if not; then this person may not be suitable for the job after all.

If possible, test out potential writers by giving them small assignments or tasks related to the type of writing you need to get done before committing long-term with them as a contractor or employees. 

This will allow you to see how well they perform under pressure and whether or not they can meet deadlines consistently without compromising quality standards set by yourself or other stakeholders involved in the project(s).

It’s also important to consider each writer’s specialties when selecting one over another; some might specialize in SEO copywriting, while others focus more on creative pieces, such as blog posts or articles about specific topics/industries, etc.

Knowing which areas each individual excels at can help narrow down your search significantly.

Finally, don’t forget to check references and reviews. Ask around within your network (or online) if anyone has had experience working with certain writers before making any decisions. This could save time and money in finding someone who is truly capable of producing high-quality work that meets expectations every single time.

Step #2: Training Content Writers

Once you have identified suitable candidates for your team of content writers, it is important to provide them with comprehensive training on how to write effective copy that meets both the company’s standards and expectations. 

This should include topics such as researching keywords related to your business or product, understanding how search engine optimization (SEO) works, crafting headlines that grab attention, creating interesting stories around products or services, using visuals like images or videos effectively, optimizing blog posts for social media sharing, following editorial guidelines set by management, and adhering to deadlines when submitting assignments.

Step #3: Make Them Familiar With Your Products or Services

When it comes to onboarding content writers, making them familiar with your products or services is a crucial step. It’s important that they understand what you’re selling and why people need it.

To ensure this, start by having your sales team pitch the product or service to the writer. This will give them an overview of your offer and how it can help customers solve their problems.

You should also provide materials such as sales presentations, landing pages, and case studies for the writer to read through. Writing a case study is another great way for them to get up-to-speed on your company’s experience in helping real customers with real issues.

Finally, make sure that you have a “crash course” about your product, service, and brand ready for new writers so they can quickly become acquainted with everything related to your business.

Overall, providing resources like these will allow them to create more accurate and effective content when promoting your company online.

Step #4: Share Examples of Content You Define as Great

When it comes to finding, training, and onboarding content writers, step four is all about setting expectations. You need to provide examples of what you consider great content so that your writers can understand the kind of work you expect from them.

First, think about the tone and style you want for your website or blog. Do you prefer a casual voice with lots of humor? Or do you prefer a more formal approach? Once you’ve determined this, look for some examples online that match your desired tone and style.

Make sure they are also in-depth enough to meet your standards.

Next, explain why these pieces are good examples for your writers to emulate. Point out specific elements, such as an interesting introduction or well-crafted transitions between paragraphs, that make the piece stand out from other similar works on the web.

Showing how different components come together will help illustrate what makes great content in general.

Finally, don’t forget to emphasize any topics or keywords related to SEO that should be included in each post when appropriate (but without compromising quality). 

Providing clear guidelines like this will ensure that every article meets both editorial and search engine requirements at once—a win-win situation!

Pro Tip: By sharing relevant samples with potential hires during their onboarding process, not only will they have a better understanding of what constitutes great content but also how their writing fits into the bigger picture.

Step #5: Setting Expectations

When it comes to setting expectations for content writers, marketers need to be clear and concise. This includes outlining deadlines, quality standards, communication protocols, and any other guidelines the writer should adhere to when creating content.

Deadlines

It is important for marketers to set realistic deadlines for their content writers. Writers should have enough time to research the topic thoroughly and create high-quality work without feeling rushed or overwhelmed by tight timelines. 

Deadlines should also be flexible in case a writer needs more time due to unexpected circumstances or changes in direction from the marketer.

Quality Standards

Marketers must also establish quality standards for their content writers. This could include requirements such as using reliable sources of information, following specific formatting guidelines, adhering to a certain word count range per article/post/etc., or incorporating keywords into the text as needed.

Communication Protocols

Establishing communication protocols between marketers and their content writers is essential for successful project collaboration. This could involve regular check-ins via email or phone calls throughout the writing process, providing feedback on drafts, responding promptly when questions arise, etc.

Eventually, depending on the project at hand, additional guidelines may need to be communicated clearly with your content writers (e.g., topics they are not allowed to write about). 

Therefore, it’s important to discuss these upfront so everyone is aware of what’s expected from them before they begin working on a project together.

Step #6: Check their performance

Measuring the performance of content writers is an important part of managing them effectively. It helps to ensure that expectations are being met and high-quality work is being produced.

One way to measure performance is through tracking the number of words written per day or week. This can help you determine if a writer is meeting their deadlines, as well as how much they are producing in terms of volume. 

Additionally, it’s important to track the quality of the writing itself by reviewing samples on a regular basis and providing feedback when necessary.

Another way to measure performance is by monitoring reader engagement with content created by your writers. This could include tracking page views, comments, shares, likes, etc., which can give you insight into how readers respond to each piece of content and which topic resonate the most with them.

Step #7: Rewarding Performance

Rewarding content writers for their hard work and dedication is an important part of keeping them motivated. 

Bonuses are a great way to reward performance, as they show that the company values its employees’ efforts. Depending on the size of the bonus, it can also be a significant financial incentive for content writers to continue producing quality work.

Another way to reward content writers is by offering additional opportunities for growth within the company. This could include promotions or special projects with higher pay rates or increased responsibility levels. 

By providing these types of incentives, companies can demonstrate that they recognize and appreciate their employees’ contributions and encourage them to stay with the organization long-term.

In addition to bonuses and career advancement opportunities, companies should also consider giving recognition awards, such as certificates or plaques, for outstanding performance in specific areas like creativity or customer service excellence. 

These awards not only serve as tangible reminders of success but also help build morale among team members who may have gone above and beyond expectations in completing tasks assigned to them.

Finally, employers need to take time out from their busy schedules to personally thank content writers when appropriate – whether through emails, phone calls, or face-to-face meetings – so that they know how much their efforts are appreciated by management and colleagues alike.

A simple ‘thank you’ goes a long way towards making employees feel valued, which ultimately leads to greater job satisfaction overall.

FAQs Related to Onboarding Content Writers

Conclusion

In conclusion, onboarding content writers is a process that requires time and effort to ensure success. It involves identifying the right people for the job, training them on your company’s standards and expectations, setting clear goals and objectives for them to follow, managing their progress throughout the onboarding period, measuring their performance against those goals, and rewarding it accordingly. 

By following these steps, you can create an effective system of onboarding content writers that will help your business reach its desired outcomes.

Are you looking for a solution to help onboard content writers and manage your content marketing and SEO? 

CurationSoft is a perfect choice. With our easy-to-use platform, we make it simple to find talented writers that fit your specific needs. Our powerful tools allow you to track progress on projects, create detailed reports in real-time, and ensure quality control with automated checks. Try out CurationSoft today – we guarantee satisfaction!