As every content marketer knows, simply creating content can be the hardest part about content marketing. Not only is it a lot of work to maintain a consistent blogging schedule, but you must also create all of the advanced content, landing pages, and promotional emails that accompany it. That being said, if your company is ready to commit to content marketing, you have to make sure you’re also committed to following a dedicated content creation strategy. And if you don’t have the right team in place to accomplish that, you won’t be successful – plain and simple.
For businesses that are just getting into content marketing, one of their biggest challenges is often the lack of copywriters available to write blogs and create other high-quality content. Because traditional marketing strategies didn’t put an emphasis on creating original content, businesses didn’t feel required to keep a dedicated writer on staff. However, now, as the strategies shift and the focus becomes creating original content, businesses are stuck up a creek without a paddle and searching for solutions. And we’re not just talking about finding people who can write; we’re talking about finding people who can create content that specifically drives your audience to convert on youroffers.
Whether you’re looking to take care of your content creation duties in-house or through a third-party (e.g., a marketing agency), you need to make sure you’re choosing the right candidate. Mediocre content won’t help you stand out from the competition, so it’s important that your copywriters are anything but mediocre. To help you hire the perfect copywriting candidate for your content creation team, here are 8 questions you should ask when interviewing them:
“What can you tell me about our company?”
Though this might seem like a standard interview question to ask any new job candidate, it’s especially important for copywriters. Not only will it help you gauge their interest in the position, but it will also give you clues on what type of writer they are. You’ll want an inquisitive writer who conducts backgrounding and research before submitting any work, and this is a great way to see how thorough they are. You can also take this time to measure their copywriting proficiency. Ask them how they would describe your brand’s tone/voice, and also ask them who they think your target audience is. This should help you wean out the clueless writers from the ones who really know their stuff.
“What’s the difference between a _______ and a ________ ?”
In order to find out if your candidate is familiar with your industry’s specific jargon, you should ask them a question about some specific industry terms. You can’t be considered a thought leader if you don’t know what you’re talking about, so it’s important that your writers have a firm grasp on the subject matter at hand.
“Are you familiar with ___________’s blog/website?”
When looking for a copywriter with experience working in your specific industry, make sure you ask them if they’re familiar with some of the popular publications and authors within your industry. Not only will this let you know if they stay up-to-date on the latest industry happenings, but you can also use it as a benchmark to explain the style and quality of content you expect to create.
“What are some ways that you optimize your content for SEO?”
Just like it’s important for copywriters to know what they’re talking about, it’s also important that they know how to say it. Because your content will be primarily published online, you’ll want to hire someone who knows how to maximize its value for SEO purposes. Of course, it won't be hard to teach a good writer how to do this, but experience never hurts.
“Have you worked under tight deadlines before?"
When it comes to maintaining a consistent content creation schedule, there will certainly be instances where your writers will be forced to meet a tight deadline. When that time comes, you need to know if your candidate will rise to the challenge or crumble under pressure. Ask them if they’ve worked in high-pressure writing situations before, and ask about their approach to any writing tasks when faced with a deadline.
“Are you used to following specific instructions when writing?”
Because you already have a specific idea about the style and message of your content, it’s important that your copywriters are able to convey that message without any problems. If your candidates have experience taking direction, you know you can rely on them to create content that aligns with your campaign’s goals without having to make several rounds of revisions.
“Have you worked on a writing team before?”
When you work as a copywriter for a company, sometimes a project will pass through 5 different sets of hands before it’s ready for publication. When that’s the case, it’s important to hire a candidate who’s comfortable writing in a team environment. Likewise, if you’re looking for candidates that can shoulder the weight of the content creation duties by themselves, make sure they have prior experience being the sole lead/project manager.
“What types of content have you worked with before?”
In order to determine whether or not your candidate will be able to create all the different types of content for your company (e.g. blogs, emails, landing pages, etc.), you should figure out what kind of content creation experience they’ve had in the past. If they’ve already written hundreds of blogs, you know you can trust them to write one for you. This is also the perfect time to ask for their portfolio, so make sure you ask to see examples of their previous work.
With more and more companies adopting content marketing strategies, the demand for copywriters is higher than it’s ever been. Unfortunately, for the companies in need of those services, not all copywriters are created equal. In order to make sure you’re hiring the perfect candidate for your content marketing team, always ask these 8 questions during the interview process. Not only will they help you find the candidate with the best technical writing abilities, but also the one that best understands your business’ specific needs and personas.
Courtesy by --> Weidert
No comments:
Post a Comment