What to Look for in a Quality Content Creator
So you’re looking to hire a new content creator to assist with your company’s content strategy. We’ve already told you the importance of hiring a great content marketing agency to help grow your business. Now, you may be wondering how you can find a perfect quality content creator to act as your company’s direct voice to your customers.
In this article, we will outline some of the skills your new content creator should have to drive traffic and keep your readers interested.
Number one…
1. They Keep it Original
Keeping your ideas original is by far the most important aspect when creating new content.
Highlight it.
Put it in bold font.
Double underline it.
Think about it in the world of Hip-Hop: Rappers who get caught stealing other rappers rhymes get called out for not having original ideas. The same should go for your content creator! Plus, people enjoy hearing something new or a perspective they’ve never heard before.
Think about that one friend that tells you the same story over and over again. You can basically recite their story back to them before they tell it to you. (I’m looking at you, Paul.) To sum it up: If you’re approaching a story that you think has been covered to death, it probably has. So why cover it again? The only reason to try is if the data or statistics could be updated and provide further interest! Otherwise, forgettaboutit! (I’m hearing the Boston accent in my head as a write it)
Christina Madry, the creator of Modelogs.com, shared some great questions your content creator should ask with LinkedIn. She asked:
“How novel is it to re-post or republish already developed content on the internet? How does that reflect what you’re capable of doing in business and once you arrive at the office — the studio? What does it say about your networking skills? Your global influence?”
By being mindful of all of these questions, your content creator will improve the quality of their work and the strength of your brand.
This goes without saying but, no one wants to have a Stephen Glass on their staff. So keep it original!
2. They Make Headlines
Your content creator should know how to make sure your reader’s eyes are drawn to the page … or ummm … screen.
The importance of dangling your story’s lure can be backed up by CopyBlogger’s “The 80/20 Rule of Headlines”. They say on average “8 out of 10 people will read headline copy, but only 2 out of 10 will read the rest”.
So make sure your content creator knows how to hook your readers right away.
It’s the first line of your offense and the best way to get your readers to stick around until the end.
Like the saying goes: You never get a second chance to make a first impression.
This just in …
Content Creator Creates Interesting Content!
See?
Your content creator should be selling the story right away with a great headline.
And once they have you make sure…
3. They Make You Care
Who really wants to stick around after the headline if the rest of the story puts … you … to … sleep. B.O.R.I.N.G.
(the authors falls back in his chair and begins to snore uncontrollably. )
Make sure your content creator is spicing their stories up!
Famed blog guru and SEO superstar Neil Patel recently found that the ideal blog length for the most traffic on your site should be around 1,500+ words in total. This will place your article into the “Golden Share Zone” by providing as much information and SEO friendly keywords as possible to increase the likelihood that your readers will share and reference back to your page.
This will place your article into the “Golden Share Zone” by providing as much information and SEO friendly keywords as possible. If all is well in the world, this magic number will increase the likelihood that your readers will share and reference back to your page.
With 1,500+ words being the word count your content creator should be striving for, they should be considering their approach and editing down any unnecessary passages that don’t circle back to the main story.
If your readers care about the content you publish, they will share it with the world! Well, at least their world on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and such. Make sure your content creator stays on message throughout their articles in a way that engages your readers and gets them excited for each new blog post.
When it comes to blog posts, you must be consistent. If you’re not, readers will have a hard time knowing when your next post will come out. Consistency is crucial to success here!
Speaking of your readers, your content creator should get to know them a little.
Make sure …
4. They Know Your Audience
You’re here to help, right? That’s why you started creating content in the first place. So shouldn’t your content creator be researching what your target audience is interested in? Shouldn’t he or she know the geographic location of your target audience? What about their age range and income levels? Size of company and typical position?
As Jayson DeMers explained in Search Engine Journal, “If your content answers, solves, and helps, you’re going to earn trust and your brand will become an authority”. By making sure your content creator is engaged with your target audience’s needs you will be able to anticipate the success of your content.
A great way to research your audience is to see how they interact with your pieces and your competitor’s pieces through comment sections. What greater resource is there than the voice of the people?
That’s who you’re writing for. And you and your content writer can’t forget it.
These are everyday people, just like you and me.
So when you’re done researching and getting to know your audience, there is nothing that will turn your reader off more than a babbling convoluted post.
(We explained that above.)
So make sure your …
5. …Content Creator Keeps it Simple
This shouldn’t be rocket science … or IKEA furniture directions.
Make sure your content creator is as direct as possible and doesn’t hang around that much longer after their point has been made.
We’ve already told you about how few readers actually stick around after the headline, so why risk driving readers away with long boring content?
Shane Snow recently wrote for Contently that “within a given genre, the best writers tend to write the simplest”.
By keeping your language at a simple and universal level for your readers, you will keep your readers interested and on board until the end.
So here’s a message for your content creators:
Keep.
It.
Simple.
Wrapping Up
And there you have it!
Now you know what to look for when you hire your next content creator to create stories for your site.
To make that leap of faith into hiring a content creator can be frightening, but no need to fret! Each article is usually proofed by an editor and then presented to you, the client, before ever being posted online for the world to see.
If you’re lucky, some content creators will help you find imagery to match your content. It’s important to remember to add links to other authoritative sources as well! This helps add credibility to your message and is great for SEO link building too!
If you have any more questions, feel free to get in touch with us through our contact us page or leave a comment below this post.
As we said before, your voice is our biggest resource.