Six Questions to Ask When Hiring a Content Writing Agency
Effective communication is often the key to a successful business. Though the digital revolution has made it faster and more efficient, it has also opened the window wider to miscommunications and errors. This is why companies are increasingly prioritizing professional writing agencies to create and edit their content, whether intended for partners, employees, customers, or the market at large. There are several things recommended to consider (from the obvious to insider tips) before working with a content writing company:
1. What is the content writing agency’s level of experience?
This is one of the obvious ones. If an agency doesn’t promote how long they’ve been established, they are less likely to be as experienced in comprehending their clients’ needs, delivering quality work, and meeting deadlines.
2. Which area(s) of expertise does the content writing company specialize in?
It is crucial that a writing agency’s team of writers has expertise in your industry. As good as a writer may be, if they have not written extensively in your field of business, their content will be substandard as compared to a writer with subject matter expertise. Do not hesitate to inquire about this before selecting a content creation company.
3. What amount of creativity and initiative do the best content writing company offer?
At a minimum, a content writing agency should be able to produce creative content that differentiates a client from their competition. They must be able to generate new ideas and not just depend on their clients’ existing resources, as well as demonstrate an understanding of how to target specific audiences.
4. How well does the content writing agency maintain confidentiality?
Businesses thrive on their uniqueness, innovation, and strategies. The longer a content creation company has been around, the more they’ve built trust with their clients and had a history of maintaining their clients’ confidentiality. In any case, it is vital to know the confidentiality policies and practices of a professional writing company.
5. Does the content writing agency also offer proofreading and copyediting?
Errors and incorrect content can cost a company its reputation. However, most U.S. writing agencies do not offer in-house proofreading and copyediting, which means their clients either have to take a few extra steps and find a dependable proofreader or hope that the work product they received is free of grammatical mistakes and typos, etc., which is unlikely. Therefore, an inquiry into a content writing agency’s editing process and expertise are essential before making a decision. If an agency states that the writer and proofreader are the same person, see it as a huge red flag, since the best practice is always for content to be proofread separately.
6. Does the content writing agency offer Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
The best content writing companies also have in-house SEO experts. SEO offers clients’ content higher-visibility online (Google search results, etc.). Their agency should be well versed in current SEO guidelines, and they should have writers able to incorporate SEO into their work products, if necessary.
Fielding these questions to prospective professional writers or agencies should help you gain confidence in your decision and take the quality of your communications to the next level.
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