Where to Hire Freelance Writers

Successful companies typically use social media, email marketing and newsletters to help people learn about and discover their business. With the power of the internet, it's important to take advantage of the opportunity to get the word out. You are busy running and growing your business and may not have the time to focus on tasks that involve writing. It's likely the perfect time to hire a professional to help out.

Freelance writers can assist with blog posts, marketing, general content and information on your website. Companies will also utilize freelance business writers to do email and letter templates; this not only simplifies things but insures that you will send out professionally written correspondence every time. Your current and potential customers will take notice and look to you for guidance within your industry.

Now that you have discovered the need, where can you look to find someone? It's also important to know what to look for in finding the right fit for your business. Below are some suggestions to help get you started and off and running with your business writing.

The World Wide Web

Where else would you begin a search but on the Internet? Of course that would seem like the first place to start when looking to hire a freelance business writer, after all a lot of what they can do for your company will center around your own website. A Google search will return several hundred spots to check out; as with most things some are more reputable than others, and some free or fee-based. Ask for recommendations from friends or business associates, and if you don't have any, start chipping away at the list or try some more detailed searches. Elance, Guru and Freelance.com are a few to help you get started. These sites make it easy to see how many writers are available in a specific field. Freelancers can post  their skills and budget requirements, making it easy to quickly narrow down the choices to match your business writing needs.

Universities and Colleges

A lot of college students and recent graduates, especially journalism majors, want to practice their skills and have high hopes of having work published. The key to their journalistic futures often lies far outside their college papers. They may also require lower pay than their professional world counterparts which can be a nice bonus for you; they get a few bylines and you get a writer with fresh perspective, win-win. Obviously these students can be found online as well, but check out local universities and job fairs- it might be nice to meet your potential employee face-to-face. Always ask for examples of their writing and consider having a sample test to see how well their writing represents your company.

Hiring freelance writers is an important decision and can make a really big impact on your business; take the time to find the right person. Do you currently use outside writers for your business?

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Ways to Maximize Local SEO

If your small business serves your local community, you may not understand the significance for search engine optimization, or SEO.  But it is crucial - most of today’s consumers search the Internet whether they plan to buy locally or use a service inside their communities.  To make your business rise above other competitors, local SEO is key.  Here are a few ways you can capitalize on your local SEO efforts.

Comprehend the concept of Hummingbird.

Google recently experienced the major update to its algorithm.  A result of the updated algorithm, called Hummingbird, made some changes to the way businesses are ranked during a Google search - now we see an increase of local business at the highest rankings.  When people enter a search term, the top businesses will likely be local.  For example, if a search is performed for a “pizza place”, their results will probably be places in their town.

The change also encourages businesses to update their website to include content with local context.  As opposed to writing paragraphs about jewelry, it’s more beneficial to talk about jewelry and the city where your business is located.  People who live locally and search for a jewelry store will then see your business pop up in the search results.

Photo via localbusinessmarketingsuccess.com

Reflect on mobility.

Many people who search for a business aren’t sitting at home on a desktop computer – they’re on the go using mobile devices.  People will search for a pizza place when they are ready to head to eat.  For your business, this means you want to design your website for mobile and ensure that it or your app are user-friendly.

Contemplate local marketing.

Sites like Foursquare have honed in on the fact that people do research online for local businesses.  Even the popular pinning site, Pinterest, now has a service in place where business content can be put on a map so users can see your location.  If a person looks for shoe stores and sees that you are local to them, they are very likely to look further into making a purchase from your business.

You may not have lots of time to establish a solid presence on each social network, and that’s okay.  Instead, research and find out where your potential customers are spending their time – this increases the likelihood that they will also go to that social network as they look further into making buying decisions.  Customers can’t learn about your business if you don’t have an online presence.

Small businesses that cater predominantly to local consumers often don’t realize that they need an online presence.  However, more and more people continue to own mobile devices and the amount of time they spend using these devices to research prior to making a purchase will only grow.  The ultimate success of your business relies on making its presence known and showing customers why they should make purchases from your business instead of your competitors.

How do you optimize your local search engine optimization to sell more locally?

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