Before you get into it, running a blog seems simple enough – just writing and posting right? Wrong! Running a blog takes much more than writing and posting on a hosting platform. Nowadays, it means prioritizing audience engagement, search engine optimization, marketing, and staying on top of analytics. So, when you can, it’s a good idea to try to lessen your responsibilities, such as by hiring an editor who can help with things like increasing engagement, improving the quality of writing, ensuring consistency, and saving valuable time.
How do you find the right person for the job? Here are the top tips for hiring an editor to help with your blog.
Figure Out Your Needs
Editors have more than one job so you’ll want to figure out what duties you’re hiring for so that you can make your search more specific. For example, are you hiring to eliminate grammatical and spelling errors or so that the overall flow and structure of your blog posts can be improved?
To assess the editing needs of your blog, start by reviewing your old blog posts and noting problematic areas like spelling mistakes, unclear phrasing, and awkward sentences. Then, think about your target audience and what they prefer; do you get more engagement with short posts or with complex in-depth articles? You want to consider your goals as well, whether that’s generating more leads or building a brand reputation.
Prioritize Experience
Once you figure out your needs, you want to look for someone with the relevant experience as there’s not much room for error when it comes to editing duties.
Ask for a portfolio, then peruse it for samples from projects similar to yours or ones at least in your niche, whether that’s memory care or interior design. Then, if references are available, contact them and make sure to ask about their effectiveness. It’s also a good idea to insist on a test project as it’s one of the best ways to gauge an editor’s true skills.
Consider Communication Skills
Effective communication is important for any professional relationship to work, but perhaps even more so for a writer-editor relationship. Imagine being on a deadline while struggling with communication problems with your editor.
What are some signs of good communication skills? Look for prompt responsiveness (fast email replies, returned phone calls), clear suggestions, constructive criticism, and respect for timelines and deadlines.
Discuss Pricing
It’s important to have a budget as blogging doesn’t bring in the big bucks – not right away anyway.
Before any agreement is signed, ask several editors directly for quotes for specific services to get an idea of average costs. You should also pay attention to the pricing structure; some editors charge per hour while others charge per project. Don’t be afraid to negotiate. In fact, the right editor will be willing to discuss a pricing system that works for everyone.
Hiring the right editor can really help your blog so figure out your needs, prioritize experience, think about communication skills, and discuss pricing to find the right person for the job.
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