This guide is intended for those thinking about writing and editing with _fiicient, but you might find it interesting for other reasons too. …Or not.
Every search engine optimization hack knows content is king. I’ve been doing this SEO thing for others since 2004; time for an article about how I start a relationship with a new writer. I’ve already written about optimizing hiring and applicant screening, but that article doesn’t help me train writers. This one will!
What to discuss first when chatting with a prospective SEO writer?
Sometimes the work is not sexy. E.g. If you’re writing for a headphone manufacturer month after month, after a while, you’ll realize there are only a few dozen different types of articles worth writing. There are only so many guides, how-tos, and top-fives one can reasonably muster without performing ‘original research’. While that’s not true for all accounts, being aware of potential ‘running out of topics’ frustration ahead of time is a good discussion. I outline strategies to avoid it when possible and to deal with the dread of the alternative. If a writer burns out and can’t possibly write about headphones, mesothelioma, industrial lubricants, or whatever, for another month, I’ll try to accommodate by finding another burnout in the _fficient content corps with whom to do an account swap. It’s important to note that some writers stick with accounts for many years.
There are other struggles, especially at first.
- SEO writing is an odd nexus of technical and creative writing; many good, seasoned writers aren’t accustomed to SEO-writing peculiarities.
- I note that the gig is more ‘content maven’ than ‘writer’ because a substantial chunk of the work revolves around improving and expanding existing content through the SEO lens.
- Some would-be SEO writers struggle to come up with article topics; I’m willing to coddle that writer’s block for only so long.
- Imposter syndrome is normal; nobody expects you to be an expert on new topics for the first few months.
- I train prospective writers in SEO content planning. Some SEO outfits don’t. Being responsible for some strategic decisions is great for self-starters– but more challenging than being spoon-fed every detail of monthly marching orders.
- Etc.
I also share several anecdotes about current and past writers who’ve struggled with various other elements of the gig and how we did or didn’t overcome those challenges.
I try to remember to mention the good stuff about SEO writing.
I’m fine if you want to stay on a single account, or if you want to gradually grow to foster content for a dozen clients. The pay’s decent. The compensation is better on some accounts, if you’re qualified. Assignments are due 30 days after I send’em, so you have plenty of time to sneak the work into your schedule. You can work in your pajamas while enjoying a Paso Robles red blend or chewing gum. I don’t care if you work for other people. And so on.
Have I scared them off yet? No?
I send writer candidates a few articles to review:
- A boilerplate mutual non-disclosure agreement, the same one I send to potential clients. E-signing is easy. A few clicks later, and we’ve protected top-secret proprietary classified documents. (Whew!)
- SEO Writing 101 – A gripping piece about a wooden AI and its lust for great content? Written for a general audience, but most of it’s relevant to the _fficient content maven position.
- Titles and Descriptions Guide – A love letter to Matt Cutts or a rant about John Mueller? No need to dive deep into it until you decide you wanna work with me.
- The official _fficient SEO writing guide. (Requires permission. No access for you, Jane Q. Public!) Far more pedantic than the blog post linked above, and includes boring administrative stuff like: How to invoice. How to cite this gig on your resume. How to communicate about work. And other edge-of-your-seat zingers.
- …Like a lorem ipsum example of a typical deliverable. (No link for you, John Q. Public!)
Time to reflect, expound and ask questions. Are you still on board? Yes? Awesome. We do a call if desired, and then…
I send you more stuff!
- Client’s website URL
- Credentials to _fficient reporting console
- Client style guide, if they have one
- Links to hemingwayapp and grammarly.
- Links to ChatGPT and Bard – so we can discuss AI-assisted writing. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of artificial intelligence saves time and improves your content. Some don’t need it, but everybody ends up finding good uses for it.
- If it’s not a new-to-me account, I send a couple examples of documents from the previous writer/s, always noting something along the lines of, “Just because this passed muster in the past doesn’t mean it’s best practices now.” I’ll often send predecessors’ first documents instead of the later, more refined deliverables, because the fledgling stuff is more heavily marked-up by me and the client with helpful feedback.
- I note that I’ve written about a bunch of other SEO bits on this blog, emphasizing that much of it’s not relevant to SEO-writing tasks and that reading it is neither required nor encouraged unless it seems stimulating. Also, some of it’s old and dated
- The latest draft of a long-in-progress (and hopefully not therefore long in the tooth?) piece tentatively called “Focusing On-Site SEO Efforts” about, you guessed it, different ways one might choose to optimize existing content. It delves into how to find actionable information in SEO-reporting data, touches on Google syntax-fu (e.g. site:client.url a keyword), and explains how to use it for bang-up SEO, among other engaging bombshells.
- The first assignment. It’s in your lap now. What’s next?
We often have another conversation here, questions, answers, and more eyelid-exercising free-form rambling from me.
I encourage writers to send me a sample draft of their assignment ASAP to make sure we’re meeting minds. When I get the completed assignment, I edit, send it to the client for review, and share the feedback with the writer. Rinse and repeat.
Closing vetting note:
I often have to screen writers via a shorter, paid tryout before officially assigning them to an account. Clients in regulated industries like financial, legal, medical, gambling, or organizations with esoteric, subtle, or confusing topics, or even brands which are particular about their messaging for other reasons, need to sign off on any team members, and sometimes review every word, every month. Conversely, many clients are able to give me carte blanche with all SEO writing. It depends.
Every relationship is different.
Dan Dreifort consults on SEO and UX. He’s trying to find a national campaign finance reform organization for whom to volunteer professional services. Please network with him, and/or try to tolerate some of his noise at synthband.com. XOX
Dan Dreifort 