How to Hire Freelance Writers from CraigsList

Craigslist has become synonymous with freelance writing jobs. It’s a great way to find a cache of writers with various different skill sets very quickly. However, as with any public medium, you have to take the good with the bad. For every qualified freelance writer, there are five unqualified ones. Following is how to select the best ones for your project.

Instructions

Difficulty: Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Computer
• Internet Connection

1. Create Project Timeline
   
   
   
   The reason you want to create a project timeline is to see what’s due when. If you have five projects due within the next week, tracking them will help you stay on top of deadlines.
   
   
   
   A Personal Story: When Deadlines Equal Dead in the Water
   
   
   
   Recently, I had to hire freelance writers from CraigsList. I landed three new clients in a week’s time. As I sat trying to meet a deadline at 2 am one morning, I knew I was going to need some help.
   
   
   
   Immediately, I thought of Craigslist. I placed and ad, and literally within minutes, responses started to roll in. I outsourced two jobs to two different freelancers before logging off that night. Both of them were completed the next day, allowing me to make all of my deadlines. To this day, I retain these three clients.
   
   
   
   If I had not hired freelance writers from Craigslist, I could have lost clients. They helped me from being dead in the water.
   
   
   
   If you ever find yourself in a pinch, keep on reading for inside info on how to quickly hire the best talent for the job.
2. Decide Which Projects You Need Help On
   
   
   Projects differ in the skill sets needed. Deciding which projects you need help on is crucial to hiring the right writer.
3. Write Ad
   
   
   
   This is perhaps the most important step in the process. Keeping your project deadlines and requirements in place, be very, very specific in your ad.
   
   
   At a minimum, you will want to include: (i) deadline; (ii) rate of pay and payment procedure (eg, PayPal); (iii) type of work; (iv) specific respond-to address; and a (v) sample request.
   
   
   Remember, the more detail you give about the job, the better chance you have of recruiting the most qualified writers for the project.
4. Weed Through Responses
   
   
   If you’ve done your job as outlined in Step 3, it should be fairly easy to weed through responses. Skip requests that ask for more information; say they don’t have the type of experience you’re looking for “but …”; and who don’t comply with the requests you made in your ad (eg, provide a sample).
   
   
   This will take care of 90 percent of the responses. Of the remaining 10 percent, choose one or two you feel the most confident about, and contact them.
5. Outsource Project
   
   
   Choose the writer who gets back to you first and outsource the project.
   
   
   If possible, outsource work to at least two freelancers. That way, you get to test the skills of two at the same time. If all works out, when you get in a pinch again, you’ll have at least two go-to sources.
   
   
   When you hire freelance writers from CraigsList, you’re growing your writing business. Someday, you may get to the point where you don’t even touch the work, you just pass it along.
   
   
   Now this is where you can make some real money in this field!

Tips & Warnings

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  I always advise contacting at least two writers—even if you only need one—because one might not get back to you and/or not be available for what ever reason.