Good IT bloggers are a rare and wondrous find.
Sure, there are great writers out there, scribblers who are “highly adaptable to any industry.” But very few freelancers write quality stuff about cloud computing, managed services, or business intelligence on a regular basis.
If you want high-grade material for your IT blog, you might be looking for a little help from the writing community.
Is there anybody out there??
The answer is yes, but before showing you where to look, let’s be clear about what you are after.
Do You Want a Freelancer or Ghostwriter?
Companies often confuse freelancers for ghostwriters, and vice versa, and the difference may have a big impact on the expected outcome.
Ghostwriters are paid to create a body of work that is credited to someone else, including blog posts, whitepapers, ebooks, newsletters, and email campaigns. Businesses hire them because they don’t have someone on staff with the skills and experience to write about the topic effectively, or they just don’t have the time to do it themselves.
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If I paid a ghostwriter to write this post (I didn’t), my name would still go in the byline. A freelance writer, on the other hand, may or may not get credit for the work. Some of them pose as staff writers contributing to blogs, while others may be fine with ghostwriting for your business.
In both cases, outsourcing the work offers several benefits, namely the flexibility to focus on other aspects of your work. If you are hiring someone for the first time, you will find there are tons of freelancers out there, all charging different rates for similar work.
Finding a good writer takes some research and testing. Finding a good one that specializes in the IT industry is downright hard, but it can be done.
Read Blogs. Find Bylines.
The best way to find writers who specialize in tech is by reading blogs. Lots and lots of blogs.
I dedicate hours every day to browsing news aggregators and roundup sites, looking for articles that stand out and making note of the authors.
Many of these bloggers are employed by the parent company posting the material, but others are freelancers and guest posters. You can track them down with a little due diligence.
Check their profiles on LinkedIn, and do a quick Google search to see if they’ve got their own website. You may also find additional writing credits in search results, which is a great indicator you’ve got someone in high demand.
If you aren’t sure whether the blogger is locked into a full-time gig already, contact him or her and ask. Even if they are too busy (or bound by a non-compete contract) to work for you, they may know other excellent writers who can help you.
Get Active On LinkedIn
LinkedIn used to be nothing more than a resume repository, a virtual graveyard where no one interacted with one another. Thankfully, things have changed.
LinkedIn has evolved into a real social platform where professionals are building relationships with customers, job seekers, and other industry professionals. It’s the best place to find ambitious tech bloggers who are serious about their craft and actively looking for work.
Here are a few tips on finding them:
1. Search “#IT” and Other Industry Hashtags
The fastest way to see who is publishing good stuff online is by going to the search bar and typing in #IT, #IoT, #cloud, or any other keywords relevant to your content. You’ll have to skim through a bunch of recruitment posts to find the good stuff.
There it is. In less than five seconds, I found this great post from Bernard Marr. The man is a celebrity in his own right, and I’m sure highly skilled tech writers buzz circle around him at all times. He is a good one to follow.
2. Ask Your Network for Referrals
A well cultivated network on LinkedIn is worth its weight in gold. If you’ve curated a group of professionals who really know you, they would probably offer some nice referrals if you asked them.
Go to an Inbound Marketing Agency
Every good inbound marketing agency has a stable of talented writers, although blogging is only one component of what these companies do.
Most agencies provide end-to-end solutions that encompass all aspects of online lead generation and sales growth for business owners. Instead of just supplying you with content, they create and manage conversion paths on your website that motivates buyers to act.
Inbound marketing is now entering a mature phase where agencies are focusing more on niche industries where they can provide specialized services to businesses. IT is one popular category agencies are building a foundation on.
What About Freelancer Sites?
I have outsourced a lot of work to sites like Upwork over the years, and the results have been mixed. We have found some great resources for many different needs. Writing is not one of them.
Most of the writers on freelancer sites offer dirt cheap rates to get work, and consequently price themselves out of doing a decent job. Think about it. If you hire someone to produce an article for $50 or less, what should you expect in return? Garbage. They will scrape together a mess as fast as they can, send it to you, and move on to the next job.
If you do choose to look around freelancer sites, I would suggest going right to the candidates that charge respectable fees and offer samples of good work. You’ll save yourself a lot of time and money by aiming high.
We all know how competitive content marketing has gotten over the last several years. Yet, it’s still an essential part of connecting with buyers in today’s world. People want good information before they buy – so let’s give it to them. Ramping up your content starts with talking to the people that are making great things happen for themselves and their clients.
Chances are good they can make things happen for you too.
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