I know what it feels like on your side of the desk right now. Looking for someone to build content for you is an iffy business.
Is this guy right for what I’m doing? Will he ‘get’ it? What if I pay all this money and the work comes out lame? What if all I get back is tripe?
I’ve been there.
On several occasions clients asked me to hire and manage writers for large content projects.
And I turned out to be lousy at picking writers.
I’ve been writing content since forever, but when it came to deciding who could deliver on a given project and who couldn’t, I was clueless.
Like everyone else, I looked at writing samples, recommendations and resumes, but the results were spotty. Some candidates wrote far better than their resumes would predict. And some wrote way worse.
But I finally hit on one thing that worked, nine times out of ten.
A12-minute phone conversation.
That’s it. As low tech and unsophisticated as you can get. And I feel dumb for not thinking of it sooner. (Which is why I am a writer and not a manager. At the keyboard, I’m on my turf. Otherwise, I’m faking it.)
Talking to a writer for 10 to 15 minutes was enough. Most times, it only took five minutes to tell if they were on my side or not, and if they had the chops for the project.
No, I can’t give you six sure-fire questions to ask. The conversations were always different. But each time I simply knew. Yes or no.
When I think back on it, that is precisely what my clients did. They called me out of the blue or on someone’s recommendation. We talked once or twice. Or three times. Something jibed. Once in a while, I did a small piece for them, just to show where I was coming from. (Sort of what I do now with the $599 Rewrite.)
And we started working together. Or the client instantly crossed me off the list. (“This guy’s supposed to be a genius? Um. Don’t think so.”)
And occasionally I declined. (“Gee, I have no idea how to crack this one.”)
So if you’re game, try me at (908) 464-5192.
You’ll know in twelve minutes, tops.