mindmaster
Elite Member
- Sep 16, 2010
- 5,671
- 3,112
When you hire a new member for your writing team
how do you test him?
how do you test him?
How do you test your future writer
- Thread starter mindmaster
- Start date
- Apr 13, 2013
- 8,294
- 2,803
Give him a variety of different topics to write. This will test him on his writing skills really well.
IMdudeIMdude
Newbie
- Mar 7, 2014
- 43
- 6
Yeah test your new writers flexibility. A flexible writer is a real asset for your writing empire.
justablackduck
Newbie
- Apr 16, 2015
- 14
- 1
i want to know that, too
Sejo245
Registered Member
- Apr 14, 2015
- 97
- 6
Whenever I go to hire a new writer I always give them around 2 - 3 articles to write first to check them out about a different range of topics to see how professional and well written their work is. Making the topics a little more difficult as well will really give you an incentive as to how good of a writer they are.
First filter: I ignore all writers that have grammar mistakes in their application for the job 
Second filter: I ask them some basic questions about availability, what topics they wrote in the past and so on..based on this I ignore the ones that either answer super slow and/or they cannot show me clearly what articles they wrote in the past.
Third filter: Testing their skills by giving them 3 different topics that I am familiar with. 300 words each and I choose the person which wrote the most informative/interactive article.
I managed to find many awesome cheap freelancers this way.
Second filter: I ask them some basic questions about availability, what topics they wrote in the past and so on..based on this I ignore the ones that either answer super slow and/or they cannot show me clearly what articles they wrote in the past.
Third filter: Testing their skills by giving them 3 different topics that I am familiar with. 300 words each and I choose the person which wrote the most informative/interactive article.
I managed to find many awesome cheap freelancers this way.
Last edited:
AbeloHost
Senior Member
- Mar 16, 2015
- 875
- 224
Having an extensive Skype conversation. It tells me everything I need to know and it saves a lot of time.
You'll be looking through hundreds of copywriters if you want to find a good one. Giving freelancers trial assignments will be a headache, in my opinion. You'll have to track the time and make sure they didn't copy it from anywhere. Sometimes there are more writers than one working on a single assignment. This is not something that you want because once you start paying them, the quality will usually diminish significantly. They want to impress you at first, but once you're reeled in, your assignments will be given to one individual to save costs.
I usually focus on these 6 pointers:
1) Grammar use: Two mistakes and I already try to wrap up the conversation. Aside from spelling mistakes, I look at world placement, comma use and word choice (see 3).
2) Writing speed: That's why I prefer using Skype. You can see the person typing in real-time. Just measure in your head how long it takes from them to write a sentence or two. When it's longer than 15-25 seconds on average, you can save yourself the trouble and wrap up the conversation.
3) Word choice: The words they use will show you the distinction between a high-school student with a basic vocabulary and a skilled writer. Even though a skilled freelancer might not use fancy words in the conversation, you can try and evoke their hidden vocab by expressing your work requests in a bit more depth. They'll always try to level with your writing style.
4) Sense of humor: A sense of humor is an indication of intelligence. Such people tend to be better at persuading others, which is a fundamental quality for copywriters. Again, this is something you must evoke. Understanding pop culture references is also a good indicator. It means that they like to read, or at least listen to others.
5) Comprehension: Understanding what you need and understanding it quickly is also a key quality. Test it by giving a vague assignment. If they start asking specific questions instead of the usual "please provide more info", you got yourself a person that can think for themselves and who genuinely cares about providing quality content. Again, this important for good copywriters.
6) Hire someone that is better than you in copywriting. You're essentially paying someone for their skills. If you can do their job, it's not worth it IMO.
This method will take you around 2-15 minutes for each person. Hope this helps. Goodluck!
You'll be looking through hundreds of copywriters if you want to find a good one. Giving freelancers trial assignments will be a headache, in my opinion. You'll have to track the time and make sure they didn't copy it from anywhere. Sometimes there are more writers than one working on a single assignment. This is not something that you want because once you start paying them, the quality will usually diminish significantly. They want to impress you at first, but once you're reeled in, your assignments will be given to one individual to save costs.
I usually focus on these 6 pointers:
1) Grammar use: Two mistakes and I already try to wrap up the conversation. Aside from spelling mistakes, I look at world placement, comma use and word choice (see 3).
2) Writing speed: That's why I prefer using Skype. You can see the person typing in real-time. Just measure in your head how long it takes from them to write a sentence or two. When it's longer than 15-25 seconds on average, you can save yourself the trouble and wrap up the conversation.
3) Word choice: The words they use will show you the distinction between a high-school student with a basic vocabulary and a skilled writer. Even though a skilled freelancer might not use fancy words in the conversation, you can try and evoke their hidden vocab by expressing your work requests in a bit more depth. They'll always try to level with your writing style.
4) Sense of humor: A sense of humor is an indication of intelligence. Such people tend to be better at persuading others, which is a fundamental quality for copywriters. Again, this is something you must evoke. Understanding pop culture references is also a good indicator. It means that they like to read, or at least listen to others.
5) Comprehension: Understanding what you need and understanding it quickly is also a key quality. Test it by giving a vague assignment. If they start asking specific questions instead of the usual "please provide more info", you got yourself a person that can think for themselves and who genuinely cares about providing quality content. Again, this important for good copywriters.
6) Hire someone that is better than you in copywriting. You're essentially paying someone for their skills. If you can do their job, it's not worth it IMO.
This method will take you around 2-15 minutes for each person. Hope this helps. Goodluck!
EverestOnline
Junior Member
- Apr 19, 2013
- 196
- 17
I agree with AbeloHost. Anyone in search of a writer must choose using the aforementioned considerations. Grammar and word choice can be assessed through a single article regardless of topic.
But having a writer work on several articles of different lengths and topics will allow you to better assess what he or she can do.
But having a writer work on several articles of different lengths and topics will allow you to better assess what he or she can do.
ADLUDUM
Junior Member
- Mar 30, 2013
- 153
- 45
Clear steps! Very true and on point.
TechFinder
Failed to resolve dispute
- Dec 31, 2014
- 1,399
- 123
I think you should give him a difficult topic to write with a short time period to complete that article which will be helpful to know his working skill very well.
First I make sure their past work is strong and they have experience in the vertical I want them to write in.
Second I like to review some of their past work with me on a call and hear about their experience with past clients from their point of view. You can get a sense of what it will be like to work with them based on their past. Did they sound organized, on time, confrontational or easy going with edits, etc.?
Third I brief them on the job, usually in writing, and then get on a call to talk about questions and what their approach will be to the project. If they sound like they get it and have good ideas, ideally better than mine from the brief, I hire them and let them get started. If they sound confused or too busy or if they are struggling with my objectives, I ask them to ask me more questions to give them clarity. If there is still a disconnect, I may say 'This doesn't sound like a great fit at this point. How about we give it a day and you can reach out to me if you want to talk again.' Some writers in my experience need time to think while some others are just not a good fit and it's best to move on to someone else who can do the job for you.
Second I like to review some of their past work with me on a call and hear about their experience with past clients from their point of view. You can get a sense of what it will be like to work with them based on their past. Did they sound organized, on time, confrontational or easy going with edits, etc.?
Third I brief them on the job, usually in writing, and then get on a call to talk about questions and what their approach will be to the project. If they sound like they get it and have good ideas, ideally better than mine from the brief, I hire them and let them get started. If they sound confused or too busy or if they are struggling with my objectives, I ask them to ask me more questions to give them clarity. If there is still a disconnect, I may say 'This doesn't sound like a great fit at this point. How about we give it a day and you can reach out to me if you want to talk again.' Some writers in my experience need time to think while some others are just not a good fit and it's best to move on to someone else who can do the job for you.
I understand people want the best but come on , putting your writer though useless serious of questions and meaningless writing task
is pointless. The only thing you should test for is if they can do what you want, that's it. I have a simple niche with a simple writing style
I pay a small amount of $5, and if they write me a good article I keep them, until they deliver bad work than I move on
is pointless. The only thing you should test for is if they can do what you want, that's it. I have a simple niche with a simple writing style
I pay a small amount of $5, and if they write me a good article I keep them, until they deliver bad work than I move on
Jesse Custer
Regular Member
- Apr 4, 2015
- 351
- 190
Something I stumbled on (by accident - pun originally not intended) was giving a writer an article that I tried writing myself.
I realized it would be too time consuming so decided to outsource it. When it came back, I instantly recognized the sources the writer had used. He also hadn't used copyscape and copied chunks of the source article verbitamin.
As I had researched the article myself, it was immediately apparent to me. Copyscape just proved my suspicions.
As for the difficult topics, I'm not so sure. When I was copywriting for money I was given a one-off project about wood. Different types of hardwood used in lumber yards. Or another time, somebody wanted an article about the mosques in Shenzhen, China. There was 1. A short paragraph of information was available online. They wanted 500 words...
It's probably better to give them harder articles that would form part of their day-to-day workload. Else you're just giving them hoops to jump through for the sake of it...
I realized it would be too time consuming so decided to outsource it. When it came back, I instantly recognized the sources the writer had used. He also hadn't used copyscape and copied chunks of the source article verbitamin.
As I had researched the article myself, it was immediately apparent to me. Copyscape just proved my suspicions.
As for the difficult topics, I'm not so sure. When I was copywriting for money I was given a one-off project about wood. Different types of hardwood used in lumber yards. Or another time, somebody wanted an article about the mosques in Shenzhen, China. There was 1. A short paragraph of information was available online. They wanted 500 words...
It's probably better to give them harder articles that would form part of their day-to-day workload. Else you're just giving them hoops to jump through for the sake of it...
dramalamabros
Newbie
- Jan 13, 2016
- 40
- 4
I test a writer by giving him a task of writing a huge article with uneasily available data on Internet. I'll check his writing skills and representation for hiring.