Freelance writers are willing and able to help you create the compelling content you need, you just have to know where to find them (or how to help them find you). Here are some actionable and effective tips for finding the perfect freelance writers for your business.

1. Tools

Finding a quality writer who “gets” your industry is a whole lot easier than you might think. There is a bevy of online tools designed to help you find writers with expertise in your industry. Sites like JournalismJobs.com and Muck Rack have already sorted out and vetted their writers to make it easy for you to locate writers by industry specialty.

These sites operate like the Match.com of PR and marketing. They help you identify your unique writing needs and match you to the writers that best meet your criteria. Writer Access is another site worth checking out, especially if you don’t have a huge budget but still want a proven writer who is familiar with your industry.

2. “Write For Us” Landing Pages

Going on the hunt for writers isn’t the only way to engage a freelancer. You can bring them right to you with a smart, appealing “Write for us” landing page. Put the word out that you’re looking for great writers and make it easy for them to approach you.

An effective landing page should provide specific detail about what type of writing you are and are not looking for, submission guidelines, pay rates/ranges and editorial contacts. If you have any special events or themes coming up (new product launch, a charity event, etc.) be sure to highlight those and include the timeframe for pitches and submissions.

3. Use Your Blog And Social Media Channels

Because you already have a blog and a social media presence, use these established mediums to let writers know you’re looking for them. Put out a call for freelance writers via your company-run blog. This is a great way to engage writers with your brand, provide examples of the types of content you’re looking for and make it easy for writers to respond.

Don’t be afraid to put out the call on Twitter and other social media channels. Many freelance writers look for potential jobs on social media, so be sure to use tags they search for, such as #copywriter or #freelancewriter. LinkedIn is another rich resource for connecting with great writers. Post your need for writers as a job or link to your company’s open-call blog post.

4. Think Outside Of the Box

There are several ways to score quality content without breaking the bank. Contact the journalism or English department at a local college or university. Many students are willing to work simply for a byline.

Craigslist is another great place to find freelance writers. Post in the gigs section under writing and editing, as well as listing in the jobs section. Another valuable resource is former colleagues who know your business. Ask them to write a guest post in exchange for promotion and exposure on your company website and social media pages.

You can attract a lot of writers and content with a contest. Ask customers, writers, and anyone who visits your website to write up their favorite experience with your company, product or service. Some companies have used a contest to find a house writer. If the prize is a regular gig where a writer can establish a body of work, you can land an awesome writer without going over budget.

5. Keep Searching

Even after you’ve found a writer or two you enjoy working with, you should never stop seeking writers. To keep content from becoming stale or repetitive, regularly feature a new writer with a different perspective and a fresh voice.

Refresh your landing page, update your content requirements and send out new and different calls for writers a few times per year. By keeping your feelers out there, you also protect yourself from being left in the lurch if your favorite writer publishes their book or decides to take a day job.

Because quality writing and consistent content is the key to establishing your brand in the current marketplace, don’t be shy when seeking out writers. Try out any and all of these tips and techniques to get your company on the road to industry domination.

The post How to Find Freelance Writers Without Losing Your Mind appeared first on Relevance.

But, the pre-outreach I am referring to is very specific: it is the communication that occurs weeks or months before your content piece is published – perhaps even before it is written. It is the umpire who yells, “Batter up!” before you pitch your content.

Pre-outreach may not be right for all campaigns, but under the right circumstances it can elevate your content promotion strategy to a whole new level. So, when is pre-outreach appropriate? Generally, I only use pre-outreach in three scenarios.

1. When You Want To Offer First Access or Exclusive Coverage

It would be lovely if the “build it and they will come” approach worked for exceptional content pieces, but unfortunately that’s not always how content marketing works. Sometimes you need to create demand by offering a “first look” or access to exclusive materials.

Limit your use of this tactic only for your most prized and deserving content. This might include valuable industry research, an exclusive interview, or a well-designed infographic. When executed correctly, it can help you heighten anticipation and interest in your content long before it is actually released.

How to do it

Conduct an audience analysis to determine the best outlets to target. Send top contenders an email offering a “first look” at the content to the five people who respond first. This works especially well for statistics and reports, and could also be quite effective for any kind of timely content.

Once you have responses, stagger the release time of the content, giving outlets at the top of your list the biggest head start. Generally three hours is enough incentive, though this will depend on the type of content you’re releasing and the audience.

For exclusive coverage, conduct pre-outreach at least five days prior to your expected release. Offer the first responder exclusive coverage of your content.

Offering first looks and exclusive content can be a great way to build relationships with the publisher or journalist that covers your content, but also with those who do not. If they miss a shot to cover your content, they will be more likely to prioritize your pitches in the future.

This kind of assumptive pre-outreach makes it clear that your content has inherent value that should be competed for. Moreover, it increases the likelihood that the outlets that receive your content will cover it promptly, before others gain access.

Pro Tip: Lead with why they want your content (i.e. the benefit) and follow with what it is (i.e. the attributes)

Sure, it’s important to tell them about subject matter of your content, but it is perhaps more important to remind them why your content is so valuable.

Did you work with influential industry representatives to form your content? Did you invest a large sum of time and money? Have you done something that’s never been done before or approached an old subject with a fresh perspective? Did your last exclusive content piece go viral and get one million views?

If you tell them why they want to listen to you before you ask them to listen, then you have a better chance at keeping their attention.

2. When Your Content is a Venue for Building Relationships with Industry Influencers

One way to get your content in front of the right eyes is to ask industry influencers for their feedback on your project before publication. These experts have the ability to increase the value of your content and help it get the distribution it deserves.

It is best to avoid (at all costs) blasting 50 influencers a form email generically asking “what they think” about your infographic. If you’re asking their opinion for the sole purpose of making them feel invested enough in your content that they will feel obligated to share it, they will smell you out faster than you can say ego bait. Don’t do it. It makes every other content marketers’ job harder and wastes influencers’ valuable time.

How to do it

Instead, reach out to several hand-picked influencers. Do your research to make sure your content is exactly in line with their field of expertise. Consider why they might benefit from helping you make it the best it can be. To make it as easy as possible for them to help you, request that they contribute in a specific way instead of asking them for their general opinion.

Big-name influencers may want something concrete in return for their time. In your message, explain what they have to gain from contributing to your content piece. Will you quote them in your finished content? Will you promote their next content release on your blog and social media outlets? Can you offer them a fair monetary reward for their consulting services? Tell them explicitly what you have in mind.

Pro tip: Dedicate yourself to their thought leadership for the long haul

It’s much more pleasant to ask an influencer for their input or to share your content when they know who you are before you reach out. Read and comment on their blog periodically, share their best work on your social media channels and make it obvious that you are invested in their success.

3. When You Do Not Have Reliable Contact Information, Or When You Are Targeting a Non-traditional Audience with a Slower Response Time

Not all content marketing focuses on large publications with busy editors and journalists. Sometimes we need to target niche bloggers, small-town newspapers and even city officials. These targets can be difficult to reach, and contact information is often much harder to obtain.

How to do it

With only one chance to capitalize on the launch of your content, it’s important to give these folks a longer lead time. A week or two before your release date, send communication to your best contact asking who the appropriate person to receive your information might be.

They will either respond with a confirmation that they are the appropriate contact, or sometimes refer you to another individual. Some will not respond at all. No matter what, this is a great way to start a conversation and begin building new relationships. Once you have established contact, inform them of your impending release.

Pro Tip: Don’t forget the little people

As content marketers, it is easy to get tunnel vision and target only high-authority sites. But, in excluding smaller channels, you may actually limit your reach.

Niche bloggers and community newspapers might not have the most followers or the highest page rankings, but they often have unique, real-world connections to your audience. They also probably don’t get pitched by 100 marketers a day, and have more time to give valuable feedback on your content.

Even if you think your content strategy is perfect, there are always small tweaks you can make to help your work have more impact upon release. In the three instances mentioned, it really pays to invest a bit of additional time in targeted pre-outreach. It builds anticipation and value for your content, forms mutually beneficial relationships with thought leaders and can even help you find the perfect recipient for your pitch when you don’t have accurate contact information… all before your content is published.

The post 3 Scenarios When Pre-Outreach is Recommended appeared first on Relevance.

Unfortunately, many of us mistakenly overlook the most important part of content creation: the title.

In today’s online world of shock-driven click-bait, it’s hard to walk the thin line between tacky and click-worthy content marketing titles. But, believe it or not, you don’t have to plaster a picture of a kitten on your posts or claim you have found the next “fat-fighting super-food” to earn an engaged audience. These five tips will set you on your way to creating powerful headlines that attract the traffic your content deserves.

Pose or Answer A Relevant Question

Your audience is constantly bombarded by content, and research has shown that some of the most effective titles pose an interesting and relevant question. These titles give just the right amount of information so the readers’ curiosity is piqued, but little enough that they feel they must click to resolve this curiosity.

You don’t always have to ask an outright question to get the benefits, either. Your title can also answer a valuable question. Here are 3 great examples of how you can use questions and answers to snag clicks:

• Is Your Landlord Trespassing? Learn Your Rights as a Renter
• Why You Should Ignore Some Time-Saving Tips
• SEO Teaching: Should SEO Be Taught At Universities?

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Make Them Laugh and Make Them Cry

Emotion is an extremely powerful motivator. We know that pictures of adorable babies and goofy puppies attract clicks, but how can our words duplicate this effect, and how can we use emotion in our titles without compromising the integrity of our subject matter? If you apply emotion to your titles subtly, you can avoid seeming gimmicky while still capitalizing on your audiences’ core emotional needs and desires.

These titles, for instance, summon feelings of concern for our family, relief of our stress and a shot at understanding what we all want most: happiness.

• How to Keep Your Family Safe from Lead Poisoning
• This is What Nearly Half of Americans Are Stressed About
• How Happiness is Related to Internet Connectivity

Keep SEO in Mind

It doesn’t matter how amazing your content is or how powerful your title if your audience can’t easily find it through search. If you want to make sure that the most people possible see your content, you have to strategize your titles around the phrasing that will get the most qualified search volume.

Google Keyword Planner is the most popular tool for optimizing content titles, but there are plenty of other simple tools available out there. This guide, from BruceClay.com, is one of my favorite resources for learning how to use the keyword planner. It’s helpful in understanding how you can use Keyword Planner to brainstorm titles, find popular phrases and even perform valuable competitive analysis. While it may seem intimidating at first, once you start to see the benefits of optimizing your titles, you will wonder how you ever survived before discovering the Keyword Planner.

Incorporate Trending Current Events

Capitalizing on current events is one of the ways to attract viewers to your content. If an event is popular in the media, you automatically know that it will have high search volume. By including a trending current event in your title, you can capture some of this search volume for your content piece while also providing valuable input that establishes long-term credibility. These two small businesses tapped into search volume surrounding the Ebola Outbreak and Midterm Elections:

• Follow The Money: How An Ebola Outbreak Would Make A Lot Of People Filthy Rich
• Are Republicans Worse Drivers Than Democrats?

You obviously do not want to try to weigh in on current events that do not have a direct link to your business. But, if you get creative, you will be surprised at some of the interesting and unusual connections you can make to your product or service.

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Use Those Cliché Click-Bait Tactics…Selectively!

Despite the obnoxious nature of curiosity-gap headlines, they are unarguably effective. No matter how steeled you are against them, you still click. While it’s hard to be taken seriously if you employ these tactics too often, sometimes a small dose of click-bait is just what your content headline needs.

You can use the principles of click-bait to optimize your headlines by using the most popular, attention-grabbing words, utilizing the power of numbers and making your titles an easy-to-read length. Using words like “science,” “awesome,” “amaze,” and “why” are proven to attract readers.

Numbered list posts, while also cliché, are an extremely effective way of informing your audience exactly what they will get when they click on your post, and also allow you to use the list format, which makes your content easy to digest. Shorter titles are often preferred by readers but play around with various lengths until you find your sweet spot.

Getting clicks is a high priority for any content creator, and to do this we need to be able to generate optimized headlines that bring readers to our site and improve the authority of our brand. These five tips will help you on your way to an amazing headline, but you should view your headline as a teaser, not the main attraction. Remember that quality content is still the main building block for an engaged audience.

This article originally appeared on More Than Metrics.

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