- Are you looking to hire or recruit a writer?
- Are you unsure of the type of writer you require?
- Do you know the difference between a tender writer and a technical writer?
- Do you need to recruit a copywriter for a short contract?
This article should help you answer some of those questions and provide a short guide on hiring a writer. If you need more comprehensive recruitment solutions, call our team for help.
Writers come in all shapes and sizes and are generally specialised in different areas. When looking to hire a writer, it’s important that you are very objective in regard to the skills you are seeking, in order to ensure you hire a writer that suits your needs and will exceed your expectations. A technical writer, has different skills to a copywriter or bid writer, and a media and communications writer also has a different skill set.
Let’s go through the main types of writers so you are equipped with the knowledge to make a qualified decision when looking to hire a writer for your business.
Copywriters
Copywriters are particularly skilled at writing short, clear and concise content in a conversational style. This type of ‘copy’ is most useful for LinkedIn promotions, advertisements and newsletter articles. It can be used to generate conversation and traffic to your website, as well as to entice potential clients to pick up the phone and call you.
Copywriters use emotive and persuasive language that motivates people to take action. Therefore it obviously follows why they are particularly skilled at writing advertisements, blogs, website content and newsletters and are the most appropriate choice for clients looking to hire a writer to initiate a call to action campaign.
Technical Writers
Technical writers come in all shapes and sizes, some focused on developing organizational plans, whilst others specialize in creating standard operating procedures and technical user guides. They all share a sophisticated and highly formal writing style with the ability to grasp complexities and present them in a structured, often graphical format. Therefore when looking to hire a writer with a strong technical history, a technical writer is probably what you need.
It’s best to hire a technical writer with a background in your industry so that they have some basic knowledge of the relevant terminology. Furthermore, technical writers with a strong industry background will ‘get it’ when you ask them to draft complex technical material, and therefore provide a more comprehensive service.
With technical writers, they generally aren’t sales focused or sales savvy. That means that they aren’t best placed to write an executive summary for a proposal, however, if you need to put together a set of Standard Operating Procedures, or a product guide, they are the right match.
Bid Writers
Bid writers have a range of skills given the different styles of writing required to complete a bid or tender. If you have received a tender or invitation to bid, then it is best to hire a specialist bid writer. They will have some copywriting skills, usually required to draft an impressive executive summary, as well as technical writing skills to convey your proposed solution, key points of difference, and value proposition. Bid writers also understand how to incorporate overall with themes into tenders and proposals, as well as other readability techniques such as writing in columns.
Bid writers are also skilled in project managing the entire bid process. This entails compiling the documentation and communicating with and coordinating subject matter experts and other internal stakeholders. It’s important to hire a bid writer that works well under pressure and understands the importance of project management.
Media and Communications Writers
Finally there is the media and communications writer. They often double up as a copywriters, they draft advertorials, press releases and other articles for the media. These writers also often draft advertising and online content for online media. Media and communications writers understand the importance of getting across key messages whilst ensuring any writing remains engaging. It’s important for the content to be snappy, and ‘jump off the page’ and these writers will understand what your potential publications will be looking for.
How we can help
We are a tender and bid writing agency specialising in recruiting and placing tender and bid writers. We help organiastions find tender and bid writers, copywriters, and technical writers that suit their needs and will add real value.
Contact our team today to see how we can help!
