The field of content marketing is growing at a rapid pace. It is becoming essential to the success of most companies. It’s no surprise that professional content marketing jobs are now growing steadily in number.

That being said, hiring a content marketer should not be taken lightly. A bad hire can cost a large amount of money, and set the company back by quite a bit. Plus, it can make your business look unprofessional.

With this guide, you will know what to look for when hiring someone to be your content marketer.

Why hire a content marketer?

A good content marketer will make all the difference to your business, and will likely do so over time. They’ll help you build a solid community that is engaged with your business. Plus, they’ll help you save time and avoid dealing with marketing tasks. Marketers will also help you establish yourself as a thought leader. And, perhaps most importantly for businesses, they’ll help you increase your revenue.

8 traits to look for when hiring a content marketer

Whether you’re hiring a freelance or full-time content marketer, here are the traits to look in candidates:

1. Honest

Honesty is, of course, an essential trait in any potential workplace partner. If you want to know that someone has your best interests at heart, you need to be able to trust them.

With marketers, this characteristic takes on added importance because the work they do holds such great sway over the success of your business. When it comes right down to it, honesty and integrity are what will drive a writer or marketer toward finding the best solution for your business’s unique situation—not just trying to make themself look good.

On top of all this, an honest person is just easier to work with. They won’t leave you hanging when something goes wrong. Instead, they will take full responsibility for their part and learn from their mistakes, so those same problems don’t happen again in the future.

2. Trustworthiness

A content marketer has to be someone you can trust. You need to feel confident that they’ll deliver the work in a timely and professional manner, and that they will respect copyright laws. You should also feel secure knowing that your content marketer won’t do anything with your company name or product names without going through you first.

When hiring a marketer, take note of whether or not they have strong communication skills (whether it be through email, phone calls, or face-to-face meetings), and make sure they respond promptly to emails, texts, and phone calls. They’ll make sure all your deliverables are on time, and if they can’t make the deadline, they’ll communicate with you, so you’re not left surprised.

3. Clear communicator

The ideal content marketer is both persuasive and clear. In other words, someone who knows how to say just enough to get the job done, but not so much that it feels awkward or robotic.

The most successful content marketers are those who know how to express themselves in such a way that their ideas stick with the reader long after they’ve read them. They have a natural rhythm, pace, and ease when communicating. Not only does this make their messages easier to absorb and understand, it also makes them more memorable for future readers.

Content marketers should be:

1. A strong writer and editor: Content marketers need to have solid writing skills, and they should also be able to edit their own work and the work of others.
2. A good listener: Content marketers need to be able to listen carefully in order to fully understand a brief or project so they can make high-quality content that meets your needs.

Communication is a huge part of marketing. If a content marketer is an engaging person, they’ll be able to successfully communicate their ideas effectively in written or spoken form without sounding contrived or robotic—which will benefit your company in the long run!

4. Excellent project management skills

If you want to hire a content marketer, it’s important they know how to manage projects. Someone skilled at this will be able to help determine what a project needs, and work with you to create an action plan. They’ll also be able to follow through on the plan, and make sure that everyone is aligned with the right expectations.

One of the most important skills you should be looking for in a candidate is project management. An excellent content marketer must be able to effectively plan, coordinate, and execute projects. They’ll need to know how to allocate resources and budget efficiently, but also effectively communicate their operational needs with stakeholders and team members, so that everyone is on the same page.

If you’re hiring someone who has worked at an agency or freelance before, this will likely be one of the first things they mention in their resume or portfolio. They’ll be able to walk you through projects they’ve managed from start-to-finish, so pay close attention to what they say about how they organized a successful project.

5. Takes initiative

You want content marketing candidates who are comfortable taking initiative. This means they’re able to get things done without being told, they’re willing to take on new projects, and they seek out new opportunities. A candidate who is always waiting for someone else to do something isn’t going to be able to make much progress as a content marketer.

Can this person meet deadlines? Can he or she stay motivated and produce high-quality work even when the assignment is a short, unglamorous one? The ability to do this kind of work day in and day out will be fundamental for the person you ultimately hire.

Having someone who can think critically and act decisively is key to ensuring that projects get done efficiently and effectively.

6. Collaborative, yet independent

Everyone likes working with self-motivated people who don’t need constant handholding. If content marketers are going to succeed at their jobs and become valuable contributors, they have to have an innate drive that propels them forward without any prompting from above.

However, although your content marketers need to be independent, they also need to be able to collaborate. Content marketing is a group effort—it doesn’t usually happen in a vacuum, and there’s a lot of cross-departmental collaboration that needs to happen throughout the process.

7. Creativity

Content marketing is all about telling interesting stories, and you need people who can really think outside of the box to do that. Look for candidates who have branched out from typical content marketing formats and tried something different.

Content marketers need to be able to produce fresh content that is engaging and inspiring. People who are in these roles need to be extremely creative!

8. Curiosity and authenticity

It’s essential for content marketers to be curious about the world around them—they should be able to take random interests and connect them back to brand messaging or core values in ways that are natural yet still feel authentic. Readers can sniff out a brand that’s not being real a mile away.

Content marketers need to be curious people who are eager to find new ways to express your brand authentically. They should be willing and excited to sit down with your brand to understand your values, goals, and visions. They should be understanding of the fact that oftentimes, the best stories come from asking questions.

Most importantly: Choose someone you trust

Be sure to consider these traits from the outset to help you find the content marketer who is right for your brand. Make sure that the person you hire is talented and dependable. The right person will also be someone who understands your business and prospects, someone who’s detail-oriented, and organized. It’s also helpful to find an expert who can work quickly while maintaining high-quality standards.

Good luck finding the best content marketer for your brand! If you would like to work with me, please leave your information below. 👇🏼