Hire a Content Writer who captures your real expertise

Test with your own topic

Give candidates a short brief on a topic from your industry. You will quickly see whether they research properly, structure clearly and ask good questions.

Make expert time efficient

Schedule short, regular interviews between your writer and experts. Thirty minutes of conversation can produce several articles when the writer prepares good questions.

Agree a style guide

Document tone, spelling preferences, terms to avoid and how to reference sources. A style guide reduces editing and keeps content consistent across writers.

Build in review steps

Decide who reviews for accuracy and who approves publication. For regulated industries, add a compliance check before anything goes live.

Plan updates as well as new pieces

Allocate part of the writer's time to updating existing content. Refreshing high-potential pages often delivers more value than publishing new ones.

A sample job summary for a content writer

A clear summary might read: we are looking for a content writer to produce in-depth guides, service pages and newsletters for our business audience in Australia. You will interview our experts, research topics thoroughly, write in clear Australian English, follow SEO briefs and update existing content. This role suits a curious writer who enjoys turning complex subjects into practical, readable content and who checks facts carefully.

Red flags when hiring a content writer

Be wary of writers whose samples read smoothly but say little, or who cannot explain how they researched a piece. Generic content is easy to produce with AI and rarely builds trust. Also watch for weak editing habits, such as inconsistent spelling, unsupported claims or missing sources. Ask how they would capture expertise from your team, because that is what makes your content different.

What a good first week looks like

Your content writer reviews your existing content, audience and competitors, agrees a style guide and schedules interviews with one or two experts. They outline the first article and share it for feedback before writing in full. They may also identify a few existing pages that need updating. By the end of the week, there should be an agreed content plan and the first draft in progress.

In-house writer, freelancer or managed writer?

An in-house writer suits businesses with constant content needs and internal editorial leadership. Freelancers suit occasional projects but vary in availability and quality. A managed content writer through Apex offers consistency, editorial standards and support from SEO specialists, without recruitment overhead. The right choice depends on volume, how specialised your topics are and who will manage quality.

Tools and access to prepare for your content writer

Give your writer access to your CMS with an author or editor role, a shared folder for drafts and assets, and your brand and style guidelines. Share a list of subject experts with their availability for short interviews, along with any existing research, case studies and sales presentations that capture how you explain your services. If an SEO specialist is involved, share their keyword map so content targets the right intent from the start.

Agree a simple approval path, such as writer to expert to marketing lead, with a target turnaround for each step. Content often stalls in review rather than in writing, so clear ownership keeps the schedule on track.

Measuring your content writer's impact

Track publishing against the agreed schedule, then measure how each piece performs: organic traffic, time on page, newsletter sign-ups and enquiries influenced. Over time, track search visibility for the topics you target. Quality matters too, so collect feedback from subject experts on accuracy and from sales teams on whether content helps conversations. Content should be judged on whether it attracts and convinces the right readers, not just on volume.

Interview questions to ask a content writer

1. How do you research a topic you know nothing about?
2. How would you interview one of our experts?
3. Show me how you would structure a guide on our main service.
4. How do you write for search without sounding robotic?
5. How do you use AI tools, and how do you check their output?
6. Tell me about feedback that improved your writing.
7. How do you handle a tight deadline with incomplete information?
8. Which Australian English conventions do you follow?

A 30, 60 and 90 day plan for your new content writer