How to Hire a Content Editor for Your Small Business

Creating high-quality content is an essential but time-consuming task for every small business owner. With a dozen other projects that need your attention, you may feel like sitting down to write and edit another blog post or newsletter is the last thing you want to do. Maybe you’ve even resorted to using AI drafts as your finished content just to get it done.

 But imagine having someone who can take a messy first draft and create a polished piece of marketing content. Someone who has taken the time to get to know your brand and goals. Someone who knows your brand voice and can shape those blog posts, newsletters, and reports so they perfectly reflect and strengthen your brand. Think of all the extra time you’d have to focus on those projects you keep meaning to get around to.

Why your small business needs a content editor

A content editor can boost the effectiveness of your writing with improved clarity, focused messaging, and consistent writing. In addition, having a good editor on your team ensures that every piece of content you publish is grammatically correct, aligned with your brand voice, and engaging to your ideal reader. A content editor also knows how to boost your online search rankings by using keywords with the proper frequency and placement.

Small business owners frequently find content editors to be extremely helpful in their marketing efforts. Not only do content editors ease their client’s workload, but they pore over the tedious details—a task many people find to be too time-consuming—to ensure that your written communications are the best they can be. Creating high-quality, well-written content consistently helps small business owners develop trust with their audience—and trust is at the core of every strong relationship.

Many small business owners wonder whether hiring a content editor is within their budget. Most content editors have reasonable prices and will work with your budget. Frequently, quotes for projects will have several options designed to fit different budget needs.

When I create proposals for projects, I typically include 2-3 different options. I will offer a starter package, a mid-range package, and a comprehensive package. The starter package will include basic editing services, the mid-range includes a few more editing services, and the comprehensive package will include full editing services. I find this approach allows clients to reap the benefits of having their work edited while staying within their budget.

What to look for in a content editor

A content editor should take to time to learn about your business—including your brand, target audience, competitors, and goals. Taking the time upfront to learn as much as possible about your business is vital to be able to write in your brand voice and connect with your target audience.

Your content editor should be good with details, including fixing typos, grammatical errors, and structural or organizational aspects of a written piece. Links need to be checked to ensure they’re working. The spelling of names, locations, and organizations need to be verified, and facts must be checked. These small details are important. Typos, misspellings, and broken links will make readers think that the writer was careless, resulting in an erosion of trust between the author and the reader.

If you do not have a written style guide for your organization, your content editor should be able to create one. A style guide ensures that your writing is consistent across all content. If you prefer em dashes with a space on either side of it, it should be added to the style guide so that the rule is applied consistently across all communications.

While these small editorial decisions may seem minor, people notice when grammatical decisions are applied inconsistently, and it diminishes trust in your brand.

A content editor should be familiar with best marketing practices and how to boost SEO rankings with keywords (while ensuring that the writing still sounds natural). They should be aware of the importance of placing keywords in headlines and using long-tail keywords.

Your content editor should have writing or editing samples available for you. Also, make sure to read through their website. You will get a feel for their writing and editing style from the content on their website (content editors edit their own work, too!).

Make sure to take some time to get a feel for your content editor. Editing is a collaborative process where the editor makes suggestions, but ultimately, you, the customer, makes the final call. For marketing content, you want a content editor with some flexibility. You don’t want an editor who gets so hung up on grammatical minutiae that they miss the big picture of what you’re trying to achieve.  

Where to find a great content editor

The best way to find a content editor is a referral from another small business owner or professional group (such as your local chamber of commerce or a LinkedIn group). In addition, you could reach out to editing associations, such as ACES or EFA.

Many people have success using platforms like Fiverr or Reedsy to find editors. However, I would recommend using caution with these sites. While these platforms may work well for one-off projects, they’re not ideal for establishing long-term relationships with an editor—editors on these sites rely on high volume, so they won’t be able to spend much time learning about your business. Also, these platforms are open to anyone, so the quality of the editors may vary significantly.

If you’re looking for an editor who will help your business grow over time, I’d suggest taking some time to talk to different editors and see which one best aligns with your business needs.

How to hire with confidence

Start by defining your business goals: what content needs editing (e.g., newsletters, blogs, website, etc.). What is the purpose of the project? For example, are you trying to increase brand awareness, generate leads, or improve customer engagement?

Set a budget and a timeline. How much can you afford to spend on this particular project? When do you need it completed?

Tell your editor about your brand. The clearer you are on your brand—your brand voice, personality, and tone—the easier it will be for your editor to provide content that aligns with your expectations. The key is being able to communicate this with your editor.

Before signing up for a long-term commitment with a content editor, consider starting with a small project. This allows you see how they operate and assess whether your experience matched (or exceeded) or expectations. If all went well during the small project and you’re thrilled with the results, then it’s time for a happy dance! You’ve found yourself an editor that’s a good fit for you.

What to expect from the process

One of the most important skills for a freelance content editor is listening. There should be a genuine curiosity and interest in your business, so you should expect a lot of questions (if your prospective editor is not asking a lot of questions, that should be a red flag!). Your answers are going to guide the editor throughout the editing process to ensure that the outcome connects with your audience, contains a clear message, and aligns with your brand tone.

Content editors must be open to feedback. Editing is the process of shaping a piece of writing—a back-and-forth exchange between the editor and the client—to make your project the best it can be. The more feedback an editor gets, the easier it is for them to adjust their writing style to match what you’re looking for.

Hiring a content editor for your small business doesn’t need to be an intimidating process. A good editor will approach your project with curiosity, a desire to help, and a focus on creating a final product that connects with your audience and supports the growth of your small business.

Are you thinking about hiring a content editor? Tell me about your project and let’s see if we’re a good fit to work together.