How the HubSpot Blog Built a Freelance Writing Program That Actually Makes Great Content 

After I began working with freelancers, I’d expertise a sinking feeling when a primary draft hit my inbox. Would this piece be any good? Or, would I be rewriting a whole article myself to get one thing usable?

Or maybe, I discovered a gem — a freelancer who would make my day with a light-weight edit, robust writing, and a grasp of the subject material at hand.

I’d do something in my energy to make them completely satisfied. Please don’t go away me, I’d whisper to my laptop computer as I typed a praise-filled thanks electronic mail.

4 years later, I’ve cracked the code. I now run HubSpot’s Freelance Community, a contract program with over 40 writers.

My crew creates over 800 items yearly. I really feel like I’ve a set of uncommon gems, every with their very own specialised insights that may assist our viewers develop.

The very best half? I’m lastly able to share how I made this program a actuality.

However first, right here’s a bit of about me. My title is Kaitlin. I’m a journalist by commerce who’s made the transition into the fantastic world of content material advertising. So, my first position working with freelancers was in that previous life at enterprise publications.

In 2022, I used to be recruited by HubSpot for a brand-new problem. My mission was to construct a sturdy group of freelancers to serve HubSpot’s full portfolio of English blogs.

Infrastructure is all the pieces.

After I first joined HubSpot, I used to be launched to 11 freelance writers. I additionally inherited an ordinary working process (SOP) doc that described the best way to write new posts and replace present ones. The remainder was mine to construct.

I spent most of my days creating the inspiration to assist freelancers at scale.

Earlier than I joined the crew, freelancers have been an additional activity that our writers and weblog managers leveraged solely when wanted. Infrastructure was wanted to standardize these processes.

Right here’s what I labored on.

Investing in Private Coaching

The SOP doc I obtained on my first day was important for serving to me get oriented in my position. Nonetheless, the doc was 21 pages lengthy.

Positive, all the data was useful, however I knew our writers would skim the doc at greatest. That they had dozens of purchasers every and wouldn’t spend the afternoon studying the textual content carefully over espresso.

So, we needed to regulate. I break up the SOP into two shorter paperwork — one for updates and the opposite for brand new posts. I then arrange a studying administration system with an onboarding course.

New writers would want to sign up and watch quick movies about the best way to write for HubSpot, who our personas are, and the best way to use admin instruments like our invoicing system.

I may see who really accomplished the course and remind others that this video sequence was a necessary a part of onboarding.

The consequence was rather a lot sooner than studying the doc, and I used to be capable of assure compliance. Plus, I nonetheless despatched alongside SOP paperwork so the writers may assessment them at any time.

I then took coaching one step additional. For every new author, I created a personalized Loom video about their first posts. In it, I’d assessment each component of their project in Asana, our mission administration platform, explaining any HubSpot-specific jargon and the way we count on submissions to be formatted.

After I began this course of, I discovered that I obtained fewer electronic mail inquiries about easy questions. As an alternative, we have been capable of deal with hard-hitting editorial wants.

Past that, just a few writers have informed me this was essentially the most organized onboarding course of they’ve skilled, which all the time offers me a heat fuzzy feeling.

Making Processes Gentle-Contact

Freelance writers are busy folks, all the time on the slicing fringe of an article or weblog submit. As a program supervisor, I need to be sure they will deal with what they love — writing — and breeze by any administrative challenges.

I started standardizing our assignments. I linked all the pieces our writers would want, like related paperwork and sources, in an electronic mail despatched at the beginning of each month. Every project had a clearly marked value, a hyperlink to an Asana activity card with directions, and a hyperlink to a Google Doc the place they might write.

Writers now not needed to copy, paste, and format partitions of textual content when engaged on updates. They didn’t should dig within the annals of our web site for related knowledge factors. They might peruse data in a single place after which get to writing.

Professional tip: This may occasionally appear to be a easy step, however as a pacesetter, you must take away redundant, pointless duties out of your writers. You recognize your inside methods greatest. Make them as straightforward and light-touch as attainable to your freelancers.

Rethinking Content material Briefs

Lastly, I fully shifted how we wrote content material briefs.

As a crew, we have tracked our weblog assignments in Asana for the reason that very starting.

Nonetheless, traditionally, the project directions have been quick bullet factors meant for in-house writers. For instance, we might ask them to shorten intros, write new sections, or add hyperlinks to related product mentions.

These bare-bones briefs labored for in-house writers who spent months out of their position onboarding. Nonetheless, freelancers wanted extra particulars to supply their greatest work.

I started translating posts for our exterior crew. If an instruction had jargon, like “take away extra parameters to inside hyperlinks,” I’d reformat the bullet into customary language, like “take away UTM monitoring codes from hyperlinks.”

For brand new posts, I additionally started creating proposed outlines. That included how lengthy intros must be, what subheadings we would need to embrace, and the way every part must be formatted.

The consequence? First drafts began to reach in higher form, requiring fewer edits and fewer rounds of revisions from the writers.

With these parts in place, I used to be capable of deal with staffing this system. I put out calls on LinkedIn for writers and vetted their portfolio items.

Because the variety of assignments I obtained grew, I introduced writers with related B2B experiences on board.

Listed here are the ratios I used:

• 40 items for 11 freelance writers
• 60 items for 30 freelance writers
• 80 items for 50 freelance writers

That development would have triggered chaos with no robust basis.

The Rise of AI — and Squashing Get-Wealthy-Fast Schemes

In November 2022, ChatGPT launched to the general public. Anybody may write a brief textual content immediate and generate … effectively, something. That features full-length weblog posts with correct headings.

Sure, AI hallucinated, developing with faux details. Generally, the output sounded stilted, however that by no means stops grifters.

Shortly after ChatGPT launched, my TikTok was crammed with get-rich-quick gurus promoting programs on the best way to make passive earnings by freelance writing. Simply kind a immediate, have AI generate an article, and ship it to program managers like me.

Positive sufficient, I began to obtain items that have been a bit of fishy.

That supply’s firm couldn’t be known as “ABC Net Design Firm.” The writing appeared too generic, with no distinct voice.

I started to feed submissions into Copyleaks, a plagiarism and AI content material checker.

And guess what I discovered? Anyplace from 60% to 90% of the textual content in these posts was generated by AI.

In March 2023, I despatched out a memo to our writers that acknowledged AI may solely be used within the analysis and brainstorming phases of writing.

For items that had already been submitted, I reached out if over 10% of the textual content was flagged as AI-generated. Writers had seven days to make adjustments to the AI parts of their writing.

If adjustments weren’t made inside this timeframe, our editors would step in to rewrite the sections. In these circumstances, the editor obtained the byline for the article as an alternative of the author.

For all items assigned since March 2023, we carried out a zero-tolerance coverage for AI-generated or plagiarized work. If a chunk got here again flagged, we required a rewrite of the submit earlier than cost was issued. We then eliminated the author from our roster.

To many, this may appear strict. Nonetheless, I consider that preserving human perception is important to incomes visitors.

Each two days, folks create sufficient content material to surpass the world’s inhabitants, in line with Neil Patel’s session at our most up-to-date INBOUND convention.

Of that, round 94% of net pages that rank on Google get zero visitors. AI exacerbates this problem.

We constructed a program that pays folks pretty for his or her human writing, crammed with actual suggestions and useful recommendation.

AI-generated content material may by no means be exceptional. It’s the typical sum of all of the writing on the web. To earn engagement, I do know we want that human contact.

Freelance Community 2.0: Pivoting to E-E-A-T

In April 2023, the content material advertising realm shifted once more, this time with an replace to Google’s Core Algorithm.

One of many largest adjustments was an elevated emphasis on E-E-A-T — or experience, expertise, authority, and trustworthiness.

As an alternative of AI-driven content material, Google started to prioritize work crafted from lived-experience. Which means numerous “I” statements, private anecdotes, and professional suggestions that would by no means be replicated by a content material generalist.

Websites throughout the web misplaced visitors in droves, together with yours actually — the HubSpot Blog. We needed to fully remodel the Freelance Community in response.

To start out, I wanted to see who on the crew was a secret subject material professional (SME). Which means I used to be in search of freelancers who had a job as a marketer, customer support consultant, gross sales particular person, or net developer.

To take action, I despatched out a survey to our present writers asking which fields they labored in beforehand and for the way lengthy.

I discovered that various our writers had expertise that already made them SMEs. One in every of our writers spent years as a assist rep, making him an amazing match for Service Weblog articles.

One other had spent eight years at a advertising company, specializing in public relations and disaster administration.

With this data at hand, I may pair our writers with assignments that matched their lived experiences. They might then weave in related tales and useful suggestions a common content material author wouldn’t know.

Subsequent, I shared the worth of gathering quotes. We nonetheless had various nice writers who may talk advanced concepts however lacked direct, skilled experiences within the topics we cowl.

To fill the hole, these writers would want to behave like journalists, gathering quotes from professionals within the area.

I requested who felt comfy reaching out for quotes.

Our crew started making connections to inside HubSpotters who may add their views as sources in posts.

Past that, we shared our favourite sources (like Help a B2B Writer and Featured) to assist our writers nonetheless making the transition.

After that, I needed to discover new writers who have been lively practitioners to workers the Weblog. Whereas quotes are useful, there’s nonetheless an actual place for thought management and how-to articles from individuals who lived the expertise. I booked a gathering with every Weblog’s managing editor to ask what they seemed for in an SME.

Let’s use our Gross sales Weblog for example. Jay Fuchs, Gross sales Weblog editor at HubSpot, mentioned his preferrred SME had frolicked as a enterprise growth consultant and an account government. Administration expertise within the B2B house was a bonus.

I turned our dialog right into a scorecard to keep away from hiring bias and put out a name for writers.

That’s how we discovered Mark Burdon and Michael Welch, two of our SMEs on the Gross sales Weblog. They’re capable of share the expertise of monitoring gross sales metrics and working groups. They complement our workers’s journalistic efforts with knowledge straight from the supply.

My 5 Greatest Learnings

To this point, I coated the broad performs we made to construct the Freelance Community. However I’ve discovered so a lot over the past two-and-a-half years. Listed here are the 5 largest classes that I consider can assist anybody working a contract program.

1. It’s essential pay truthful.

On this planet of freelance writing, you typically get what you pay for. In my expertise, a low price ticket results in sloppy work. And even worse, your writers could churn. So, we have to pay competitively and keep in step with business traits.

If you must check instruments for an in-depth assessment or collect quotes, I would plan for the next price ticket. I additionally encourage my writers to inform me if a submit is extra work or for much longer than we count on. That permits me to regulate the worth accordingly.

2. Editors are your make-or-break.

I’m so lucky to work with a crew of nice freelancers. Nonetheless, even the most effective writers make errors. That may vary from clunky sentences to typos or lacking alt textual content to improper formatting.

That’s the place enhancing is available in.

Along with our freelance writers, the Freelance Community has two contract editors, Taylor Cromwell and Margaret Cousino. They be sure that all the requests within the temporary are fulfilled and that the ultimate drafts are error-free.

Past that, our inside Freelance Community crew does a top quality assessment.

All of our freelancers — writers and editors — have a number of purchasers with completely different fashion guides. I advocate for having a last set of eyes inside your group.

Belief me, your inside crew will catch the final little issues others could miss.

3. Don’t workers what you don’t know.

In 2022, I used to be tasked with discovering writers who may create coding tutorials for our Web site Weblog. I put out a name on LinkedIn and located just a few builders.

Their work appeared ok to me. The issue? I don’t know the best way to code and couldn’t fact-check their writing.

That was my largest failure as a program chief. We had sub-par content material that we needed to shelve. A few of it by no means obtained revealed.

My largest studying: Don’t discover writers for topic areas you understand nothing about.

I’ve began tackling this problem once more, honing in on HTML and CSS technical writers. Nonetheless, I’m working hand-in-glove with Jamie Juviler, the Web site Weblog’s lead editor.

I’m taking part in the position of a recruiter, reaching out to potential candidates. Jamie really opinions their work and decides who’s proficient sufficient to remain.

4. Suggestions makes the world go spherical.

My program makes at the least 60 assignments a month. Recently, we’ve been doling out upwards of 100 items. I’ve all the time discovered it tough to present suggestions with such lofty objectives. That’s why I’m so grateful for my colleague Marja Vitti.

Marja joined our crew in March 2024. Since then, she’s carried out a suggestions program that enables us to present kudos for nice work and proper inconsistencies early.

Our editors now write feedback all through the submitted Google Doc and tag the author for assessment. Then, we make one other clear copy and ship it to our inside weblog crew managers for add.

The writers get useful suggestions. Our property house owners internally get an easy-to-read, easy-to-upload model of the textual content. It is a win-win.

This technique has proved particularly useful for our subject material consultants. They’re nice writers with distinctive insights of their fields. Nonetheless, they typically don’t have a technical search engine marketing background.

This commenting system permits them to study as they develop with us.

5. Generally, you must break up.

Not each author is the correct match. In right now’s panorama, you could have to say goodbye to your content material generalists in favor of subject material consultants.

I’ve needed to write many breakup emails on this position. It’s my least favourite a part of my job, however generally, it’s important.

You could have a author that’s all the time late. Or maybe, they will’t adapt to your new EEAT-driven technique, even with all of your coaching sources.

Your crew must be lean and crammed with nice writers. You’ll have to say goodbye to those that don’t make the minimize. And, that’s okay.

You’re Not Working a Farm

If I wished to farm, I’d purchase chickens! Horrible jokes apart, working a content material farm sounds interesting on paper. You’ll find content material generalists, pay them the naked minimal, and play the amount recreation. To me, that’s an enormous mistake.

Your viewers desires human insights from subject material consultants — ideally individuals who have spent years working within the area you cowl.

We additionally know that Google rewards experience below its E-E-A-T components. So, even in case you’re working at a smaller quantity, what you do create may have extra affect.

When you want your individual Freelance Community on a good finances, right here’s what to do:

• Discover SMEs in your area who write insightful LinkedIn articles or posts for his or her firm weblog.
• Get them to write down items primarily based on their lived experiences, with anecdotes and their professional suggestions.
• Publish and promote their work.
• (Go away fully AI-generated posts behind.)

I don’t consider creating content material with freelancers like farming. As an alternative, I consider myself as a museum curator, discovering beneficial gems and displaying them for the world to see.

Good luck! I hope you discover as a lot pleasure as I did as you curate your individual museum.