Highlights

• After six months of consistent gains of ~30% in revenue and traffic, Is It Keto’s growth finally flattened out.
• I’m preparing to sell premium meal plans on Is It Keto.
• I’m ready to make bigger bets on my businesses.

Goal grades

At the start of each month, I declare what I’d like to accomplish. Here’s how I did against those goals:

Hire a writer for Is It Keto

• Result: I hired a writer who’s able to write well in the style I want.
• Grade: A

In September, I received 25 new applications from freelance writers. I did paid trials with two of them and made one permanent hire.

• Overview: Hiring Content Writers
• Part One: Finding Writers (this section)
• Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description
• Part Three: Screening Candidates
• Part Four - Working with Writers
• Part Five - Terminating Writers

There are thousands of working freelance writers in the world, but if you’ve never hired one before, you don’t know where to find them. In this section, I describe the places where I sought writers and which sources were fruitful.

• Overview: Hiring Content Writers
• Part One: Finding Writers
• Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description
• Part Three: Screening Candidates
• Part Four - Working with Writers (this section)
• Part Five - Terminating Writers

You can’t judge a writer’s skill accurately until they produce content for you. The paid trial is where the evaluation process truly begins. Use this time to observe how well the two of you communicate and how much coaching or editing they need before their writing matches what you want.

• Overview: Hiring Content Writers
• Part One: Finding Writers
• Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description
• Part Three: Screening Candidates (this section)
• Part Four - Working with Writers
• Part Five - Terminating Writers

Screening writing candidates requires you to make decisions with limited, imperfect information. This section explains what qualities to look for, which red flags to avoid, and how to contain the damage when you accidentally make a poor hire.

• Overview: Hiring Content Writers
• Part One: Finding Writers
• Part Two - Creating a Detailed Job Description
• Part Three: Screening Candidates
• Part Four - Working with Writers
• Part Five - Terminating Writers (this section)

If you’ve followed this guide, you’ve hired writers on a trial basis, which means that many of them won’t work out. This section explains how to gracefully end those relationships and refine your search for future candidates.