“I’m having trouble with a client,” one of my fellow freelancers told me last week over a beer. “There’s a breakdown in our communication, and it's complicating deliverables.”

He went on to tell me he was learning about new projects far too late, and even though he delivered the materials on time, the breakdown in communication and resulting compressed timelines meant lower quality deliverables.

Communication breakdowns are hardly unique to freelancers, but because we’re not in the office, these types of issues can interfere with the quality of the work we produce. Creating a strong rapport with your writer, and ensuring that he has access to your projects and deadlines, is one way you can make sure you get the most out of the engagement.

Here are a few other things you can do to make sure your writer is producing top quality content for you.

Invite Her to Team Meetings

Your freelancer doesn’t need to know all the ins and outs about your team. However, she does need to know about an upcoming virtual conference, next month’s campaign, and the corporate themes you want to focus on in the coming quarter.

Ronni Kives, a colleague of mine, believes that this is something her clients should do more of. “Messaging documents are great. However, nothing beats meeting the team members and hearing what the priorities are for each member. As a writer, it gives me a better idea of your company’s tone of voice and thought process, and exposes me to case studies or other developments that I would not find out without access to internal sources.”

Invite your freelancer to take part in relevant meetings, or at least the part that applies to her. Yes, you will have to pay for her time, and if she needs to drive in for the meeting instead of video or call conferencing in you’ll probably need to chip in to cover parking and transport expenses, but that’s a small price to pay to ensure that your extended team is on the same page.

Through these meetings, your writer will get the full picture of what you need. She’ll meet subject matter experts who she can turn to for more information, and get the backstory required to create engaging content.

Conversations About Voice

Every business has their own voice, which needs to come through the content your writer is creating. My colleague Yudit Frei says “I spend time with every new engagement talking to my client about their voice. They need to tell me whether they want to address their customers with something formal, casual, or emotional.”

Some brands prefer a humorous touch, while others want to appear conversational in their content. Spend time talking to your writer so that she understands the tone you are trying to strike with your readers.

Don’t Be the Lowest Paying Client

Most freelancers juggle multiple clients, often negotiating different rates with each one. As professionals, we strive to deliver every piece of content on time, and ensure that it meets our quality standards, regardless of the negotiated rate. Most of the time, you won’t suffer from being the best negotiator.

There are times, however, when your writer will need to prioritize one client’s work over another, and when that happens, price can come into play. If you are the lowest paying client and need a rush job or want to schedule a call, you may find your freelancer unable to find the bandwidth needed to work on your job.

Share Relevant Content

The fastest way to bring your writer up to speed is to share existing content with them. It can be older materials, competitor’s content that you want to emulate, or notes for an upcoming blog. For current projects, be sure to share PowerPoint decks, meeting notes, and crucial emails.

These materials function as runway lights. They guide your writer, allowing her to create deliverables that don’t need multiple rounds of revisions.

Talk About Your Competitive Environment

It’s important for your writer to be familiar with your competitors. For one, it helps them see the type of content that is being used to reach customers in your industry. Perhaps more importantly, it helps them get a better feel for the type of language and terminology used in the industry.

Daniel Rosehill, an independent technology writer, adds "To deliver the best possible writing, your writer needs a lot of the same background information that you would share with your internal resources. Help them understand the conversations that are happening in your industry — and those that your organization wants to be a part of. When your freelance writer feels like a valued resource that is part of a seamless in-house/external team, they will both take the relationship more seriously, enjoy the work more, and give it 100%."

Bear in mind that even if you hired a writer based on his industry knowledge, that doesn’t mean he knows which competitors are most important to you. Take the time to give him a full view of your competitive situation. It will raise the level of your content much faster.

Make it Work

Utilizing freelance talent is a cost-effective way to create the content you need without making a large financial investment into a full-time employee. However, to maximize those efforts, you need to ensure that your freelancer has the resources to turn conversations into content.

If you’re looking for a writer, Writehook can help. Or, feel free to click on one of our colleagues’ links quoted above. We’re ready to create some great content for you.