Why hire a freelance writer?
If you work at a not-for-profit, you might be wondering: why would I spend my valuable budget on a freelance writer?
Let me tell you, lots of people have the same reaction as you. Many of my friends have been surprised that I’ve been able to make a career out of freelancing for not-for-profits. They wonder why organisations who are trying to keep their overheads low would splash out on an external contractor for something it seems they could do in house.
Well I think there at least four really good reasons a not-for-profit should hire a freelance writer, instead of, or as well as, in house staff. Let’s take a look.
Reason #1: Trust me, you need an expert
Writing for a not-for-profit might seem easy, but it’s actually really difficult to get right. There are so many technical factors that go into connecting with donors, and it’s a really niche skill set.
You might get lucky and hire a staff member who is really good at writing, but in most cases not-for-profits can’t afford to hire true specialists. They need generalists! In roles I’ve had, no fundraising team ever had one single staff member who was just a writer. In one of my jobs, I was a writer and an events coordinator – vastly different roles!
When you hire a freelancer, you can choose someone who is a total expert in what they do. Fundraising letters really are the best example of this – there are quite a few writers who solely write these letters as their full-time business, because their clients recognise that it is just so important to get it right.
Hire an experienced freelancer, and you’ll be getting an expert who has invested serious time into their craft and knows exactly what to do to get the results you need.
Reason #2: Outsiders bring insight
Many not-for-profits are staffed by extremely passionate people, who love what they do and are completely on top of all the ins and outs of the work being done. Which is, of course, a great thing!
But passionate insiders can become too close to the organisation, and unable to effectively communicate to outsiders (donors and potential supporters) why the organisation matters, in a way that will connect to someone who doesn’t work there.
A freelancer cuts through the jargon and the insider knowledge by getting to know your organisation, but then communicating it effectively to an outside audience without being weighed down by too much knowledge. One organisation I worked for hired me specifically to review their internally-produced newsletter, editing it to ensure supporters would understand and connect with all the language used.
Reason #3: Freelancers know the terrain
As a freelancer, I work for a lot of different organisations. I also work for some of the top fundraising and communications agencies in the world. Thanks to the breadth of my work, I know exactly what’s going on in the not-for-profit space. I know what fundraising techniques are popular, what works, and what’s no longer effective.
A good freelancer should bring all their industry knowledge to your organisation, and help you ensure your campaigns and communications are the best of the best.
Recently, I found out that some new fundraising research conducted by an agency I work for had shown that certain types of email subject lines were turning supporters off. I stored away that piece of knowledge, and later used it to help another of my clients craft effective subject lines for their email!
Reason #4: It can be cheaper than hiring staff
When you hire an internal employee, you have to take of paying for everything. It’s not just their salary. You’re also responsible for everything from their equipment (computer, software, etc.) to their superannuation to covering their leave and their coffee breaks, and more.
With a freelancer, you don’t have to pay for that.
You also aren’t locked into having an employee on the books all year round, even when they might not be needed.
Let’s think about it like this: imagine you’re deciding whether to hire another member of staff for your fundraising team, who could take care of writing your print and digital appeals four times a year, and other ad-hoc writing tasks.
Say you want someone in for three days a week, because with meetings and disruptions, that’s what might be needed at the busiest times of year. You might pay them around $60k FTE per year – that works out to $36k per annum for three days a week. And that’s not including the costs of equipment.
I can assure you, hiring a freelancer to work on four projects a year, plus some ad-hoc work, won’t cost you anywhere near $36k! You might be paying around $2-3k per appeal (including all copy across all platforms), plus another $2-5k for the other ad-hoc work.
See how much you could save?
In summary:
Hiring a freelancer is always a good decision… in my totally unbiased opinion!
In all seriousness, you get an expert who will bring all their industry knowledge to you, help you communicate effectively with your supporters, and it will cost you less than hiring an internal staff member.
It’s a great decision!
If you’re keen to chat more about hiring me as a freelancer to work with your organisation, I’d love to chat. Email me at hello@elisabethcarter.com.