10 Tips For Entrepreneurs Starting an Online Marketplace for Freelance Writers
Technology has pushed the use of content to the forefront and businesses are in great need of it. Content writing solves various problems of businesses who want to reach out to a wide group of audience. To satisfy these requirements, they often hire full-time writers only to realize that hiring a freelance writer is more economical.
This creates a huge demand for freelance writers, which enables entrepreneurs to start their own business by opening an online marketplace for said profession. Entrepreneurs can subsequently earn consistent profits with this online business idea, but for that, one needs to know some important tips about starting a marketplace for freelance writers.
Here are ten actionable tips for entrepreneurs.
- Being Productive
Time is an essential commodity and starting an online business requires one to spend time building the website from scratch. It is essential for an entrepreneur to know those shortcuts that can save time as well as money. When it comes to building an online marketplace for freelance writers, an entrepreneur can choose to build the website on top of a platform, enabling them to deploy the marketplace quickly and economically.
- Choosing Wisely
There are many platforms which enables an entrepreneur to quickly launch an online marketplace. However, extensive research and work is required to know the pros and cons of different marketplace platforms. To get advanced features at an economical cost, one should choose a platform like PaperWeight. In addition to offering a review management feature, it also provides easy bid management.
- Market Early
There is more to marketing than what meets the eye. Entrepreneurs who wait for their startup to establish first often miss out on crucial opportunities by not marketing early. By starting the marketing campaign before the actual launch of said online marketplace, business owners can generate a boost and reap the benefits later — during and after the actual launch.
- Scalability
To sustain your business in ever-changing market conditions, startups need to focus on building scalable products. However, scalability is not limited to products as it also includes the platform in which the marketplace for freelance writers is to be built. Startups should choose a platform which comes with the following:
- The code should follow MVC architecture for easy maintenance
- Option to use it as a self-hosted platform
- Performance
The number of people using the internet on smartphones is all set to overtake the number of desktop internet users. This makes it important to give priority to making mobile-friendly websites so that mobile web browsers can load them quickly. To make a marketplace for freelance writers mobile-friendly, the use of heavy scripts based on languages like javascript, ajax, and more should be restricted.
- Communication
When businesses hire a writer, then the two need to consult on an ongoing basis so that the end product is as per their requirements. Keeping this in mind, one should ensure to go for such a platform which also offers a communication tool. This may include a built-in instant messaging or emailing tool to enable businesses and writers to communicate effortlessly.
- Helping Businesses Hire the Best
Nothing shows a writer’s achievements like a testimonial from a client, and the same principle applies to an online marketplace for freelance writers. By enabling businesses to leave a review or testimonial after the successful completion of a task, one is effectively letting other businesses see how proficient the writer is. Other features in the platform may include rating, skill domain, and more.
- Marketing Features
Many brands fail because of inconsistency in their marketing efforts. There can be numerous reasons such as insufficient budget, a lack of ideas and/or ongoing strategies which include blogging and social media, which can significantly improve the traffic on a freelance writer’s marketplace. In addition, it can also help a startup with lead generation. Therefore, a writer’s marketplace platform should come with an integrated blogging platform.
- Expandable
A growing startup may need to add various features in the marketplace to cater to customers’ needs. Requirements like additional payment gateways, integration with third party APIs can arise any minute. Before choosing a marketplace for freelance writers, one must assess how easily third party services can be integrated with the website and at what cost.
- Hosting
Entrepreneurs should know the nitty-gritty behind hosted and self-hosted platforms. Each comes with its own set of pros and cons, making it necessary for entrepreneurs to research well in order to make an informed decision. With hosted platforms, the challenges of scalability are easily addressed as in a growing startup, the need to scale is the top priority.
Do you have any queries and concerns about starting an online marketplace for freelance writers? Share it with us by dropping a comment below.