You already know the recipe for writing winning vacation rental listing descriptions, but you’d rather hire freelance copywriters to help your listings reach their full potential. If you’ve never hired freelance travel writers before, you might wonder where to begin. Rest assured we can help! Here is everything you need to get started.
It’s more common than ever for freelancers to specialize in copywriting for one particular industry – just look at noted online travel writers like Jessica Vozel or Erin Raub as an example. They’ve built their careers around the growing travel industry and they cover all types of ground within their professions, from blogging and copywriting for businesses, to the exact topic we’re covering here: copywriting for vacation rental listing descriptions.
Though Vozel and Raub are some of the most well-known internet travel names of the moment, that’s not to say the list is exhaustive. There are tons of places you can look for freelance copywriters.
1. Personal recommendations & referrals
If you happen to have a network of friends or colleagues who also have vacation rental homes, a good place to start is by asking them for any recommendations. More often than not, property owners who have received a good service would be happy to pass on contact details of the provider, especially as both parties may benefit from the deal.
Ask around amongst your peers for advice and referrals, or you can even start discussions on online forums for vacation rental communities and see what results you get. These discussions could be on sites where you list your vacation rental already like Airbnb or HomeAway, or on professional LinkedIn groups or Reddit threads.
2. Freelancing platforms
To dive straight in and find freelance copywriters to spruce up your site, try out online freelance marketplaces like Upworkor Speedlancer. Upwork is the largest and arguably the most famous tool out there for both professionals and businesses alike. You can skim through freelance writer profiles, read reviews about their work at a simple glance and see the kinds of rates they charge.
As freelance writing is quite a saturated market already, and even more so when it comes to sought-after travel writing gigs, you might even find that copywriters will fight for your attention with very competitive rates. Don’t settle for the first writer you come across, get to know the market beforehand and use writers’ ratings and work examples to make an informed decision.
3. Agencies
Instead of choosing the individual for the job, you could choose an umbrella copywriting agency and have them handle the paperwork and decisions for you.
One option is choosing a specialized agency like GuestHook, who really know their stuff when it comes to vacation rental listing descriptions (Jessica Vozel is the co-founder). Alternatively, opt for a more all-bases-covered agency like Copify, who work with big brand names from across many different sectors and they will pair you up with a copywriter who’s right for your role.
Many of these services work on a per word or per post basis, so always check rates before you commit to hiring.
4. Social media
As well as using sites like LinkedIn for discussions, you can actively search for freelancers using the website’s advanced search function. What’s great about using LinkedIn is that your search results will be ordered by relevance to your network.That means if you have any mutual connections, they’ll show up in the top results, so you can ask your common connection to introduce you.
Equally, many independent travel writers or small writing businesses will have profiles on Facebook, Twitter and so on. Just type in your search term and choose the “Accounts” option on Twitter to find all the related results who use those keywords in their bio.
You can also search Twitter for relevant hashtags that freelancers are using – Productive Writers’ list is the perfect starting point.
By contacting freelance travel writers directly on social media, you’ll immediately strike up a conversation as a fan of their work, which in turn provides a great basis for building rapport and starting your professional relationship with them.
Have you had a great experience with a freelancer? How did you find them? Share your story or recommendations in the comments below.