How to Grade Content from Agencies or Freelancers

You need content, so you hire an agency. Or a freelancer.

They submit the work to you for review.

And sure, it looks okay. But how do you know whether or not the content they’ve submitted is good quality – and worth what they’re charging?

Let’s walk through a few simple guidelines for grading the content you pay for.

Try grading it using three simple ratings

Clarity

Is the information presented in a clear, organized way?

Is it enjoyable to read without losing substance or clarity?

Is it largely free from errors?

Context

Does the piece fit the context it’s being used in?

For example, if it’s intended for social media, is the content formatted accordingly – and does it stay within character limits?

Style

Is the tone of the piece appropriate for what you’re using it for?

If you paid for blog posts, they should be informational and helpful, not promotional or “sales-y.”

And if your brand’s overall style is more relaxed, they should read in a casual way, as opposed to sounding academic or formal.

Go through each piece of content you’ve received and grade it based on these guidelines.

That should give you a good idea of whether the content is quality or not.

And if you’re too busy to “grade” content… Outsource! Some of the smartest people we know outsource their content grading to professionals they trust.

So if you purchased videos for ads, but don’t know whether they’re up to par, have a Facebook Ads expert grade them.

Paid for blog posts? Have the best writer you know look them over.

Regardless of the approach you take, we hope this helps you review content more easily – and quickly.