Who We’re Looking For…

You’re a writer who’s committed to creating high-quality, personality-driven content that engages readers, drives traffic, and converts customers. You know that the best content fits into a larger plan, and requires research, interviewing, mulling, and, of course, writing and editing. 

Content strategy doesn’t scare you off, and you love digging into the current best practices around copywriting and content creation. You don’t mind engaging directly with clients to discuss strategy and make recommendations, and you love brainstorming new content ideas before sitting down to make them a reality.

You have no problem absorbing the intricacies of style guides, and you can easily incorporate the nuances of brand voice into your work. You enjoy academic writing, business writing, and blog post creation, and you appreciate that written content is one piece of a larger marketing strategy.

If any of this sounds like you, read on, because we’re looking for a content writer + strategist like you. 

Before we dive in, a few important points:

• If you’re looking for flexible work, this position is a good fit. We’re hiring a part-time contract writer, with an estimated 10-25 hours per week. Hours can vary quite a bit from week to week, so adaptability is a major win.
• Pay starts at $25/hour with room to grow. If that sounds like extra spending money, awesome. If that sounds like it isn’t gonna cover rent, and the rent’s due, we understand and hear you. If that’s the case, though, you might want to keep looking for a gig that’s better suited to your needs.
• There is a good chance that this role will evolve into a full-time position, assuming it’s a good fit for everyone involved.

Here’s what you need to know about North Star Messaging + Strategy

• If our company were a bee hive, our Queen Bee Role—the role all of us serve and protect—would be nailing the brand voice and content strategy of our clients, so they can outsource their writing without losing authenticity or sacrificing results.
• We’re 100% remote, so our water cooler banter happens in Slack, ClickUp, Voxer, and Zoom. Our team is global, so there are no set hours, as long as you’re able to remain communicative.
• Our projects are often deadline-oriented, and we rely on our writers and strategists to stay on top of their task list and raise the flag if there are any concerns. We try to build in as much flexibility as we can, but the nature of our work also means that there are ebbs and flows to the volume of work.
• As a wise friend of ours likes to say, “We aren’t making oxygen.” While we are a fast-paced agency and often work within quick turnaround times, we say NO to work emergencies. You aren’t going to get any panicked 3AM phone calls from anyone. We pinkie swear.
• We’re leaders, and we believe you’re one too. We’re not here to go on a power trip or tear anybody down. Instead, we honor your experience, trust your gut, listen to your wisdom, and treat you with respect.
• We’re invested in ourselves and each other. This looks like reading professional and personal development books, offering training opportunities, cheering each other on for life’s wins, acknowledging the importance of mindset work, putting self-care at the forefront, and doling out virtual hugs.

Here are some examples of what you’ll do in this role:

• Conduct in-depth client interviews to uncover the heart and soul of their brand voice. We strive to make our clients feel heard + supported. This happens when you genuinely like people, practice empathy, go with the flow (while staying on target), and use your awesome ask-all-the-questions skills.
• Represent the brand voice and content needs of a variety of clients across multiple industries, including universities, preK organizations, medical service providers, nonprofit organizations, and entrepreneurs. You can see a sample of our clients here.
• Contribute to content strategy planning + execution. This means developing or optimizing the strategy around content plans for email campaigns, blog posts, social media content, and more.
• Interface directly with clients. We pride ourselves on the relationships we build between writer and client, and that means being available to brainstorm projects, make suggestions, respond to feedback, and hold space for their needs.
• Write conversion-focused copy (including sales pages, emails, website copy, social media copy, and more) that doesn’t feel icky. Our clients are value-driven people with boatloads of integrity, and they want that to shine through.
• Create evergreen content for rebrand projects. This is perfect for you if you’re a natural writing chameleon who gets excited about content that reflects a brand’s voice and journey.
• Think up snappy one-liners, taglines, and titles. You’ve got to love pithy, clear short form copy that helps convey a clear message.
• Implement SEO best practices. You don’t have to be an SEO-whiz, but you should have a basic understanding of what it is and how to implement SEO strategies within content if provided with keywords.
• Exercise meticulous attention to detail. You have to write well enough that you’d stake your career on it. If you’re comfortable with AP Style, as well as copywriting best practices, that’s a bonus.
• Make revisions based on editorial feedback while also providing revision suggestions to other writers. Writing and editing is a shared role at North Star, so you’ll likely find yourself doing both. 
• Communicate clearly and effectively with your teammates. We want to know if you’re behind on a project, need more information, or feel you’re knocking it out of the park. 
• Work with project coordinators to set turnaround times and deadlines, then adhere to those deadlines.
• Make suggestions. We’re not perfect, so if you see a way to improve our process or make it a better experience for our team members or clients, speak up! There is an immense responsibility inherent in representing someone else’s voice; it needs to reflect them and their message, but it also needs to be sensitive to our world and to readers. Our clients sometimes look to us for guidance when their brand needs to make a statement, and they want to be extremely intentional about how their message conveys.

To summarize, you’ll help us with a variety of projects with a heavy focus on client communication, content strategy, and, of course, writing. We’re looking for someone who, above all, is passionate and compassionate. Someone who is driven to create high-quality content while also maintaining a strong rapport with clients and teammates. 

Since 2010, we’ve been showing our clients that their voice is outsourceable, their story is powerful, and that their brand can make a deeper impact through their content. But doing it takes a dedicated team, and these sometimes robust projects depend on expert writers who can work at a fast pace. To learn more about us, head to NorthStarMessaging.com. 

One of the most important aspects of this role will be your ability to pay attention to details and follow instructions. As a test, when you apply for this position make sure the subject line to your email includes the phrase, “I am a writing Jedi.” This will make it way easier for us to find someone who is serious about applying for this position.

Ready to roll? 

We’re looking to bring on our newest team member sooner rather than later, so shoot our Operations Manager, Natasha Singh, an email at natasha@northstarmessaging.com. 

Within your email, include your cover letter and resume, along with 2-3 writing samples.

In fact, we’d love it if you recorded a quick 2 minute video or audio introducing yourself and telling us why you’re interested in being part of our team. This isn’t required, but it is helpful!