Key Takeaway
A done for you content writing agency sells a process you cannot inspect after the invoice clears. So you inspect it first. Ask for the real drafts, the named writer, the revision rules and the clauses that decide who owns the words.
What a live sample hides until you ask
Portfolios show finished pieces. A finished piece looks the same whether a senior writer built it or a junior ran it through a template.
The tell sits upstream. Request the brief behind one sample and the first draft that followed. Then ask for the published URL and what the client changed before it went live.
An agency that keeps those files answers in an afternoon. One that stalls is telling you something.
Field note: if the sample writer cannot be named, assume the person on the sales call will never touch your account.
Niche fit is a research cost, not a vibe
“We write for every industry” is a warning dressed as range. Every new vertical means the writer burns the first paid hours learning your vocabulary.
You absorb that cost. Either the agency eats it and rushes the work or you pay for the learning curve in soft drafts.
Ask for two samples in your field published recently, not case studies from years back. Recent work proves the writers still exist.
I once watched a fintech team hand a retainer to a generalist shop. The first two drafts used consumer language for a product sold to treasury departments. Two rewrite cycles later the budget was gone and the calendar had not moved.
The revision clause is where budgets die
“Unlimited revisions” sounds generous. In practice it means revisions are unbounded and nobody tracks scope.
Read the definition instead. Fixing a typo and rebuilding an intro are not the same job. One is a minute. The other resets the piece.
Pin down how many rounds sit inside the fee and what pushes you into a new charge. One clean revision cycle is normal. Four usually signals a bad brief.
Rule of thumb: first-draft approval should land near 70 percent on well-briefed work.
Contract language that protects the spend
A handful of clauses decide whether this partnership saves money or leaks it. Miss one and the risk lands on you.
IP assignment. Copyright should transfer to you on final payment. If it transfers later, you can publish work you do not yet own.
Kill fee. If you cancel mid-project, what do you still owe? Get the number in writing before anyone starts typing.
Subcontracting. Ask who actually writes the draft. A firm that quietly resells to offshore freelancers changes both the quality of the work and who carries the risk.
AI disclosure. Get a yes or no on whether machine tools touch the copy. A talking point instead of an answer is an answer.
Termination. Know the notice window. Find out if unused hours refund or simply expire when the relationship ends.
Run a paid pilot before the retainer
Skip the free trial and buy one piece or a small batch at the standard rate. Pay the real price.
A discounted test attracts discounted effort. You want to see the team they assign when the money is normal, not the bench they trot out for pitches.
Grade the pilot against the brief, not your taste. Did they hit the audience and the point of view?
Score the pilot before you scale
Give each draft a score out of five on brief match, factual accuracy, edit time and voice fit. Anything under four calls for a conversation.
Track one number across the pilot: minutes your team spends editing. A cheap writer who costs two hours of internal fixes each week is the expensive option.
The question that reveals the most
Ask the account lead who edits the editors. A serious shop has an editorial layer above the writers. A content mill has a project manager and a deadline.
The answer tells you whether quality is a system or a hope.
What to do before you sign anything
Pull the sample brief and its first draft, then name the writer who produced both. Get the revision definition into the contract and confirm IP transfer and the subcontracting rule in writing. Nail the AI question down to a yes or no.
Then run one paid piece at full rate and score it against the brief. The whole sequence takes about a week.
Do it while the account is still hypothetical. The cheapest rejection happens before you commit, so run the checklist first and sign second.
Read the full guide: Done For You Content Writing Service: 6 Myths That Waste Your Budget