HIRING A COPYWRITER - FAQS
THE FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS FROM BUSINESS OWNERS BEFORE HIRING A COPYWRITER
If you’ve got a load of questions about hiring a copywriter, you’re not alone.
I’ve met so many wonderful business owners and know that fear of letting go of the reins and facing potential disappointment.
We need certain questions answering before we will even consider working with someone.
(I’m a business owner, too, so I get it!)
Sometimes, it seems silly to ask the questions we really want the answers to.
(There is no such thing as a stupid question, by the way!)
I’ve taken note of some of the questions I have been asked and put together this list for you.
If the question you want to ask isn’t here, please send me a message on the contact screen or drop it in the chatbox!
Table of Contents
What is a copywriter?
It seems strange to start here, when you are on a copywriter’s website, but it’s important. Many businesses don’t know the benefits of hiring a copywriter. Maybe you are torn between needing to hire a copywriter or hire a content writer. Or maybe you were recommended outsourcing your writing to a copywriter but don’t fully understand what one is. No matter the reason, let me explain: A copywriter is somebody who writes copy. That’s it. At least, that’s the dictionary (boring!) description. If I were asked to define my role as a copywriter in a sentence, it would be like this: I pretend to be you / your brand and write to your customers on your behalf. You see, hiring me a copywriter isn’t about me writing for you. It’s about me putting out your words to build a connection between you and your customers so that they’ll choose you.
How do you really know what I want?
Before beginning any project, we discuss what your business goals are for this piece of work and the best ways to approach this. After all, I am here to help you and can offer both strategy and a fresh perspective on your business as a 3rd party marketer. I will then type up a creative brief for you to sign off. This will be referred to throughout the project as the list of objectives to meet. If I still need more information, we will have an input call so that you can give me this. When the first drafts are completed, we will get together again for me to present the copy to you. We will then review all the copy and I will then redraft on your feedback. Throughout the entire process, I will write according to what you need and make amendments based on your feedback.
Will you sound like me?
As I mentioned in my description of a copywriter above: “I pretend to be you / your brand and write to your customers on your behalf.” It’s my job to sound like you and your brand. Otherwise, there would be multiple personalities coming through in your writing and that’s not good! If you are worried that I might not be able to write in your voice, check out this piece that I wrote for a super-cutesy baby clothing company. This is probably as far away from my own voice as I can get! We can also put together a tone guide so that you will have your voice ready for any copywriter you hire after me.
Which copywriting is the most outsourced?
This is a hard one as companies hire copywriters for all sort of pieces. If you are asking because you are torn for which piece you should be hiring a copywriter for, then go with the one that will bring you the most benefit to be written properly. For example, if you are restricted to hiring a copywriter for either the homepage or the about page, go for the homepage. If I had to offer an opinion on what copywriting should definitely be outsourced, it would be for advertisements. If every word (or every character, in smaller ads) needs to count, then hire a copywriter to make sure it does.
Do you guarantee a certain result?
No, and any copywriter that does this is straight-up bluffing to get the work. Yes, I can write copy that is designed to convert (all copy is designed to do that). I can also use SEO copywriting to help you get better visibility in Google. The copy is only part of your overall marketing strategy, though, and not a silver bullet. For example, if the wrong type of traffic comes to your ads to the landing page I wrote, then the wrong audience will be viewing the copy and it won’t convert. During our initial consultation, we’ll take a look at your whole funnel so that I can help you with achieving your objectives.
Will SEO Copywriting get me to the top of Google?
I hate saying no too often, but I need to say it again. SEO copywriting will not get you to the top of Google (on its own). SEO copywriting is designed to improve page rank for specific keywords; however, there are over 200 considerations in SEO and hiring an SEO copywriter is not going to address all of them. SEO should be a part of your marketing strategy, and I can take a look at all of your on-page SEO for you, but it is not as simple as writing the right words on your webpage. It takes time and monitoring to develop your SEO strategy.
Do you specialise in a niche? How do you write what you don’t know?
No, I do not specialise in a niche. There are a couple of reasons for that:
1-I love the variety. Each project brings a fresh opportunity to be creative and it doesn’t get stale for me this way.
2-It’s bad business to put all your eggs in one basket.
I do have an in-depth knowledge of some subjects that can sometimes be of assistance, like an old career in logistics or a passion for sports and fitness, but these will only help me so far for 1 reason.
Your customer likely doesn’t know your business in detail and needs to understand what they read.
If I need to have more understanding of your business than the average bear, then we can have an input call before I write.
Otherwise, not knowing your industry is actually an advantage as I won’t fall into the trap of assuming that the reader knows things about the industry that are key to understanding what I am trying to say!
Why don’t you have your prices on your site?
Hiring a copywriter is not the same as going shopping. Every project is bespoke to the customer and the same type of copy projects (EG a webpage) can have different considerations such as:
Levels of input required from one or many stakeholders.
Positions in a sales funnel.
Lengths.
Working with multiple designers/developers.
Functional / UX requirements.
SEO requirements.
For this reason, it is fairer to both of us if we go through all of the requirements of a project before I quote. It is good business that both of us feel the rate is fair for the service provided.
Can I see some examples of your copywriting work?
Absolutely, here is a link to my portfolio page.
Hopefully, I’ll have answered any questions you may have about hiring a copywriter.
If not, please leave a comment with your question!
If you are ready to see what I can do for you, please get in touch for your free consultation.