Tips for Hiring a Copywriter

When a potential client approached me recently and said, “I’m mad as hell…. I’ve just forked over good money for website copy that clearly was written by a ‘foreign’ writer and it’s totally useless,” I laughed.

Later I realized that my now new client hadn’t set out to blast holes in the broadside of his sleek and shiny online business….

Here was a sharp business guy who was simply missing the important chunks of information necessary to make a smart hiring decision that ultimately involved a critical component of his business—the copy. He came to me pissed off and a little embarrassed, but after just 10 minutes of a phone conversation he knew that I “got” his needs. One week later I delivered polished website copy, plus a landing page, that I could hear in his voice split a smile across his face.

No one had thought to instruct my client on exactly how to look for and hire a professional, freelance copywriter, or offer tips for recognizing “outsourcing” when he was faced with that beast….

If you’ve set out to hire a copywriter here are a few tips you may choose to keep in mind:

1. Flesh out your writing project’s details before hiring.

Make sure you have all the details of your copy project — website, landing page(s), sales letter, micro-site — squared away and ready to go. Most professional copywriters write a “kill” fee into their job terms, as well as a fee for changing “the nature of a project.” Sound unreasonable? Your copywriter  carves out a specific term of time (read: “money”) reserved for YOUR PROJECT. Pull it suddenly and you’ve stranded a business professional who would otherwise have to scramble to make up the lost income and possibly be left floundering. How would you feel if a client did that to you?

2. Make sure the copywriter is accessible to you.

None of this “I’ve hired a copywriter, but he or she farms the work out to some subordinate copy hack somewhere…but I’m getting it on the cheap.” Remember my client?  In fact, it’s pretty standard to include an initial consultation.  Just make sure you get to communicate with the writer crafting your copy, not some outsourcing go-between. You should absolutely have  their email address and you should also be able to speak with them via phone at various stages of the writing project. This initial communication AND subsequent communication is essential for nailing your project and making sure your writer “gets” your goal, can meet your expectations, understands your business needs, and might be someone you’d collaborate with again in the future.

3. Get the copywriter’s terms in writing.

You may have explained your expectations. A professional web copywriter has expectations and terms of work as well. Determine at the outset with your writer how long it will be before you can have your hands on the completed work, or draft of completed work. If you ask for a revision of anything re-establish a delivery for the final revision. Ask for payment terms — on delivery, a week post delivery, two weeks post delivery?–payment terms  differ from copywriter to copywriter.

4. Find out if the copywriter’s terms include a free revision.

Your copywriter should figure in a revision of work, should you request work be revised, as part of the your project price– so make sure it’s included in the deal. Expect to deliver any revision requests within a reasonable amount of time from delivery of the drafted project. You might have one week or you might have 4. This revision is not an opportunity to re-draft your entire project–remember fees for “changing the nature of a project”– but to fine-tune your message, clarify points, beef up benefits and features, etc.

5. Look for a copywriter with a passion for craft.

Most professionals that really succeed in their careers love what they do. There are grease monkeys then there are master automotive mechanics–that’s the guy or gal with grease up to the bony knobs of his elbows and an endless outpouring of conversation over your car’s engine, splitting a smile the entire way. He talks about cars when he’s not at work; she has a classic Firebird she’s remodeling in  her workshop at home; he’ll stop by the side of the road to help someone who’s broken down–passion for the mechanics of the work. If your business matters then you can see why you’d look for passion in a copywriter. This is someone who’s up under your business hood, when you think about it.

6. Politeness and professionalism…combined with insight MATTER.

In an age of Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook, and email it’s easy to lose the humanity in the internet business. Communication and real connection–without getting all touchy feely–is a key to business success. What does this mean when you’re looking to hire a copywriter? This is why an initial telephone consultation is imperative– it’s an interview without that label attached (and vice versa I might add). Find out right away if this professional can communicate, has the time to devote to your project/your business goals, is respectful of the work however modest the project, and has your interests at hand.

A professional freelance copywriter can sharpen your online presence and kick up the message in stagnant web copy, help you shape landing pages that convert, develop and write whole websites and micro-sites, get that newsletter written you’ve never had the time for, and create high-value link-worthy articles and reports so you can quickly and quietly outdistance your competitors before they even know you’re outta sight.

–Jennifer Rotman, Web Copywriter

contact me for a rate sheet or to discuss your copy needs:

rotman.jennifer at gmail.com