Do you ever find there’s so much your business needs to write about but so little time to write it? Or, maybe writing isn’t your forte and you don’t have any copywriters on your team, but you don’t know how to go about recruiting one. You are not alone.
First of all, in 2017, more than $200 billion was spent on writing content for businesses, so it’s clear that there is a huge demand for an excellent copywriting service. The problem is that there aren’t very many copywriters who deliver quality copy, yet there are so many self-proclaimed ‘professional’ copywriters.
So, how do you distinguish the music from the noise and hire a copywriter who can deliver the quality you expect? Here’s a step-by-step guide to finding a great copywriter (or two).
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Start With You
Copywriters are not mind-readers. The first step is figuring out precisely what you want and how you want it. Add to this list the things you don’t want, too – this is equally important.
This list goes beyond having a great title. It needs to cover the tone, level of professionalism, and so on. Do you need it to be authoritative or provocative? Informational, analytical, or inspirational? The list goes on.
Get everything you want on paper knowing that the list you have will serve as a guide for the person offering the copywriting service. Ignoring this simple step or going about it haphazardly is setting yourself up for disappointment.
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Set Realistic Expectations
Writing is a creative art, and nothing stifles a writer’s creativity than a long list of dos and don’ts that must be followed. Crystallising your thoughts for an article is different from a long list that is the equivalent of telling a copywriter to write while you dictate.
One example of don’ts I have seen a client give a writer is that no sentence should be longer than 10 words. While short sentences are typically clearer or more comfortable to read than longer ones, sometimes you need more words to convey an idea. Imagine if you had to restrict yourself to 10-word sentences to express every thought or idea!
Understand that the most important rule of writing isn’t grammar or readability. These are both important, but the most important rule of writing is communication. Does your content communicate what it needs to effectively? And does it deliver the results you need? If the answer is yes, you’ve got some exceptional copy on your hands.
Don’t deliver a list of all the keywords related to your industry to a writer and ask him to put them all in one post – that is not the right way to go about things. If there are any keywords you have to include in your copy (and there shouldn’t be that many), tell your writer or copywriting agency about it.
The number of keywords depends on several factors, including the article length, how focused on a particular topic the copy is and how much material within a niche it covers.
If a post covers many sub-topics within a niche, it may be OK to include several keywords. But it would be unwise to do so for a post that focuses intently on one small subtopic.
A copywriter with a track record of providing excellent content writing services would know all these so you shouldn’t be afraid.
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What Skill Level Is Required?
Copywriters come in all kinds and shapes, and so does their pay. The skill level of the writer is another factor you must figure out before ever contacting one. Not every writing project needs the top writers.
Also, decide whether you want a niche writer or one that writes for a broad range of audiences. Specialised or niche writers tend to be more expensive than ‘all-purpose’ ones.
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Recruit Using Different Platforms
There are so many places to get copywriters on the internet. A simple search on Google will provide you with a long list. But there are generally two groups you’ll find and have to choose from – freelance copywriters and copywriting agencies.
There are two groups of freelance copywriters: Those you find on platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork and those who have a website of their own. You may have to go through a long list to get one that you can work with because many of them won’t fit.
A top-notch copywriting agency, on the other hand, will have several copywriters covering several industries, so finding one that fits your content requirements will not be a problem.
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Ask For Samples
When you’ve narrowed your copywriter selection down, ask them for samples of their work. They may or may not be related to your niche but should give you a feel of their writing style and proficiency levels.
You can also ask to see before-and-after versions of other clients’ works. This can be the requirements the client submitted and the work that was delivered, or a draft version by the client and the final article that was sent.
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Create A Test Project
The purpose of the test is to ascertain the actual skill level and proficiency of the writer. So don’t tell the person to write an email newsletter copy when you’re looking for a blog post. The same goes for testing a potential writer with a fashion project when you’re looking for articles about machine learning. After your test, you’ll have a firm idea of which copywriters you’ll want to hire for the project.
Follow this process with your copywriter recruitment and it will save you a lot of headaches. If you need copy written or have a large project, please contact us. We’re a reputable copywriting agency that serves a broad range of industries because we boast so many copywriting professionals on our team. All our clients are satisfied, and you will be, too!