Every minute business owners spend writing their own marketing materials is time spent away from sales and taking care of their clients. Fortunately, that’s where professional copywriters come in, saving business owners valuable time and energy so they can focus on the bigger picture.
If you’re ready to leave the messaging to the pros, before you hire the first copywriter you come across, take some time to assess what you want from your copywriter and what you’re looking for in your marketing message. Otherwise, you’ll waste both your time and your copywriter’s.
To simplify the process and ensure a good fit, check out this list of things you need to find out before you enlist the services of a skilled wordsmith:
Do your research. Before you sign any contracts, be sure to review your prospective copywriter’s list of previous clients to get an idea about his or her skill set and the results the copy yielded. A professional copywriter should also have an active website, blog, and social media profiles that clearly demonstrate the kind of writer he or she is and the level of work you can expect. Look for diversity in their copy and their clients—the best copy writers can tailor their styles to match the tone and personality of the clients they write for.
Read the reviews. Always look at a copywriter’s testimonials before hiring him or her. Reading these reviews will give you an idea of what to expect from your experience with the writer.
Look for a writer who “gets” people. An excellent copywriter has a good instinct for knowing what other people need to hear, which means you can trust that their copy will hit the mark. As a bonus, you can also expect fewer rewrites since your writer will already know how to produce marketing content that inspires your target market to take action. Remember, the less you have to instruct your copywriter, the better for both of you.
Find an Internet ace. A web copywriter should have extensive knowledge in SEO web copywriting, as well as an understanding of website navigation, blogs, and online marketing in general. That way, your copywriter can better visualize the aim of your marketing efforts and suggest tips for improving your content for these online mediums.
Read between the lines. There’s more to a copywriter than words on the page—their personality and level of professionalism will dictate how smoothly your interactions go and the timeliness of your copy turnaround. If you contact a copywriter and he or she does not return your phone call or email in a timely fashion, this could be a sign that the copywriter is too busy to take on new work or doesn’t value potential clients. You want to make sure your copywriter can keep up with you so you can focus on other things, like growing your business.
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