If you’ve never hired a copywriter before how on earth do you go about it?
In this post I’m looking at the way I think you should choose the best copywriter for your project.
Now this is heavily caveated by the fact that I obviously think you should choose me but we’ll gloss over that and move on
So read on and find out how you can find your ideal writer.
Personal recommendation
This is a great way to find someone and I heartily recommend it.
In fact I recommend recommendations.
Personal recommendations will tell you whether the person is good to work with, does a good job and produces their copy on time and on budget.
It won’t tell you anything about their style or whether they will get on with you or not.
So ask around amongst your contacts and see who has a good copywriter as they will be worth looking up.
Loving the style
So once you have a couple of names it’s time to do a bit of homework.
Check out things they’ve written and see if you like their style and more importantly, is it the style you want for your content?
Another method of finding a good copywriter is to find examples on the web of writing you like and then contacting the company to see who they used.
Although it might seem a bit cheeky, actually most people respond well to compliments and if you are telling them that you love their style so much you want to hire their copywriter then you’re on the right lines.
Use other networks
I belong to a fair few groups on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter etc. and generally speaking if I need something I can usually find someone who does it or who knows someone who does it.
Not quite as powerful as a personal recommendation to be sure but still pretty good and if someone has been helpful, has provided valuable input to the group, has a great sense of humour or just uses a cute cat picture as their profile then I don’t see why not.
Also, think about any other networks that you may be in. Lunch clubs, sports clubs neighbourhood associations or whatever. You’d be surprised where we copywriters hang out.
What about platforms like UpWork and PeoplePerHour?
Meh.
To be honest they feel a bit like a race to the bottom.
Now I’m not saying you won’t find decent copywriters on these platforms, and they do have a rating system that helps you choose people based on the feedback you get but in general, I’m not a massive fan.
If nothing else it takes forever going through the proposals from Indian Sql programmers who would be happy to write your lifestyle blog for you.
I do have time for The Work Crowd though. I have found a couple of great people there to help me and the site seems a bit less of a race to the bottom.
Should you interview them?
Yeah why not.
I mean it’s not like an ‘INTERVIEW’ interview but in fact, I’d certainly recommend a meeting if you are close by or a zoom call if not.
I’m massively in favour of working with people you like and trust. I have found over the years that gut instinct works really well when choosing who to work with.
So if you do a call and get on like a house on fire then that’s another positive tick in the box.
Should you ask them to write a test piece?
Yes if you like.
But it should be a paid piece and you should make this clear.
I don’t think I’m the only copywriter who has had people trying to con free work out of them by saying it’s a ‘test piece’ for an eleventybillion pound mega order that’s just around the corner.
Some writers will refuse and that’s fair enough.
Some will be happy to write a test piece and you can use this to see if they deliver in terms of style, deadlines and research.
I sometimes offer to write a paid test piece but to be honest clients who have already booked a bigger run of articles or an eBook always get preference. Sorry.
Remember to choose people who are good at the thing you want
Not everyone is good at everything.
In fact, the best copywriter I ever met had an awesome reputation due to the fact that he immediately turned down things that he knew he couldn’t do. See the dunning-kruger effect for more details.
I’m very good at working for professional services firms due to my consultancy background with finance, HR and IT.
I’m useless at writing descriptions for ice cream. Useless.
Found a good copywriter? – Hang on to them
If you’ve found a good copywriter that you like and trust then don’t let them go.
Someone who can write exactly the sort of thing you like is worth their weight in gold so think about looking at a retainer type contract.
You have to remember that a good copywriter will be in demand so they won’t always be able to look after you if you just feed them the odd job.
Also don’t hide them.
If you have liked their work then tell people because we are business people too and we love recommendations and positive feedback.
Choosing a good copywriter is important
A good copywriter will do wonders for your business and should be pretty much self-sufficeint in an ideal world.
You won’t need to manage them and you shouldn’t need to give them too much direction.
But more importantly they will supercharge your marketing and bring an added dimension to what is already a superb offering.
OK so that’s me. If you’d like to talk than click the big blue button and if you have any questions about the process then why not drop a comment down below?
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