As the foundation to successful inbound marketing strategies, placing your business in its best light and building interest, content is key. You know and love your business more than anyone, but you probably don’t have the time and may not have the creative ability to write all of the content needed yourself. Finding the right person to tell the story of your business can be a challenge. Here are five tips for how to hire a copywriter.
1. Know your Copywriting Needs
Before you can learn how to hire a copywriter, you have to know what you need written. If you are working on increasing sales or qualified leads through emails, hiring a copywriter who specializes in blog posts may not give you your best ROI. If you need mixed content, such as ad copy, blog posts and landing pages, be sure to list them out so you can ask potential writers how comfortable they are with each format.
2. Look for Experience in your Niche
Most copywriters specialize in a handful of niches in which they have the most knowledge and experience. Whenever possible, look for a copywriter with industry-specific experience. If you have a unique business and are unable to find an exact match, look for a skill set that would have similarities.
3. Determine the Level of Writing Required
If you are marketing B2B in a highly technical field, you will require a much higher level of writing than a B2C specializing in children’s wear. That’s not to say one is better than the other, but the style and depth of writing will be vastly different. To find a copywriter who can deliver copy in the voice that will best represent your business, you need a writer who can write at the appropriate level for your niche.
4. Plan a Realistic Budget
You can certainly find copywriters willing to work for fractions of cents per word but like anything else, you will get what you pay for. Quality writing takes an investment of time for the copywriter to research the subject and then craft a piece that delivers what you have requested. A short blog post of 300 words for example, can easily take an hour to be written well. Most practiced copywriters will have an hourly rate or rate per word they work with and may be willing to negotiate.
5. Open a Dialogue with Potential Copywriters
This is a tip not often shared but it can really make a difference in how to hire a copywriter. Email potential copywriters and open a dialogue about the content you want written for your business. This will give you a good picture of how well you will collaborate, how articulate the writer is and whether or not they are truly interested in your project. The last thing you want is an apathetic writer creating your content.
As your partners in inbound marketing and design, working to propel your business success, Sumner Digital can not only tell you how to hire a copywriter, we can remove this stress for you with a complete inbound marketing solution. Drop us a line and let’s talk!