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How to Hire a Copywriter

Hiring a copywriter can be a bit bewildering. Unlike buying shoes or a car, marketing services are often a first-time, or unfamiliar purchase for new or small businesses. There are thousands of writers, providing many different kinds of services, from journalists to speechwriters to direct marketing copy. With all those choices, and your business riding on the results, how do you pick the one that's right for you?

Look for Copywriting Skills That Match Your Needs

Review the writer's Web site and determine if the writer's services and background complement your business. A speechwriter can produce a speech for a conference presentation, but may not have the ability to create direct marketing copy that drives sales.

Is the site well-written? A site riddled with typos, grammatical errors, and other mistakes is a sign of sloppiness and poor writing skills; look for someone with a strong grasp of English.

Seek B-to-B Marketing Expertise

B-to-B marketing requires different skills and expertise than big-budget television advertising or branding experience. The object of a "brand" campaign is to show the product repeatedly, and hope that consumers remember it and buy it.

A direct marketing campaign (whether through postal mail, email, or the Web) is designed to generate actual measurable sales. In addition, a writer who focuses primarily on selling soap or consumer products may not have the expertise or background to sell more expensive business products or services.

The Dangers of Do-it-Yourself Copywriting

If your marketing budget is small, it can be tempting to do it yourself. This can be hazardous for several reasons:

Falling in love with your product

It's easy to lose your objectivity, rather than focusing on solving your customers' problems.

Is this an effective use of your time?

If you charge $100 an hour for something you do well, or sell software priced at $400 and up, does it make sense to spend hours working on copy? I could do my own taxes, but I'm not very good at it, so I pay an accountant to do it for me.

Evaluating the Cost

Beware of choosing on price alone. There are numerous sites featuring overseas writers offering to sell copywriting services at low prices — but they are often untrained, unskilled, and write poorly. A brochure or a Web site is an important investment of your time and money; don't risk your image and credibility to save a few dollars.

By the hour? By the project? Find out when payment(s) are expected. Standard practice is generally a deposit up-front, and a payment schedule based on completing different stages of the project, such as submission of a draft, and final approval.

Determine many revisions are included and how the writer charges if there are major rewrites. Think of a revision as changing a tire. A rewrite is repainting the car, replacing all four tires, and adding high-power headlights.

Rush projects will cost more than those with longer deadlines.

Do you:

• know your target market;
• have samples of previous marketing materials (if relevant), or your competitors' marketing materials;
• understand your customers' problems and how your product solves them;
• have a clear idea of what you want (a 5 page Web site or a 50 page site);
• require one person's approval or the approval of a committee to go forward?

The more preparation you are able to do in advance, the less time and effort will be required for the copywriter to complete the project, and the lower your cost.

About the Author

Jodi Kaplan, founder of KaplanCopy, fixes "broken" marketing. If your marketing is costing more money than it's making and people leave your Web site without buying, your marketing is broken. For more tips, and a free 25-page marketing guide, go to KaplanCopy Free Marketing Guide.

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