To hire or not to hire?

[MrMatts]

Hey Forum,

I am about to get into internet marketing and I have done some extensive studies (few weeks) about most stuff but copywriting. I do understand that it is very, very important. Now the thing is that I want to operate in English speaking markets but my mother tongue is Swedish so I don´t think I am capable to write in 3rd person in a very high class “Dr exam fashion”. I think my English is fluent but I know I lack some vocabulary at times. The good thing is that Swedish is in same language tree as English so it’s quite the same grammar. It’s not like I am a Russian trying to learn copywriting in English, which might be very hard if they have not been living in an English speaking country for 10+ years, because of different language trees. No offense vs. Russians here, just trying to explain .

I´ve been thinking about outsourcing and ive seen that it’s possible to get copywriter´s for 15$/h or so but I guess those ain´t that great? And If I would go for outsourcing how long can I expect for a copywriter to write a Landing Page for me? I do understand that it might be very hard for a copywriter to tell since copywriting seems like an art form. I´ve played guitar and written songs myself and I know it´s just not to push record button and get good stuff going , I expect copywriting to be pretty much the same?

So what u think should I give it a shoot or is it a waste of time with given background information?

[Loren Woirhaye]

If you have hairy chest you can write good copy.



Kidding.

Something like a landing page you may or may not be better
off writing yourself. It depends on what you want to happen
and what you have to offer.

As far as salesletters go, it's a certain form of writing that, in
English, is somewhat idiomatic - so if you want to write for
a N. American market understanding how the idioms work in
our English matters to the success of your copy.

That being said, if you have a good product pure enthusiasm,
when it comes through in writing, can go a long way.

Whether copy is a gift in you worth developing is for you to
explore. It may be that writing copy is not the best use of
your talents, but you learn whether or not by giving it a try
and seeing what the marketplace likes, no?

Others may have more to say.

[Traci]

Copywriters who write by the hour don't write sales or landing pages. They write articles and other content. It's confusing, but they really should be called content writers, not copywriters. Copywriters write to sell. Content writers write for search engine rankings, to give general info on something, blogs, to fill a space...etc.

Copywriters write sales copy. Most professional copywriters charge per project and don't have set fees. The price depends on the exact project and what kind of results you are wanting. And their prices range from very low to very high.

The best thing for you to do is state your budget, what the project is, when you need it completed (please don't say in a few days and what you expect. You will get many proposals from copywriters who can do the work you want. Stating your budget lets up know if you can afford a $500 copywriter or a $5000+ copywriter. If we don't fit your budget, we won't waste our time or yours by sending you information. Good luck!

[Scott Murdaugh]

If you want to find a right copywriter just go to "odesk" there you can hire a high caliber copywriters without spending $15/ hr. I think the rate of copywriters on odesk are in the range of 4-8 USD per hour.

Yeah... They've got guys at OSdesk responsible for million dollar product launches working for $8 an hour, it's freakin' AMAZING.

If you can budget $10 an hour I hear you can even get Carlton to write your letter for you... But I understand that's a big risk to take, so stick to the $5 an hour writers at first, even in that range you can expect a six figure launch.

</sarcasm>

Dude. This is a COPYWRITING forum... You don't have a clue as to what you're talking about... We don't write articles, we SELL products. BIG difference.

And there isn't a single COPYWRITER on this planet who's good at their job and works for $10, $15 or even $50 an hour.

-Scott

[MikeHumphreys]

Originally Posted by valkyria

If you want to find a right copywriter just go to "odesk" there you can hire a high caliber copywriters without spending $15/ hr. I think the rate of copywriters on odesk are in the range of 4-8 USD per hour.

Well... not exactly.

Any copywriter who is very skilled at writing sales copy is going to be in demand and can charge more for their services. If you've produced five, six, or seven figures in sales for any of your clients, then you're not going to want to write copy for $4-8 per hour.

It's human nature really... you charge more because you want to make more money for your efforts. You also deliver more value and a higher likelihood of making your client a lot of sales.

I say higher likelihood because the sales copy isn't the only factor on what gets a strong conversion rate. There's a bunch of them and the copy is only the 3rd most important after hitting the right targeted prospects and making a strong offer.

My advice to MrMatts is to hire the most skilled copywriter you can afford AFTER you've nailed down that you have a strong product and an equally strong offer.