5 Tips on Hiring a Copywriter

[cerava]

Freelance copywriters are all over the internet these days. Yet, like medication, not all are ideal for you - you may have allergic reactions to some. Depending on what you already have in mind, there are things you need to have in mind. Here are 5 Tips to help you find the diamond among the glass:

5. Question to clarity
Ask your prospective copywriters questions from the beginning. Bombard them with important questions. Establish all the ground rules so you have an idea of who you're hiring and the style he or she has.

4. Rate the rates
Many copywriters have a fixed rate; others charge by project. At the end of the day, it should be a guide for both of you. At the end of the day, the two questions you need to ask yourself is how deep is your pocket? and will this copywriter burn into it?

3. Setting a schedule
Have a time line in mind. Use your work flow and add the dates. Make sure the copywriter can work with it.

2. Be open to advice
Copywritersare expert consultants. Genuine copywriters who are interested in quality would always offer you the best options before proceeding.
1. The power of one
When you found the one you're comfortable with it. Stick to him or her. Why go through the agonizing process all over again?

That's the 5 tips you can use immediately in finding an expert to help you address your copywriting issues. Do share how it's coming along with you. Would love to hear your opinions!

[CurtisN]

It's nice that you're trying to help, but this is a forum, not an article directory.

[Vincent Cheng]

Hi cerava,

Can you let me know the normal questions I should be asking a Copywriter? cause I am thinking of outsourcing some of the copywriting load and need some tips. Hope that you can help as clearly you have demonstrated some level of credibility with your useful tips that you have posted yeah.

[MikeHumphreys]

Here's an existing thread in the Copywriting Forum which covers hiring a professional copywriter in more depth:

Don't Want to Get Screwed When Hiring a Copywriter? Read this first...


To the OP... question #5 will eliminate alot of high-quality copywriters for you.

If you are hiring a professional copywriter then their website should answer the majority of your important questions before you ever talk to them about your copywriting needs.

Full-time copywriters are frequently booked for weeks or months in advance. They are not going to have the time nor inclination to answer a ton of "important" questions, especially if they've already answered them on their website.

If you want to work with an established pro, then you are going to have to work within their guidelines, not yours. Mind you, you will probably find 99% of the copywriter's guidelines to be perfectly fine with you. You'll also notice that they've simplified things like start and delivery dates of your project, payment terms, and what types of projects/niches they won't write copy for.

Here's one rule of mine: Prospective clients rarely get on the phone with me. We discuss their project and my potential involvement with it by email. Not phone. Once they become a paying client, then they get phone access to me if they desire.

While I'm always happy to talk by phone with any of my clients, 99% of the time it's by appointment and for a set amount of time. That's because when I'm writing copy, I don't answer my office phone. I owe it to my clients to deliver their project on time and without compromising the quality, so staying off the phone during office hours is critical for me.

If I did answer every single incoming call then it's really easy to lose my train of thought and get off track from the project I'm working on. An open-ended call also has a tendency to go from a 10 minute conversation to an hour really really easily.