6 Questions to Ask Before Choosing a Freelance Copywriter
If you’ve never worked with a freelance copywriter, you might not have a clue as to where to start looking for one. Your marketing materials can make or break your profit margin this year, so it’s vital that you pick a competent copywriter that can get your message across effectively. So how do you choose?
First, Google “freelance copywriter.” You’ll get about 500,000 results on any given day from that phrase. You’ll see Web sites and ads for advertising copywriters, B2B copywriters, catalog copywriters and many other variations on the word “copywriter.” So now what?
Here are a few questions to ask to help you wade through the different types of copywriters to choose the right one for you:
1. Identify what kind of copywriter you need.
List the projects you want the copywriter to complete for you. Brochures? Web site copy? Will you be doing any catalog or booklet printing? (Yes, all those catalog descriptions are generally written by a copywriter.)
2. List your short-term and long-term objectives.
What is it you are hoping your copywriter can help you achieve? Do you want to start a monthly newsletter or just build a start-up Web site? Or do you just need a few tweaks to your Web site? Knowing whether you need work done for a one-time occurrence or as an on-going thing will help you pick the right copywriter.
3. Do you need an expert?
Many copywriters have found a niche for themselves. Some specialize in direct mail copywriting or catalog copywriting. That’s all they do and they do it well. There are other copywriters who can write everything from posters to television commercials to magazine ads. Do you need someone who can do it all for you?
Also consider whether you need a copywriter who is an expert in your field. This type of copywriter might be more difficult to find, depending on your industry. Someone who has worked in the fashion industry for years will be best for writing your fashion-related marketing copy. This goes back to #2. Knowing your objectives will help you decide on a copywriter.
4. Do you want to work with an agency or with a single freelancer?
Some people are more comfortable working with an established agency and having other resources you can call on if your copywriter isn’t top notch. Others would rather work with just one person. Do you want to build a long-term relationship with someone who will know your business almost as well as you do?
5. What is your copywriting budget?
Can you afford to work with an experienced freelancer or a copywriter at an agency? Fees will vary depending on your region and on the freelancer’s experience. You could end up paying $25 per hour for a copywriter with little-to-no experience, or up to $200 or $300 an hour for a copywriter with 20 years of experience. Many copywriters will set a budget for each project: for instance, a brochure will cost $600 no matter how many hours are spent writing it. A press release could cost between $200 and $500. A set price for the project could be the way to go if you’d like to know your costs upfront.
6. Pick a few candidates and review their work.
Copywriters should have samples of their work to show you. If they don’t, you should probably move on. Even copywriters straight out of college should have at least one sample to show you. You can get a taste of each copywriter’s writing style from the samples and choose the one that best suits you.
Basic Copywriting for Non-Copywriters
If you’re an entrepreneur who has decided it’s time to take a crack at writing your own copy for your marketing materials, this article is a great learning tool to help you write that first great marketing piece. There are certain basics that are common to every great marketing piece, from postcards to brochures to your Web site.
Here’s a quick mini-lesson you’ll want to print out and use when you sit down to write your first marketing copy.
Lesson 1: Write directly to the person that will be reading the copy
Although you are marketing to the masses, each mass is made up of individuals. Other than grade school, people don’t read in unison with each other as a group. Ads are seen by only one person at a time. The individuals that make up your target market should share many similarities, so it shouldn’t be hard to write to that individual.
Imagine you have your best prospect sitting across from you at a table. What do you need to say to get that prospect to shake your hand and make a deal to buy your product, right then and there? This is how you should approach writing your marketing material – talk directly to the prospect. The most obvious way to talk directly to someone is to address her with the word “you.” Ask “Do you have XX problem?” Talk right to them.
Lesson 2: It’s not all about you
Don’t talk about yourself and your company in your advertising copy. Take out all of the “we” and “our” instances in your first draft and rewrite those sentences with “you” and “your.” For instance, the sentence “We can deliver our product in 24 hours” is more effective when rewritten to “You’ll receive your new product in 24 hours.” Using “you” and variations of the word is known as “outer-directed” language. You are indulging people in what they like to do best: watch out for themselves and try to get the best deal.
Lesson 3: Talk about benefits, rather than features
This is somewhat of an extension of Lesson 2. People pay attention to messages that tell them something they want to hear. They want to hear how a product or service can solve a problem for them or make their lives easier somehow. And with so many ads directed at people through all kinds of media – newspapers, magazines, television, billboards, the Internet – you need to grab people’s attention immediately before they move on to the next thing.
The best way to grab attention is to tout a benefit right off the bat – at the top of your flyer, on the front of your brochure, at the beginning of your TV commercial, etc. Use benefit-ridden headlines in all of your print materials and make those headlines bigger and a brighter color than the body copy (that’s the smaller copy).
Lesson 4: Keep it short
Good copywriters don’t use a longer word when a shorter one will do. And oftentimes, the shorter word is the more common word in a language so you lessen the risk of alienating anyone who might not know what a longer word means.
Get straight to the point and use words that evoke mental images or sounds. You won’t have more than 20 seconds on average for your marketing materials to be deemed worthy of further reading so you need to get as much info (meaning benefits) as you can in that short of space and time.
Lesson 5: Ask a question or give a command
Many marketing pieces open with a question to get people thinking. Questions intrigue people and get them engaged with your message. Including a command, like “Call now” persuades people to take action when they otherwise wouldn’t. Commanding people to do what you want them to in marketing copy is known as a “call to action.” You tell them what they should do next and make it as easy as possible for the reader to take that action.
Look and Listen
If you want to draw new customers into your business, it’s essential to learn how to advertise. Whether you’re advertising in the media with radio and television or placing ads in various publications, the key issue is to be able to write a compelling ad that is going to jump out at people and show them what they want to see. You have to be able to write ad copies that will jump out and grab those prospects and bring them to your door. It may sound simple, but the truth is that many people do not know how to write an ad that is dynamic enough to bring new customers into the business.
The key to increasing your advertising results is knowing how to develop an ad that will gain people’s attention. Do not feel badly if you are one of those people who just can’t write effective ads thus the reason some companies hire advertising agencies to do all of their work for them. If that is not in your budget you may want to look and listen to some of the ads that other companies use in order to get an idea what may work for you.
