6 Things To Look For When You Hire A Copywriter

By WFHR Editor

If you are considering hiring copywriters for your business, you must think carefully about who you want to work with.

You cannot simply hire anyone to start writing for you. Similar to other fields, writers tend to specialize in a certain area. You must ensure you have the best writer to meet your needs.

For those who are wondering “why to hire a writer,” the answer is that a writer can save you a large amount of time while still providing you with outstanding content. Before you decide to hire a writer, be sure to consider the factors below to make sure that you find the best writer for your company. 

Why Hire a Writer?

Why Hire a Writer

You should hire a copywriter for your business for a few reasons. These include: 

  • A copywriter can provide you with valuable content that you can use to grow your business
  • An experienced copywriter can produce a tremendous amount of content in a short period, allowing you to focus on other aspects of your business
  • Copywriters often have a lot of experience with search engine optimization, which you can use to increase your online visibility. 

There are a lot of benefits that you will enjoy if you decide to hire a copywriter. You also need to make sure that you find the right copywriter to meet your needs. There are a few factors that you need to consider. 

See Related: Types of Freelance Writing

1. Find Copywriters With the Right Experience in the Field

Writer Access

First, you need to ensure you hire copywriters with the right experience for your purposes. For example, some copywriters specialize in blog posts in a certain niche industry. On the other hand, some copywriters might specialize in technical writing. They might be used to working with research data that eventually gets published in an academic journal. 

For example, if you have a legal website that you would like to use to promote your law firm, it is a good idea to have blog posts on that website relevant to the type of law you practice.

At the same time, not every copywriter will have the experience to produce legally accurate blog posts to help you generate cases. You should use every resource available to find a copywriter specializing in legal writing. 

The same is true for doctors who run a medical practice. If you run a medical practice, having relevant content on your website that matches the types of medical services you provide is a good idea.

You want to ensure that the information you publish on your medical website is accurate. Therefore, you should find a copywriter with the appropriate background to provide you with content that is not only interesting but also medically accurate. 

Fortunately, there are websites you can use to hire a remote copywriter with the qualifications you need. For example, using a site such as Writer Access will provide you with search features that you can use to narrow down a large pool of writers quickly, helping you find the writers you need to promote your website.

Instead of interviewing every potential writer individually, you can look at the information they provide on their profiles and determine which writer best suits your needs. Then, you can hire a copywriter who meets your needs. You may also hire a good press release writer to help you with your business.

See Related: Best Freelance Content Writing Websites

2. Work With Reliable Copywriters

If you are looking to hire a copywriter, there is a good chance you are looking for someone who can work remotely. Therefore, you must ensure you can trust whoever you are hiring. Even though you want to provide the copywriter with enough space so that he or she can do his or her job appropriately, you also have deadlines to meet.

Therefore, you need to make sure that you emphasize reliability when you are looking to hire a new writer. Some copywriters will get their work turned around in a matter of hours.

On the other hand, some copywriters might only be doing this job on the side. Therefore, it might be several days before the work comes back. You must ensure that you clarify your deadlines with your copywriters beforehand.

Even though you want to be understanding if certain emergencies arise, you do not want to make a habit of letting writers miss their deadlines. Otherwise, this will compromise your business. 

If you hire a writer remotely, plenty of websites you can use will allow you to specify deadlines. Even websites like Fiverr allow you to set up jobs with firm deadlines.

Writers can see these deadlines before they start the job. That way, if they cannot finish the job by the deadline, they do not pick it up. 

See Related: Best Freelance Skills to Learn

3. Ask the Writer About His or Her Availability

Ask the Writer About His or Her Availability

Copywriters are going to vary widely in terms of their availability. Some people work as a copywriter as their primary position. Plenty of other copywriters work as a writer on the side.

Writers who have a separate full-time job might not be able to handle a lot of work in a short amount of time. If they only write a few hours a week, they might not be able to get a large project to turn around in time.

On the other hand, many full-time copywriters will write tens of thousands of words in a day. Therefore, they might be able to get their work turned around quickly, even if it is a large project. 

It is also possible that experienced copywriters with many other full-time clients might not have room in their schedule to take on large projects and get them turned around quickly.

Before you hire a copywriter, it is a good idea to speak with him or her about his or her availability. Make sure to be clear about how much work you can provide and how quickly you need this work returned.

If you have a stand-alone project that you need to be completed at the last minute, you may need to pay a little bit extra to get it back in time if you want to hire a quality writer.

See Related: Freelance Content Writing Websites

4. Specify the Length of the Commitment

Copywriters are used to having their work wax and wane over time. Therefore, it is not unusual for them to work without a clear contract. On the other hand, you still need to make it very clear with the commitment. Particularly after work requires a lot of research, you must be clear about your expectations.

Then, make sure that your copywriter can handle these expectations. Some of the key points that you need to specify before you decide to work with a copywriter include: 

  • How many words you need written 
  • When this work is due back 
  • Whether you would like any images included 
  • Whether you would like any hyperlinks included 
  • How many headings you need 
  • How many keywords you need to be included 
  • What type of citations you require for your sources 

These are a few of the expectations that you should make clear when you are looking to hire a copywriter. The working relationship is much smoother when you clear these expectations upfront.

You reduce the chances of your copywriter misunderstanding something and ensure that your work is turned around in time. For example, you might be looking for a copywriter who can also handle graphic design work, such as those on 99 Designs or TopTal.

See Related: Upwork Alternatives for Freelancing

5. A Fair Price for the Work

Before you agree with a copywriter, you must also agree on a fair price for the work. The amount of money you will pay for a copywriter will vary by the quality of the work.

For example, the cost of hiring a business plan writer will be much different than the cost of hiring a copywriter to write a few blog posts from time to time. For instance, hiring a copywriter to post a few blogs on your website will probably fall between $0.05 and $0.10 per word.

On the other hand, the cost of hiring a business plan writer will probably be much higher. Take, for example, it is not unusual for academic writing, such as business plans and research papers, to cost anywhere from $0.25 to $0.50 per word.

A full-time, professional writer with a long and impressive track record could cost as much as $1.00 per word. Therefore, if you are wondering about the cost of hiring a business plan writer, ensure that you and the copywriter agree beforehand.

Specify a fair price for the work that is agreeable to both parties. If you use a site such as Solidgigs, you can specify this beforehand and ensure you and the writer are on the same page.

See Related: Is Writers.work a Legit Training Platform or a Scam?

6. Look For a Passionate Copywriter

Finally, if you are still wondering “why hire a writer,” the answer is that a writer will be passionate about his or her work. There is a saying that you don’t work a day if you love what you do.

You need to hire a writer who loves what he or she does for a living. Importantly, writers are not going to be passionate about all topics. Therefore, you need to figure out what your writer is interested in. Does your writer love to write about legal topics?

Does your writer love to write about medical topics? Maybe you are looking for a copywriter who is passionate about travel! Regardless, there’s nothing wrong with having multiple copywriters on your team. If you hire a copywriter who is not passionate about his or her work, this will be reflected in the quality of the work that he or she produces.

Suppose you have a relationship with a copywriter and suddenly notice that a piece falls short of your expectations. In that case, it might be because your writer was not passionate about that topic.

You can’t just hire anyone to write about a topic. You should hire a copywriter who is passionate about writing, learning, and the topics he or she will be writing about. When you hire a suitable writer, this will be reflected in the quality of the work that you receive.

See Related: Toptal vs. Upwork

Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Copywriter

There are a few common questions that people have about hiring a copywriter. Some of the most common questions that people ask include: 

How much should I pay my copywriter?

As one of the most common questions about hiring a copywriter, there is no single correct answer. The amount of money you should pay your copywriter heavily depends on the work you are asking him or her to do. For example, if you are asking a copywriter to write a generic blog post for you, $0.05 per word could be acceptable.

On the other hand, if you are asking their copywriter to take your research and turn it into an academic article, you’re going to have to pay significantly more money. If you have questions about how much you should pay your copywriter, ask the writer! He or she will be upfront and honest with you. 

How do I pay my copywriter?

You should pay your copywriter when the work is completed. Copywriters usually accept payment and multiple forms. While it is possible for copywriters to take a physical check, Most copywriters are paid using PayPal, Apple Pay, Venmo, or something similar. 

How much work can I give my copywriter?

Copywriters work at different paces. Some copywriters will write tens of thousands of words in a day. Other copywriters might only write a few hundred words a day.
Therefore, ensure you clarify your expectations with a copywriter ahead of time. If you have questions about how much work he or she can handle, ask. The copywriter does not want to take more work than he or she can handle. Otherwise, the quality of the work will suffer, and the client will be unhappy.

However, it is never too late if you decide not to hire a writer and would love to try your writing skills. You can read blogs from professional writers and learn from their writing styles. Writing could be your source of making money.

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