How to Avoid Picking the Wrong Copywriter for your Project Copywriting, guest posts and inbound marketing services by professionals

How to Avoid Picking the Wrong Copywriter for your Project

June 20, 2019

The right copywriter can turn your online or offline marketing campaign into a huge success, while the wrong one can cost you more time, more money and still leave you with unsatisfactory results. After reading this post however, you’ll be better placed to untangle the wheat from the chaff when it comes to
quality copywriters.

When trying to pick a competent copywriter who can help accomplish your goals, the first and most vital question to ask yourself is: “Does the copywriter understand the objective of the copy, as well as the audience?” If a copywriter is unable to answer in the affirmative, then the chances of them delivering the sort of copy you need becomes something of a gamble.

It is essential that a copywriter understands the objective of the copy and its target audience. If not, the copywriter will be unable to tailor copy as needed to suit your needs and appeal to the targeted audience.

Because there are various fields of copywriting, there are a variety copywriters available with specialised skillsets that are best suited to crafting specific types of content. By defining and understanding what you need copy for, you’ll be in a better position to identify what copywriters can best satisfy your needs.

To avoid picking the wrong copywriter, below are some of the skillsets copywriters possess that you will have to consider in order to determine if a copywriter has the competence to deliver what you need.

What Other Factors can be used to Determine if a Copywriter is Ideal for your Needs?

The Writer’s Website

A copywriter’s website tells you a lot about the sort of copy you can expect from them. If the copywriter’s own website content is riddled with grammatical errors and other flaws, chances are you can’t expect anything better when doing a job for you. Therefore, take a look at the copywriter’s website to get a taste of the writing style, as well as the quality of craftsmanship.

Awards and Reviews

By doing some research into the copywriter, you can discover if past work they have done has been noteworthy enough to deserve an award – or at the very least, positive reviews from clients. The more positive reviews a copywriter has, the better, because it indicates consistency with quality.

Samples of Work

You can ask the copywriter to show you samples of previously completed projects. The samples will provide a clear idea of the writer’s specialty and if they are capable of satisfying your current needs.

Availability

You might have found the perfect copywriter but are they available to provide the services you need at the time you need it? When conversing with a copywriter, be sure to state the time frame within which you’ll be needing their services and confirm if they’ll be available at that time. Failing to do this can land you a competent copywriter who unfortunately is too busy to deliver what you need before it’s too late.

List of Clients

Viewing the type of clients a copywriter has worked with tell you if they have experience creating copy for businesses within your industry. Also, if the copywriter has worked with some notable brands in the past, this is a useful accomplishment which can translate to the copywriter bringing something unique and valuable to your project.

Commercial Experience

By identifying how low long the writer has been working as a copywriter, you will gain an idea of the level of expertise the writer possesses.

By considering the aforementioned factors, you can prevent wasting time on a copywriter who isn’t a good fit and instead find one with the skill and competence to effectively deal with your project, ensuring maximum satisfaction.

3. Type

Another way to determine if a copywriter is right for you is by looking at the type of copy they are best known for. Copy can come in different forms and some of the more commonly seen types include: articles, micro copy, landing pages, white papers, special reports, eBooks and so on.

Besides the type of copy, you can also consider the type of platform on which the copy will be published. For example, will the copy be in an email, a blog, social media, or even offline? Whatever the case, it’s best to opt for a copywriter with a proven track record of working with the type of copy you need.

2. Industry

There are certain copywriters whose skillsets are better tailored to marketing businesses in certain niches or industries, whilst there are others who are generalists and can work with any business from any industry.

To help you better understand if a specialist or generalist is better suited to your business goals, below are some pros and cons of working with either type of copywriter.

Specialist Copywriters

Specialist copywriters usually have years of experience within their specialised field and industry and can thus create detailed and authoritative copy in that field. Because of the copywriter’s firm grasp of the subject matter, you rarely need to say much before they understand exactly what you want.

Aside from being familiar with the industry, such specialists usually have a working knowledge of the types of audience that your industry caters to and can in turn effectively craft copy that will appeal to such an audience.

On the downside, specialists tend to charge a higher price for their expert knowledge and you often need to book for their services in advance.

Generalist copywriters

Generalists are more’ Jack of all trades, but masters of none’. They can create viable copy about pretty much anything and bring a fresh perspective to your industry due to their lack of tunnel vision, which is rampant among specialists.

Generalists also tend to charge less for their services, but depending on the quality of the copywriter, you might end up with a finished copy that deviates slightly from the intended mark, because the generalist failed to get a proper grasp of the subject matter of the copy, as well as the needs of the targeted audience.

Sales Copywriting

Most business owners tend to use sales copywriters when they are preparing to launch a new product or begin a new promotion campaign. Even though all copywriting is mostly about generating sales, this type of copywriting is more direct and focused on getting targeted customers to buy the product in question. Examples of sales copy include emails, landing pages and so on. Common features of sales copywriting include a powerful headline, a focus on the product’s benefits and clear ‘Call to Actions’.

1. Style

A copywriter’s skillset might be more focused on a particular style of copy, such as product descriptions, articles and so on. Another example is how a copywriter that specialises in business to business copywriting might struggle with creating copy for a business to consumer scenario. While it’s true that various styles of copywriting have overlapping features, they still have key distinctive elements that really set them apart. Thus, the first step to finding the right copywriter is knowing the style of copy you need and below are some examples of copywriting that are commonly requested.

B2B Copywriting (Business to Business)

Writers who create copy for B2B are usually focused on creating copy that effectively markets a product or service to other businesses. Copywriting for B2B is significantly different from what is required for B2C, because it is less focused on stirring the emotions of the targeted audience and instead dwells more on highlighting the unique benefits of the product that is the subject of the copy. Such copy also often features facts and figures about the benefits of the advertised product.

B2C Copywriting (Business to Consumer)

B2C copywriting is quite common and often the style that a majority of copywriters can handle. Online businesses both small and large frequently request such copy to promote their products and communicate what they have on offer to their targeted consumers. Examples of businesses that use B2C copywriting include any that sell directly to individual consumers, such as clothing stores, restaurants, jewellery stores, etc. B2C copywriting attempts to engage and convert customers by gaining the customers trust and influencing their emotions positively concerning the brand and what it has to offer.

SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) Copywriting

The primary purpose of this sort of copy is to make a website and its content much easier to find on search engines like Google. Such copywriting is accomplished by focusing on keywords which the targeted audience most commonly search for, ultimately leading them to the desired website.

SEO copywriting isn’t simply about stuffing copy with keywords, especially now that search engines frown on keyword stuffing and even penalise sites for it. Aside from having the right amount of appropriate keywords, the copy must also be engaging and well written, such that readers – as well as search engines – will appreciate it.

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