When you’re looking to hire a copywriter to
write professional, snappy content for your website, your marketing collateral
or your sale material, it’s difficult to know where to turn.
If you’re a large business, you may find it
easier – after all, large businesses can often afford to hire an in-house
copywriter which in the long run works out cheaper.
But for small businesses, entrepreneurs or
businesses who rarely need a professional writer, the kind of person they look
for is a freelancer. Hiring freelance can be risky, as unless you’ve worked
with the individual before… you have no guarantee as to what they’ll put to
paper.
On the other side of the coin though,
hiring freelance can cut your costs and bring in results when you’re just
looking for small amounts of work on a regular basis or a one-time big writing
job.
How
to find the very best freelance copywriter
So here are a list of the signs you should
look for before even thinking about parting with your business ideas or money:
- Look at the freelancer’s personal content. This is the most commonly overlooked technique but the most effective – how does the writing come across on the freelancer’s own website, profile etc? (To see a good exampleof a copywriter’s website, click this link) Chances are, if they haven’t got their own content right… they won’t get yours right!
- Check for samples. If they don’t have anything to show you then they probably don’t have anything worth seeing. Does the copywriter you’re investigating have a portfolio, or at the very least a page containing writing examples.
- Check client feedback. Don’t look at ‘phoney’ testimonials either (the kind you can’t verify) – the testimonials should give you some sort of method to help you investigate the individual or organisation who has made the endorsement, such as a link to their website or contact information.
- Don’t base your judgement on price. If you’re looking solely for price… it’s a guarantee that you won’t get good copy.
- Check they offer the right services. Maybe the professional copywriter you’re thinking of hiring fits all of the above… but if they don’t offer the writing services you need, what’s the point?
What
now?
So if your potential copywriter has met all
of the above (you can do all of this without even getting in touch)… then it’s
time to make contact and get yourself a quote!
