What You Need to Know Before Hiring a Copywriter
How do you know when you’re ready to hire a copywriter? Well there aren’t any rules set in stone.
As with any service, you’re usually welcome to hire someone and pay money whether you’re ready or not.
But for best results, I’m outlining a few things you should know before you dive in and invest.
After all - good copywriting isn’t cheap, and I want you to get a great return on your investment.
If you can’t answer all of the below questions with confidence, it might be time to either: do some time reflecting before reaching out to a writer.
Alternatively, you may want to reach out to a branding specialist who can help you nail down the core tenants of your USP before getting to the copy implementation part.
What is your brand voice?
I write copy in my clients’ brand voice. That means you’ve got to have some idea about your brand personality, values, and tone before we start any projects. If you’re stumped by this one, think through your own voice. If you’re the founder/owner of your business this is especially helpful.
People love buying from individuals, so don’t be afraid to inject your own personality into your brand. It will come across as much more authentic than if you invent a totally different voice for your brand.
For larger companies, your brand voice may not reflect the individual voice of any one person, but you’re not off the hook here. Your company should have its own established personality that stays consistent throughout your website copy, product packaging, and social media posts.
Who are your ideal clients?
And no, you may not say “Business owners between 22 and 65” or “Women in their 20s through 40s”
Get specific here! What kind of business owners need your service? What styles do the women who buy your clothes gravitate to? What neighborhoods are they living in? What are their daily stresses?
You’re in the business of solving problems. That means you’ve got to get crystal clear on what those problems are, and how people are experiencing them.
This is hard because it can feel like you’re limited your potential customer base.
And that feels like the opposite of what good business people do! But it’s actually your smartest move. Because instead of blending into the crowd, you can stand out as THE problem-solver for anyone with THIS PARTICULAR problem.
Don’t be afraid of specializing - specialists get paid more! Everyone wants a specialist - an expert in their exact field.
What are you selling?
Ok this might seem overly obvious. But hear me out because I know so many of you are just starting out and want to get fantastic copy nailed down immediately.
And I love that you’re making copy a priority.
But if you want your copy to generate sales… you’ve got to know what you’re selling so your copy can do its job.
If you sell a wide variety of products or services, are there any unifying themes? Is there a particular package you’d really like to emphasize? If you’re launching a course, have you invested in building the content yet?
Get clear on your offering, then figure out how to sell it.
If you’re not clear on your main offering yet, do more market research - what do people need? As Seth Godin says “Don’t find customers for your products, find products for your customers.”
Notice a theme here? 2 out of 3 of these questions relate 100% to your customers. They’re gold - and should be treated as such.
After all, the best copy is all about reaching, connecting with, and helping individual customers.