How to Hire Copywriters: An Essential Checklist

Hiring copywriters is never a cheap proposal, so how do you hire a good writer instead of a wannabe? Hiring a flake is a great way of wasting your budget and reputation in no time.

Don't worry, weeding out the fakes is easy once you know what you're looking for. A combination of marketing knowledge and business sense will save you from hiring a bad copywriter every time.

Any good copywriter is competent from the get-go, so here's a checklist to keep in mind. If any given writer doesn't ask these questions, don't walk away, run.

• "What's your unique selling position (USP)?"
• "Who is your target market?"
• "How big is your current market share?"
• "How long have you been in business?"
• "Who are your top five competitors?

Never hire any copywriter who gives you a deadline too good to be true. It is. One piece of good copy takes at least two weeks to write.

Never hire any copywriter who gives you a price too good to be true. Either you're being scammed or you're working with someone who started copywriting yesterday.

As a copywriter, I get my ideas down on paper and let them sit for a day before the first edit. They're ready to see print about five edits later, more if the ad is short. Hire your copywriter well in advance of your needs or expect a rush fee added on.

Hiring A Junior Copywriter

If your total copywriting budget is under thirty thousand dollars, hire a good junior copywriter. When interviewing a junior writer, start here:

"Where did you learn from?"

Every junior copywriter should be able to tell you how he or she learned. "I took journalism and/or marketing in college," is a good answer. "I read <insert long list of textbooks here> and practiced a lot," can also work. Many good copywriters started out as something else and learned to write copy later.

"Oh, I analyzed ads until I figured it out," is NOT the right answer.

"May I see your portfolio?"

A large portfolio is not a requirement at this stage because a new writer may not have done much yet. However, every writer should have at least a few snippets for show.

"Can you give me any references?"

Never hire a copywriter who has no repeat clients. We sell things, after all, we can sell ourselves one time. However, if we don't deliver, we don't get repeat business.

Look up reference contact numbers yourself, either through the Internet or by looking in the phone book. Anyone can claim to be the CEO of a marketing firm if expecting your call.

"Can you give me a rough idea of how you work?"

If a junior copywriter can't give you some detailed ideas about his or her process, run.

For example, if you asked me such a question I'd say:

"In the beginning I need to analyze your competition and your market. If you have market research already, I'd want to see it. Then I go down to my local library and read the same magazines and publications that your market is reading. I get a feel for how your market works and create a target profile for your optimal customer.

I also need extensive information about your product. I'm happy to sign a non-disclosure agreement before you provide me with any information but I can't write copy about a product I know nothing about.

I figure out a broad strategy for leveraging your unique selling position into copy that will make you stand out and appeal to your specific market. I will write an outline and several options for headlines, submitting them for your approval at the end of week 1.

If you approve none of my concepts, I'd like to sit down and speak with you directly to find out what I'm missing. Once you approve a concept, over the next week I produce the actual, finished copy, having some variations complete by week 2.

After that I split test as much as possible prior to publication."

Change the timelines as necessary to reflect realistic project assessment and there you have it. If a junior copywriter can't tell you what he or she does, do not spend your money.

After You've Hired a Junior Copywriter

Junior writers are much more cooperative than experienced ones. Watch out, this is both a pro and a con. It's good because you can correct massive errors before deadline. It's bad because you have less protection from your own marketing mistakes.

In short, if you're going to hire a new copywriter, push to get their best, take advice when it's good and ignore when it's not.

Check junior copywriter rates here, they're the numbers at the low end of the ranges.

Hiring a Senior Copywriter

Hiring senior copywriters is never simple. First, they demand mind-bending amounts of money. Of course, they reliably make mind-bending amounts of money for their clients, which justifies their price.

Second, they're a lot pickier about their clients than junior writers. A senior copywriter does not need any given client to make the bills. Instead, they look at product potential, name recognition potential and personal compatibility. Don't be surprised if you're rejected, just keep looking.

How do you know a senior copywriter from a fraud? Any senior copywriter should have a banner list of easy-to-verify accomplishments for you to investigate. In addition, you shouldn't even have to ask the questions listed above. Senior copywriters usually give you the answers up front.

Be aware that many senior writers farm work out to their students and edit it before the finished product hits your desk. Feel free to use this as a negotiating point. However, because you're getting the senior writer's time, you'll still pay a lot more than you would for the junior writer alone.

After You've Hired a Senior Copywriter

A senior writer can be a lot of fun to work with, but be prepared for extreme confidence and blunt critique. If you don't want the best, why did you hire a senior writer? Take the advice you're paying so much for.

Senior writers will not put up with the same level of supervision as a junior writer. They know their trade and themselves far too well. If a senior writer with a good reputation says it'll be on your desk by such and such date, it'll be there.

Hiring senior copywriters is a wonderful idea when you have both the budget and the product to justify the expense. Find senior copywriter rates here, they're the high numbers of the range.

In Closing

Hiring great copywriters takes time and care, but considering what a great copywriter can do for your sales, they're worth every bit of your investment.

No copywriter, junior or senior, can protect you from a bad product or poor business sense on your end. Advertising represents a risk just like every other business proposal. A good copywriter minimizes the risk, but no one can make it go away.

When you hire the right copywriter, it's often a match made in financial heaven. Your profits skyrocket and your investors are happy. What more could any entrepreneur ask?

Hiring the wrong copywriter, on the other hand, is a certain recipe for disaster. A scam artist or wannabe copywriter can disappear on you after you've paid a $15,000 deposit. Not good. Even if you get a refund on the $15,000, valuable marketing time slipped away while you sorted it out.

It may be also be a good idea to check out common contract terms for copywriters to find out what you should expect.

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