THE DESIRED EFFECT
EXPLAINING ALL that’s good about your business and what it offers is fundamental to growth. Yet it can be frustratingly difficult to achieve. Who is capable of finding just the right tone, precisely the desired effect? Will you agree about the most penetrating words and phrases to use? Often, the road to selecting a copywriter is littered with juddering potholes. At some stage, nonetheless, it is likely that you will have to take the journey.
Unless you possess an extensive marketing department or employ a full-service agency, you will have to look at picking up a skilled writer who has an understanding of people, how they are motivated and what can and cannot be digested. Importantly, someone who accepts that target audiences are only interested in themselves and can play their tune.
Expect amateur or claim-to-be writers to have little or no training and make basic mistakes in usage, exposition and grammar. Such flaws are irritating to readers and reduce the authority of your company, products or services. Protect what you have by sticking with the professionals.
Which begs the question, which one? All skilled copywriters possess an ability to communicate information accurately, with clarity and brevity. The best of them will know precisely how to tell your story.
CORPORATE VOICE
The pros work to time and within budget. Operating on their own, away from your base, they still remain true to your corporate voice. Such writers act upon feedback without compromising their integrity. Above all, they’re concerned about achieving results on your behalf.
Choosing a copywriter is not a decision to be made lightly. You are placing the public image of your business and all that you are offering in his or her hands.
Do the basics, of course. Look at the writer’s website and the client list shown, together with testimonials. See if there are supportive online articles or blog posts.
Enter into early communications to get a feel of the approach and attentiveness. Ask to see samples, in order to judge the style. You need to know the sectors they have covered and the media they have grasped. Are they specialist or generalist? Meet up, preferably across the desk, but if needs be turn to Zoom or Skype.
ESTIMATING RESOURCES
Quoting a copywriting job can be difficult, because it is not clear at the outset how much work will be involved. Nevertheless, proficient scribes are capable of estimating the resources that will be needed and should be ready to give a quite accurate figure, unless the brief changes.
Quotes will be based on the project type, the extent of necessary research, levels of expertise, any additional skills that might be involved, plus the deadline. While it doesn’t follow necessarily that the more expensive it is the better it will be, quality copywriting is valuable and should be seen as such.
Methods of charging range from fixed or guideline prices to daily or hourly rates. A tiny minority charge per word produced: best avoided.
For your part, consider how you will direct the relationship. Do you know what you want? Are you equipped to brief the writer accordingly? Can you gather together all of your pertinent information? Can you recognise, respect and ratify quality work when it is presented?
The post-selection course may be the most hazardous part of your journey. Reach your destination in timely fashion and business rewards will be awaiting.
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