“There are two big reasons why you shouldn’t hire a copywriter…
Companies violate both of these every day… and the cost of this mistake is enormous!”
Why Should I Care If You Make this Mistake?
Well, firstly, I believe that if you see someone about to run headlong over a cliff, you should try to stop them, if it’s at all possible (as long as it doesn’t endanger your own life).
Secondly, while I don’t buy into the doom and gloom perspective I hate waste, and I especially hate it when businesses waste their resources on interventions that are doomed to failure.
So, here’s some advice you should consider to save your business wasting time, money, and energy, which could be put to better use.
Don’t Hire a Copywriter…
#1 – If You Are Trying to Reach ‘Everyone’
Because I know without even talking to you, that you don’t have the budget to do this effectively and the end result is that you will waste bucketloads of money and generate very slim results (if any).
You’ve probably heard the old marketing saw, “There’s riches in niches;” and if you’re wise you’ll follow this advice carefully.
If you don’t already know your target market, when you’re talking to any copywriter worth their fee they’ll challenge you on this. Even if you are already clear, expect them to task more questions about your target market than you are comfortable answering, and take it as a good sign when they do.
Even if you did have bottomless pockets for your marketing campaigns, in order to reach a wide spectrum of the population effectively enough to incite them to action you’d need to segment your audience carefully so that you could appeal to their emotional triggers. Since you probably don’t have that kind of money, you need to know exactly:-
- Who you are talking to,
- What spurs them to action, and
- Where to find them.
Your copywriter will help you do this even more precisely and powerfully and if you insist on aiming at too broad a target will probably refuse to take the assignment because not even an A-list copywriter can achieve a satisfactory ROI on a poorly targeted campaign.
#2 – If the Copywriter You are Talking to Doesn’t Ask Questions About Your Target Market
Usually… any copywriter worthy of the name will do their own market research to supplement what you provide.
BUT… unless you tell them up front that you don’t have any information to offer, in which case you’ll include that diagnosis as part of their brief, they should ask you questions and discover all the information and data you have to share. It’s ok if all you have is opinions on who, what, why, and where, but it’s far more helpful if you also have data to back it up.
A manufacturing client of mine made a very expensive mistake when she acted on the results of opinion polls and client suggestions and created a product that no-one wants to buy at a price that even covers the cost. That’s why buying and behavioural data is so much more valuable than surveys and forums.
The questions and process your prospective copywriter follows are far more important than their portfolio when you’re trying to get a feel for their experience and competence. It makes sense that you are trying to get a feel for your copywriter’s style and skill, but here’s a starting list of what you won’t know:
- What was their brief?
- Who was the target market?
- What response rates did they achieve compared with their goal / industry norms?
- How much influence did the owner have on the final product?
- What was the impact on sales and profit margins?
Here’s what you do want to see in any copywriter you are considering hiring:-
- Curiosity about your business, your product or service, and your target market(s)
- Clear process for gathering information from you and from outside
- Interest in your industry and competitors
- Willingness to defy the marketing norms for your industry (without violating applicable regulations)
- Fees and turnaround times that reflect the effort and time required to do the above properly
- Questions about your goals, numbers, and criteria for success of the project.
Here are some warning signs that you’re about to make a mistake:-
- Incredibly low price or price per word – remember this is your business they are representing and low quality output will cast a shadow on your reputation as well as impacting response rates.
- Unbelievably short turnaround times. Just because you didn’t realise that you needed a document yesterday doesn’t mean that a copywriter should promise to research, write, and complete it today. There are exceptions… I’ve done it myself for existing clients and under special circumstances where another project was unexpectedly put on hold, but, generally, if you contact a random copywriter today and ask for an assignment to be submitted by tomorrow and they say ‘yes’, you should ask why they don’t have any commitments and listen carefully to their response.
- Copywriter takes your information and indicates that they’ll use that without further investigation. You can bet they’ll miss the compelling hooks and fascinating details that would skyrocket your results.
- No questions about the campaign and environment in which their project will be embedded. This is crucial, because a well-trained copywriter will need to know where this sits in your funnel and what media it is being used in.
And these are some criteria which are effectively irrelevant:
- A degree in marketing, creative writing, English, journalism or literature does not necessarily equate to the ability to write effective copy;
- A list of well-known clients doesn’t always equate to the ability to execute the project you need since that doesn’t cover exactly what the person’s role in the project was;
- An extensive portfolio in your industry may or may not result in copycat campaigns and copy rather than something that represents your unique characteristics and points of difference;
The bottom line: ask questions, listen carefully and use discernment when you hire a copywriter to avoid disappointment. Once you have decided to hire them, pay attention to their advice, as you would to the advice of any other expert consultant.
