Hiring a copywriter can be a daunting task. In these days of freelancing websites and the huge pool of candidates you have to choose from, it can be difficult making the right match. In a recent article, I went into the two basic steps to hiring and keeping a good copywriter. Today, I want to take things a step or two further and speak directly to those who employ content marketing as a conversion strategy.
There are all kinds of copywriters out there. Very few have degrees specifically in copywriting (although those degrees do exist), so it can be difficult to measure credentials even if you ask for a résumé or CV. If you do go that route, there are specific things to look for and if you don’t see them on paper, it might be a good idea to ask before you hire. Here is a short list of vital skills you want a content marketing copywriter to possess.
General Knowledge and Experience
The best copywriters are the ones who can write effectively on anything. Ask to see a portfolio or a variety of samples. If you see well-written copy on a broad range of subjects, chances are you’ve found a writer with the skills necessary to adapt to whatever subject you want him or her to cover.
Specific Matching Skillsets
If you know going in that you are going to need copy on a very specific subject, it is helpful to make sure that when you place an ad for a copywriter, you are as specific as possible about what you want. If you simply say that you work within the fitness niche, that doesn’t tell prospective writers much. If you’re dealing with fitness equipment, however, you should be able to separate the wheat from the chaff in terms of quality when you put your call out for samples.
The right copywriter will already have a style that is at least somewhat aligned with what’s in your head about your product. You should be satisfied that the one you hire can speak knowingly about your product or brand and can present it in a way that makes you feel confident. If you’re on the fence, keep looking. The more in tune with each other you and your writer are, the happier everybody will be and the faster your work will get done.
It’s not that hard to find people with very specialized knowledge out there. Even lawyers and doctors are using copywriting these days as a means of developing a secondary income, especially those who are retired or semi-retired. Those kinds of credentials might cost you a bit more in the long run, but you won’t be able to match the quality.
Knowledge of Social Media Platforms
Most content marketing copywriters will also be able to write headlines, descriptions, and tweets that motivate people to click through to your content. During your screening process, it would be to your advantage to ask how much work your applicants have done on the various platforms and even ask them how they might manage a content marketing campaign that employs the use of whatever social media outlets you employ in your marketing efforts.
How much does the applicant know about Facebook advertising? What considerations are there to be made when writing the perfect tweet? The answers you get to these questions may vary, but they will tell you quite a bit about a writer’s understanding and experience.
Adequate Time Management Skills
The single biggest sticking point in the world of custom writing, from both a client and employer perspective, is the way a writer handles deadlines. The sad truth of the matter is that there are many people out there who want to be copywriters but precious few who understand or acknowledge the importance of meeting deadlines. Content marketing often deals with current events and trends, and a habitually late copywriter can cost you precious opportunities to engage.
For many clients, the ability of a copywriter to deliver on time trumps the quality of the work, and the reason for that is simple. If you have something in your hands that can be edited, it beats not having it at all. At least you have a chance of staying on schedule whether you ask for a rewrite or just fix it yourself. In my experience, asking for a rewrite is always better; it helps develop the writer and increases the instances of you getting the work done right the first time over time.
This is why I say that if you find yourself a writer whose delivery is mediocre but on time, you have a decision to make. What is that writer’s overall potential? Is it worth the time to mentor and develop him or her into a writer who better understands your brand or product? That is entirely up to you and has far more to do with how patient you can be than it does with whether it’s the correct course. In my experience, if you find a writer who takes your time and deadlines seriously and delivers on time most of the time, that writer is worth having on your team.
Actual Writing Ability
It is easy to tell whom the real writers are and whom the hobbyist freelancers are by how they communicate in proposals or on résumés. In most cases, you can weed out 80 percent of the applications you get by simply looking at the communications skills and sentence structure inherent in the proposals.
There is a huge difference between “I’m a writer” and “I like to write.” You need to be patient enough to find the former. A writer is typically someone who has a commitment to making his or her living (or at least part of it) with words. Hobbyist freelancers who only work occasionally don’t develop the varied skills necessary to hit the ground running with a difficult assignment – something a content marketing copywriter should be able to do. A writer who is specifically suited for content marketing also knows how to write enthusiastically and in a way that engages the reader.
This is why I recommend working with an agency or copywriting company. While there is a good bit of churn in any company, most agencies employ writers who work regularly and are used to taking on a variety of subjects. You also have a better chance of finding a writer with a specific skillset when you have 20 to choose from in one place.
These are five very basic skills you want to look for when selecting a writer for content marketing. Your job now is to apply each of them to your own business and copywriting needs and use them as effective starting points in assessing any writer you decide to hire.