We all want to save money.
Before you decide to farm out your copywriting to the lowest bidder, there are a few things you need to understand. Please keep reading – what I’m about to share with you could save you tons of money and aggravation in the long run.
Cheap Is Never Cheap
I cannot tell you how often my copywriting company gets handed shoddy copy work that the client needs us to clean up. If a client already has the raw material, that means he or she found a bargain basement copywriter on some popular freelance website and has already paid once for copy they can’t use.
Consider that you found someone to write you 1,000 words for $5 … but you got $5 quality, didn’t you? So now, you have to go find someone to clean up the mess. That article doesn’t cost $5 anymore, does it? It’s costing you in time as your deadlines come and go, and it’s costing you in revenue as whatever part of your marketing plan is being left on hold while you sort out the mess. Here’s a little valuable advice: When it comes to copywriting, spend your money once, and spend it well. Here are 5 reasons why you want to go for quality over price when you select your copywriters.
#1: “You Get What You Pay for” Is a Real Thing
We’ve all been there: You go to a restaurant and open the menu, but instead of looking at the left column and deciding what you want to eat, you look to the right and decide first what you want to pay. Too many marketers choose their copywriters this way. The problem with that plan is that if you want filet mignon, you’re not going to get it for the same price as hamburger. It’s just that simple.
You need to decide just how much your brand message is worth. Sure, you can hire a copywriter who doesn’t speak or write natively in your language, and hope for the best. You can also seek out someone with experience, preferably in your niche, who can demonstrate a command of the language and deliver great copy on time. Which do you think will be better for your business?
#2: Native Speaker/Writers Will Represent You Better in Writing
When you have the advantage of someone who understands your language and culture writing for you, it automatically places you in a far better position to relate to your audience. That overseas writer you hired on Fiverr is probably an excellent writer and communicator in his own language, but what does he really have in common with the audience to whom he’s writing when he’s writing for you? If your copy has an alien vibe, it’s going to alienate your readers. Period.
#3. Higher-Priced Copywriters Are More Likely to Be Career Writers
Hobbyist writers will go fishing for work on the popular freelance sites and won’t put much effort into their proposals. The ones who are serious and actually make their livings with words have done a lot more writing and can provide more solid portfolios. Do you want someone who writes 1,500 words a week or one who writes 5,000 words a day? Whose craft do you think is more refined?
#4. Higher-Priced Copywriters Are More Likely to Adhere to Deadlines
Most seasoned copywriters know that if they can deliver on time, they are several steps ahead of the vast majority of their competition even before anyone gets around to critiquing the quality of their work. You want a writer that will keep you on schedule without having to chase after him or her to meet a deadline.
Anyone who has dealt with bargain basement freelancers will tell you that missing deadlines is the #1 issue they face. Couple that with getting handed subpar work, and now you’re scrambling to stay on schedule and hiring more people to clean up the mess. All so you could save $10 or $20? How much is that $5 writer really costing you in the long run?
#5. You Can Always Decide Not to Work with That Writer Again
Sometimes you will go through a couple writers before you find The One. Don’t expect your writer to hit a home run right off the bat, but do decide whether or not there’s a chance of cultivating the kind of writer you want out of that person or if you need to find someone who can more readily understand you, your brand message, and the direction you want to go with your copy.
I recommend asking for a paid sample and paying an agreed-upon flat fee that includes unlimited revisions and see how long it takes to get the job done. During the “audition,” you can make note of how quickly the work is returned and how good it is. You could also test your writer by asking for a minor revision even if you don’t really think it needs it, just to see how he or she reacts and how the rewrite is managed.
If you’re really not happy (and you can say with a clear conscience that you were 1,000% clear about your expectations – that matters) you don’t need to hire that person again, but don’t feel like you wasted the money if it doesn’t work out. Consider what you paid to be an investment in research and development for your brand and understand that everything in business costs money. The question isn’t really how much you spend, but rather how well you spend it. A good copywriter (and the money spent to find one) is money well spent.