What Questions should I ask when hiring a Copy Writer?

Posted: 17 years ago 25 replies

COPY WRITING

I've seen a couple people make posts in here saying they were looking for a copy writer to which I see plenty of people say back "I'm a copy writer, lets talk"

but, I don't see anyone saying "When you hire a copy writer these are the questions you should ask"

If I was hiring a programmer I'd know what to ask (because I'm a programmer).... so, for all you copy writing professionals I ask you... what questions should a client be asking when they are looking to hire you?

#copy #hiring #questions #writer

17 years ago

Hi There,

I wrote an article on the topic that you can find here:

Find a Ghostwriter

Hope that helps
Ms. Liz

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17 years ago

The first question you should ask is---Let me see some of your writing samples. Well, that's not a question, but rather a request.

These samples will give you a good idea of what the writer is capable of and what he or she might do for you.

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Scott Murdaugh

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17 years ago

I would say request sample work relevant to what you're wanting to do, get an idea of whether or not the writer has experience in your niche, make sure they understand what you're looking for.

I generally ask more questions than the customer does. About their target market, who they're targeting, what benefits they feel need to be emphasized, ect.

It varies from project to project but without communication there's a good chance that you'll end up with something other than what you had in mind.
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17 years ago

So, one simple problem with the idea of "Let me see what you have already written" is that if my skills were good enough to evaluate the quality of work of a writer I'd probably be writing the document myself.

That is why I'm looking for a list of check points.

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17 years ago

You don't have to be a writer to know if it's good or not. The average person isn't a writer. The test is..If you read it and the copy makes you want to keep reading, then it's good. That's the entire point of a sales letter.

don't make it harder than it really is.

For example, I'm not an actor, but I can watch a movie and tell you if it's good or not. I'm not a chef, but I can take a bite out of a steak and tell you if it's finger-lickin'-good.

The same applies with copy.

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17 years ago

I disagree with ndcole78 on this.

I have salesletters that are not going to appeal to much of anyone outside their targret market.

Quite a bit of research went into those salesletters to specifically target the demographic and psychographic characteristics of the target market. Those MAY NOT have any appeal to YOU.

Let me give you an example. If you aren't a geek, I can guarantee that there are salesletters that will get a geek pulse racing that leave you cold.

It's about knowing your market.

Dan Kennedy, in his excellent "Ultimate SalesLetter" (3rd edition, I think) talks about how he was at a seminar for a particular group of people and noticed how they were always talking about golf -- during breaks, at lunch,, etc. So he wrote a letter targeting this audience that used as a benefit of using this product they would have more time to play golf -- and killed it.

Without knowing the background of that letter, reading that letter would have done NOTHING for me. I would have seriously questioned the copywriter.

No less than John Carlton has submitted letters that his clients have hated for one reason or another, and where subterfuge had to occur to even get them mailed (not by John, but by other folks within the organization). And then his letters killed it.

Better, to me, is -- what questions does the copywriter ask about you and your business, your market, your market research.

Find out what the copywriter can do for you -- both in terms of time and budget (most copywriters are not going to guarantee conversion rates -- those are quite rare.). And what is their proof that they can do that?

There's more, but it's late and time for me to retire.

Hope this helps.
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17 years ago

Originally Posted by ndcole78

Top copywriters can't pick a winning salesletter half of the time, how is someone without any experience supposed to?

Originally Posted by ndcole78

For example, I'm not an actor, but I can watch a movie and tell you if it's good or not. I'm not a chef, but I can take a bite out of a steak and tell you if it's finger-lickin'-good.

The same applies with copy.

Except all those things you talk about are your opinion. Just like what you think of any copy you read is your opinion. And opinion means squat when it comes to copy.

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17 years ago

Kyle---Don't tell me that you can't look at a sales letter and tell if it's good or not. Now knowing if it will convert is the mystery. Good copy has failed. His question wasn't choosing winning sales letters. His question was how can you tell if the copy is good or not. I know that the ultimate goal is for it to convert, but the only way to know if it will convert is to run traffic to it.

The first thing is to find a copywriter who gives him the best "chance" of producing a letter that will convert.

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17 years ago

But Nicholas -- Kyle might be able to tell -- but he's not the one hiring a copywriter, eh ?

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17 years ago

The bottom line is, first ask for work samples and go from there. Reading is reading--It doesn't matter what the subject is. If it's a good read, then chances are the copywriter is good.

For example I don't no jack about designing a website, but I have two eyes to see and I can tell if the designer is good or not. You have two eyes that allows you to read and a brain to use for judgment.

The average person won't do anything else but read the copy, so if it's a good read, and entices you to want to buy then the copywriter has accomplished the job.

I've read sales letters about things I had no interest in, but the copy was so good that I considered getting it (John Reese copy by the way).

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17 years ago

Copy is only "good" if it converts.

The ability to write well has very little impact on sales.

Nicholas I think you're looking at things through the eyes of a copywriter. Talk to your average prospect and they have no idea what good copy looks like. Forget about them picking a winning salesletter -- they don't understand the basics to begin with.

Sure, once people have been around the block a few times they might have a bit of an idea... but even then if you're going by what you *think* looks good then you're definitely leaving money on the table.

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17 years ago

If you are working on a strict timeline you should consider using Escrow Services.

I've worked with freelancers and copywriters before. If they don't deliver your copy in a timely manner - you are protected and you don't have make an upfront payment

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17 years ago

Hello hightekvagabond,

One question you could ask is for the contact information for past clients. You could contact them and get a feel for what is was like to work with the copywriter.

I know the knee-jerk rubuttal to that probably is that a copywriter will only give you contact information for clients in which they have real good relationships... but still I think it's a good way to do a little background research on the person.

Hope that helps,

Rebecca

PS. Another good idea is to go to someone you trust and ask them to refer you a copywriter if you don't know how to measure one up for yourself.

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17 years ago

Hightek,

You might find some helpful articles here:

Copywriter Catalog Blog

P.S. I've written plenty of "good copy" that didn't make me a penny. Once you start investing your own money into your projects, you realize that it's ALL about sales. There IS no such thing as good copy that doesn't sell.

-Jason

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17 years ago

so, what do these copywriters do actually? do they write for sales page? ebook? or simply plain articles?

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17 years ago

Originally Posted by irmawan

so, what do these copywriters do actually? do they write for sales page? ebook? or simply plain articles?

Speaking as a copywriter with 40 years' professional experience, I suggest it is best to first ask *yourself* some questions. All too often, a client looking for a copywriter has only a remarkably vague understanding ofwhat he/she (the client) actually wants -- has not fully thought through how to clearly articulate what really is required and what specific end result you expect from a copywriter.

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17 years ago

As a copywriter myself, I tend to ask the client more questions than they ask me.

I always send them to my samples if they haven't already seen them, and once they've decided to use my services I ask them lots of questions, one being what they want to get out of the copy.

If the copy is for an ebook, I always ask them to send me a copy of it so I can find some of the more enticing aspects to use in the sales copy.

One question that comes to mind is whether they have repeat clients. The majority of work I do is for repeat clients, who obviously wouldn't be coming back if they weren't happy with the service and quality I provided.

Cheryl

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17 years ago

This has been some great feed back, and the banter in disagreeing opinions was really great to watch. I really appreciate everyone's responses.

So, now, let me get a little more specific about where I am coming from.

I've listened to hundreds of hours of Jay Abraham CD's, Read Dan Kennedy's Ultimate Sales Letter, and been studying marketing on the side of my geekery for years.

I'm still first and formost a computer geek, I started doing Internet Security in the Late 80s, and moved from there to building ISP's, then Hosting companies and then in the mid 90s I started developing Database Driven web systems. I program in 26 langauges and can pretty much make a computer do anything it is possible for a computer to do..... BUT I learned a long time ago that building the better mouse trap never gets the world to pound a path to your door, it's telling everyone that you did weither you did or didn't that makes it happen.

This is why I started studying marketing.

Now, I'm about to launch this new product and my first super affiliate has a quarter million people on his list, I think I could probably right a half way decent sales page but I'd hate to cut my teeth on a project like this since a 1% difference in convergenes could cost me Millions down the road. So, now I'm in a quandry. Do I hire a pro with my limited up front budget and if so how do I make sure I get the most bang for my buck, or do I try to write it myself and bounce it back and forth begging you guys for feedback as I've seen others do.

My original answer was to ask you more about how to ask for help rather then beg for free consulting on developing the product, because, well, maybe I'm oversensitive about this area but I get so tired of the idiots asking me for free consulting all the time in the area that I've spent over 20 years building an expertise in.

So, my next question.... As I go down the road of looking for a writer who I can work with to write my sales copy..... would you guys rather have a client tell you about a project and say "Go write me a sales letter" or would you rather they take a stab themselves and give it to you as a baseline?

Primarly, my question is.... how do I be the best client I can be for a copy writer because I know as a consultant myself that the better job my client does of helping me do my job the better and faster the job I can do for them.

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17 years ago

Originally Posted by hightekvagabond

So, my next question.... As I go down the road of looking for a writer who I can work with to write my sales copy..... would you guys rather have a client tell you about a project and say "Go write me a sales letter" or would you rather they take a stab themselves and give it to you as a baseline?

Obviously I can't speak for anyone else, but I would prefer to be supplied with either a sales letter you've written, or as much information as you can possibly supply.

In your case, the copy is not for an ebook so I couldn't ask for a copy to get information from it, so the badly written sales page would probably be preferable.

Here in Australia, I physically go to my client's premises and look at their product so I know what I'm writing about. I hate doing so, but I really need to.

(I don't like visiting clients, it's not a fun thing for me to do!)

Cheryl

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cherylwright

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17 years ago

I also meant to add this at some point:

Many people ask for 'references' from copywriters. I have a portfolio - both online and offline. I don't give details of my clients without their permission, and so far I've never asked them.

My clips and samples have been all my potential clients have needed.

There is always a written agreement, and I also ask for 50% deposit upfront.

I do this with every client. Once we've worked together, then I don't do that, but first time around I always do. This lets my clients know I'm serious, and I know they're serious when they pay my deposit.

I don't show my work to the client until it's in first draft unless they request it. (I'm referring to the list posted by someone on this thread)

At some point you have to trust the person you've contracted to do the work.

Hopefully this gives you more insight.

Cheryl
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17 years ago

Originally Posted by hightekvagabond

Primarly, my question is.... how do I be the best client I can be for a copy writer because I know as a consultant myself that the better job my client does of helping me do my job the better and faster the job I can do for them.

Depends upon the copywriter.
But yah, the more my client can be an information tap for me, the better.
I have one client right now that I'm sending off to get me some authoritative information on something because it would make a killer claim.
It also depends upon my arrangement with the client, too. I've done research -- intensive research -- and gotten killer information for clients -- but it took away from the time I spent on writing.
If you understand that your helping me produces better results, that would probably be ideal, especially since I lend my expertise in not
just the copy, but the marketing.
I have certain ways of working -- as far as how I set up communications, how i get initial information from my clients -- that if you are keen with that, then you'd be my ideal client.
I like to have FUN while working. But I also like to work hard and to over-deliver. I think some of my clients think I think like I'm the owner
of the product -- and I've received JV proposals as a result.

As for the guy with a 1/4 M list...what you can do is segment the list -- as well as doing a/b split testing. IOW -- send out to, say, 10,000 people, and see what kinds of results you get. And keep doing that and track your results, you can test & make incremental changes...instead of sending 1 untested letter out to 250K people.

BTW -- don't let 250K people blind you. Lists vary widely in quality, and much depends upon the relationship the list owner has with their list, how they promote your product, as well as what's on the sales page.

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primoquest

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17 years ago

Ray Edwards created a great PDF late last year that you might want to read.

It's call "MANIFESTO - How To Hire A Copywriter Without Getting Ripped Off"

Go download now - it's FREE!

http://www.rayedwardscopy.com/manife..._manifesto.pdf
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- Ronwag
  
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  17 years ago
  
  You could run a limited contest. Select five writers, market their letters and the letter that garners most sales wins first prize of say $5000.00 second highest $4000.00 third 3 etc. prizes would be proportionate to dollar amount of sales. Small ticket item smaller prizes, Maybe a percentage of sales. Just thinking out loud.
  
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  Cherilyn Woodhouse
  
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  17 years ago
  
  My first question.... "Have you written copy in XYZ market before?"
  
  My second question... "How did it perform?"
  
  Then look at samples, testimonials, etc. Then discuss rates.
  
  Make sure your copywriter gives you some direction with what they want from you. Simply "send over product details" does work sometimes, but questionnaires work better for other clients. If you would prefer to answer questions, say so. If you would prefer to just write out as much as you can about your product, or write a sales letter yourself, and THEN be asked questions, say so.
  
  I know when I work with clients, I prefer to have them tell me the product's primary benefits in their own words. That is my biggest question, every time. You get a much better feel for the overall goal of the project, the benefits of the product, why it was created, and who can benefit from it from the product creator than from the product itself.
  
  Hope that helps.
  
  - Cherilyn
  
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BrianMcLeod

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17 years ago

Originally Posted by hightekvagabond

what questions should a client be asking when they are looking to hire you?

"Should I send this check by Fed-Ex?"

"Can I give your number to my associates?"

"How high?"

Ok.. just daydreaming for a second...

This is kind of an odd question in that copywriting tends to be a "service" that is retained by referral or demonstrated expertise.

As a copywriter you are usually either recommended by someone or by your work someone has read and appreciated.

In terms of what a new client wants to know, I generally find it comes down to fees, delivery schedules, and expectations.

Best,

Brian
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