Copywriting for Small Businesses, Part 2: How to Find a Copywriter
After we covered what is a copywriter and what is a content writer and their differences, in this blog I’ll try to give you a quick guide on how to find and hire one based on your budget and your needs.
Freelancing platforms
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Freelancing platforms are websites where the supply and demand for freelancing services meet. There you can find all sorts of talent like web designers, graphic designers, coders, copywriters, etc. You just have to make an account and dive into searching. Freelancers will have profiles where you can find their work and more importantly, reviews from clients that they worked with in the past. All transactions are processed through the platform so the risk of fraud is almost non-existent. The only downside of these platforms is that they charge your favorite freelancers huge service fees that go up to 20% of the price you pay. And we don’t want that, do we?
Here are some of the most popular freelancing platforms:
Copywriting Agency
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There are many perks that come with hiring a copywriting agency. They’ll handle everything from brief creation through copy drafting, editing, and proofing, as well as managing the writers, and often they’ll have professionals like designers and marketing strategists on their team.
But since they have a huge staff to pay, office space to rent, and millions of other expenses that need to be incorporated within the price, hiring a copywriting agency might turn out to be a tad expensive especially if you are at the early stages of your business journey.
Once your business starts growing, your copy requirements will most likely grow too, and then you can turn to a copywriting agency for extra help.
Word of mouth
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You most likely have a friend of a friend who knows a copywriter who is relatively inexpensive, has been in the industry for a long time and most importantly follows deadlines and is reliable. The copywriter is not in your niche? Don’t worry, most copywriters are great generalists.
This is my favorite way of finding professionals in general. What could go wrong?
Good ol’ LinkedIn
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I am pretty sure that most people know what LinkedIn is, but for those of you who don’t know, LinkedIn is a world’s largest professional network on the internet, where people from various backgrounds meet in order to expand their connections, find a job, offer a job or simply learn a new skill.
Start by opening a profile, where you are going to put a short bio, a professional background, and a photo.
Then dive into searching. Simply write “copywriter” or “content writer” (or any other professional that you might be looking for) in the search panel and then start browsing one by one. Most professionals will have a portfolio on their profile. When someone catches your eye, based on their portfolio, experiences, etc, don’t hesitate to contact them. This is not an unusual way of hiring people, I, myself, have been hired this way a few times.
Just make sure you are concise of your needs when contacting them. What is the main thing you need? Is it a landing page, email campaign, or a blog maybe? It would be helpful as well if you know your budget. LinkedIn is full of wonderful professionals and they’ll help you from there.
Final note. When you hire a freelance copywriter, you are paying for copywriting services and that’s all. Once the copywriter is done with the project and you agree upon it, you’ll most likely need a graphic designer to integrate the text with the visual. They might have some basic editing skills, but your copywriter is not a graphic designer. Understanding this distinction upfront will help you avoid misunderstandings and ensure a smoother process.
