So, you need a copywriter for your business, but it can be difficult to know where to start. Hiring a copywriter is a big decision. Who you hire can have a huge impact on not just your conversion rates, it can affect your brand voice, marketing strategy, and your entire business. Naturally, you want to hire the best copywriter you can find. The best way to do that is with a little bit of preparation. Here is what you need to do when hiring a copywriter.
What Does a Copywriter Do?
We’ve heard many interesting guesses as to what a copywriter does over the years, but copywriting is simply sales writing. A copywriter is someone who writes copy (text) that promotes a business or its products and services. In most cases, coaches hire copywriters for direct response copywriting which is writing copy that convinces people to take a certain action. This action could be purchasing something, but it can also be something like signing up for an email list, following the brand on social media, or sharing a post.
Here are some examples of copy you may hire a copywriter to write:
- Website copy
- Digital advertisements (Facebook Ads, Google Ads, Sponsored posts, etc.)
- Content marketing (content that is designed to subtly sell)
- Video scripts
- Emails (marketing emails, email sequences, and nurture emails)
- Social media posts
- Marketing assets (brochures, pitches/pitch decks, lead magnets, or email templates)
While the purpose of copy is to sell, well-written copy doesn’t sound like a sleazy salesperson’s sales pitch. One of the most important things copywriters do is to write copy that sells a coach’s courses and coaching services WHILE strengthening the relationship the coach has with their ideal clients. That is the extra value a copywriter provides above DIYing your own copy.
Define the Best Copywriter
Just like anything else, best is subjective when it comes to hiring a copywriter for your coaching business. Before you even start looking at copywriters, you need to think about what you need from a copywriter. Consider the following things.
What Are Your Goals for the Copy?
What do you want the copy to achieve? It could be:
- Sell your coaching course/products
- Grow your email list/social media following
- Get investors on board with your new coaching product or app
- Nurture an existing relationship with a follower/subscriber/investor/coaching client/affiliate
- Build relationships and a community around the work you do
- Strengthen your brand recognition or brand voice
- Share your passion and enthusiasm
A single piece of copy may have multiple goals. If that’s the case, then pick a primary goal and list the secondary goals. For example, most copywriters (us included) believe that all copy should strengthen your brand voice and nurture a relationship between you and your ideal coaching clients. That’s a given for all copy we create, and we will ask our clients questions about their brand voice and their ideal clients.
What Support Do You Need from a Copywriter?
Before you hire a copywriter, you need to figure out what kind and level of support you want to receive before, during, and after working together. There are many different types of contracts a copywriter can provide depending on your needs, but you need to discuss your expectations before you hire a copywriter. Here are some things to think about:
- Strategy – Do you have a strategy in place for this piece of copy or do you want the copywriter to provide the strategy? Creating strategy is a different skill from writing copy, so some copywriters won’t offer the service and it will change the price and timeline of the project.
- Collaboration – Do you want the copywriter to collaborate with members of your team or other service-based businesses/freelancers? This will require more meetings and time than if you are just hiring them to write copy. Be upfront about this, the frequency of meetings, and the timeframe. (Pad the timeframe too, the more people involved, the more delays will occur. You don’t want to lose an expert or two due to scheduling conflicts because the project ran long.)
- Communication – How do you prefer to communicate with your copywriter during a project? Do you prefer email, WhatsApp, Slack, Zoom meetings, phone calls, etc.? How frequently would you like your copywriter to communicate with you during the project? Some projects won’t need a whole lot of communication between the strategy call and the delivery of the first draft. Other projects might. Copywriting is a discipline that requires a lot of focus, so many copywriters prefer lower communication frequencies and may not be willing to communicate via instant messengers like WhatsApp, Slack, Teams, etc. (especially when time differences are a factor.) Our suggestion is to consider what are communication needs and what are communication wants, so you can prioritise. We also recommend finding a copywriter that shares your communication style rather than forcing a copywriter to work the way you prefer to work.
- Research – Do you already have the resources a copywriter needs to write a piece of copy, or do you need the copywriter to assemble them? The amount of work will depend on the type of copy, but generally a copywriter will need testimonials, branding guides, SEO keyword research, and market research. If you don’t have that already assembled, then you may need the copywriter to create those assets for your coaching business.
- Implementation and Marketing – Do you have the knowledge and resources to implement and market your copy or do you need the copywriter to help with that? Some copywriters may not offer this service, and some may not have the expertise to offer this. This is why it is important to discuss this from the very start.
Brainstorm that information and write it down so you can talk to the copywriter about your needs. It is best to discuss these as early as possible, so you can save time while finding the best copywriter.
What Is Your Budget
Copywriters are business owners, so they get to set their own rates. This means that prices for a piece of copy can vary depending on which copywriter you speak to.
Going for the cheapest copywriter you can find is not always the best option. Prices can be based on:
- Experience
- Qualifications and training
- Deliverables
- Support
- After-care
- Resources
- Time spent on the project
So, while there is not a direct correlation between price and quality, there is some correlation between the two. We can’t give you guide prices because they can vary a LOT but it is important that you know your budget so you can talk prices with copywriters. Know both your total budget and how much you can pay in one go (if you need a payment plan). Remember, just because a copywriter’s price is out of your budget, doesn’t mean they charge too much. You wouldn’t like a coaching client getting snarky about your pricing, so don’t get snarky about a copywriter’s pricing, they are allowed to set whatever price they want for their services.
How to Choose the Best Copywriter
Okay, now you know what you are looking for in a copywriter, now it’s time to get out there and find copywriters that match your needs. Every copywriter has a different personality and different soft skills, so not every copywriter will be your perfect fit.
Here are some suggestions for how to evaluate copywriters to see if they are right for you.
How to Find Copywriters
Well, you can drop into our inbox for starters. We offer comprehensive copywriting that helps coaches turn social media followers into long-lasting coaching clients. If we’re not the right fit, or you like to shop around, we recommend these tips:
- Ask friends or other entrepreneurs who did their copy. A referral is a great way to get information about pricing, skills, and how someone is to work with.
- Check LinkedIn for copywriters in your area. You can look at their posts and testimonials while you are there.
- Google copywriters for coaches for some recommendations. At least you know the copywriters who appear in the search results have good SEO skills.
View Copywriting Portfolios
The best way to see the quality of a copywriter’s skills is by looking at their past work. You’ll be able to see their skills for different types of copy and see their work across a range of brand voices. It is good to look for copywriting samples that match your brand voice, but the sign of a skilled copywriter is a range of different brand voices. This shows that they can embody many different types of brand voice. If all of the brand voices sound the same across multiple clients, then that suggests they are just writing in their own voice. Brand voices can be similar, but they are never identical.
Read Client Testimonials
What do their past clients say? Look for signs about the quality of work, communication styles, and deliverables. See if the testimonials from past clients match any of the points on the list of needs you created.
Email the Copywriter
If you think the copywriter is a good candidate, then fill out their contact form or email them to enquire about working with them. Tell them a little bit about your coaching business and the copywriting project to open up a dialogue. There’s no need to send them a whole brief or dump a whole lot of information on them, but you should give them the basic information.
Feel free to ask questions at this stage so you can determine if they’re the best copywriter for your needs. That saves you time so you’re not having to spend too long on discovery calls with unsuitable copywriters. Look at your list of needs and think of 3-5 questions that would help you to determine if the copywriter is a good fit on paper. If your budget is rigid, then you could ask them to discuss the project with you and ask questions so you can discuss pricing before the discovery call.
Remember, the copywriter is also evaluating you to determine if you are a good fit for them. Just like you have ideal coaching clients, copywriters have ideal copywriting clients. Do not look at it as a bad thing if a copywriter turns you down. It may be frustrating, because now you need to keep looking for a copywriter, but at least they have identified that they are not the right copywriter for you. There are many reasons why we may respectfully decline to work with a coach, but generally, the bottom line is we care that you receive the best possible experience and end result and we’ve seen something that indicates that won’t happen if we work together.
Book Discovery Calls
Discovery calls are a short call to get to know the copywriter, their process, and talk about what you need from them. At this point, you have already discussed things on your list, but you need to bring out the whole list and talk about what you need from the copywriter. This is the part where you both discuss your expectations and the copywriter’s expectations. Make sure you’re on the same page from the very start instead of springing things on the copywriter during or after the project. Copywriting deliverables and services can vary significantly, so don’t assume anything.
This is also a great opportunity to ask questions you have for the copywriter about the project, their experience, or their process. Here are things we like to discuss in our discovery calls:
- The client’s expectations for the project (deliverables, timeline, budget, and results)
- Our process and what the workflow will look like (including what we need from our clients)
- A little bit about the client’s coaching business and goals
- Next steps
We also spend time getting to know our prospective copywriting clients and giving them space to ask us any questions they have. We want coaches to come away from a discovery call with all the information they need to make an informed decision about whether we’re the best copywriter to help them achieve their goals.
Don’t panic if you forgot to ask an important question during the discovery call, just send the copywriter a follow up email and ask your questions.
Need a Copywriter?
Looking for a copywriter to help you start or scale your coaching business? Browse our copywriting services and get in touch. We support coaches through done-for-you copywriting services and resources that help coaches who like to DIY their copy to write the best copy of their life. Our inbox is always open, get in touch and tell us how we can help you.
If you need more information about hiring a copywriter, we suggest the following articles:
How to Hire a Cheap Copywriter
What to Expect When Working with a Copywriter