What questions to ask a copywriter for hire

Research is massive part of copywriting. It's a major red flag if they don't do research because that's 80% of the job. Avoid like the plague!

When we research, we have a set system we use. We compare your competitors, we research the particular product or service, and we create a persona sheet so we understand your ideal client and what makes them buy so we can write to that.

Then we mark up our research, assigning each section a letter. We copy and paste the content for each letter into the right place in our template corresponding to that letter and only then do we start to write.

We also find, when we've done the depth of research, the writing part happens really quickly.

If they can't tell you, they haven't done enough work before.

For our writing process, after we've added the research into our base document, we are ready to start, progressing in stages.

We start to refine each section, rewriting the content, eliminating what isn't relevant and making sure the key points shine through.

Once that's done, we end up with a rough draft. We take that rough draft and polish it until it shines like a diamond - the messaging is spot on and on brand, and it speaks to the target audience.

Only then comes the editing stage. Here, we tidy up sentence structure, cut out redundant words, tighten the message, correct any grammar, spelling and typo errors, and format the flow for easy reading.

Finally comes the proofreading stage. It's never a good idea to proofread straight after writing or editing. We like to have some space between these processes so that the copy is fresh and unseen typos can be corrected. Then the draft is sent to our client.

We also like to proofread the final layout before publication, just in case something went wrong in the layout stage or a client decided to change something seemingly innocent but that threw the whole copy off.

When it can all go wrong, just with an innocent full stop!

As an example of what I mean, I once helped out with a full-page ad for a client. The copy was written, we went through a few iterations and they sent us the final version in the final design layout for us to proofread before it went to print. I was looking forward to adding this to my portfolio.

Then the ad came out and I was devastated. Someone in the client's team, at the last minute, decided to place a full stop where no full stop should be, in an effort to "shorten" the sub header - so a really important piece of the ad!

There was no way I could show that in my portfolio!

So if you hire a copywriter, make sure you make full use of them. There are far too many examples of last-minute client changes, all meant with the best intent, that have made the public content a laughing stock for the client. Don't do it!