So you’ve finally taken the leap and decided to hire a copywriter for your brand or business. But now you’re maybe wondering — okay, what questions do I need to ask my copywriter before I hire them?

First of all — CONGRATULATIONS on making the move to invest in your business and hire an expert to write copy that’ll truly propel your brand forward. 

Secondly — keep reading for tips on what to ask your potential copywriter before you sign the dotted line on that contract.

Can you tell me a little bit about your process?

Before you even dive in — ask a few questions about your copywriter’s overall process. Some things you should specifically be looking to get clarity on:

• How do they onboard you? 
• What do they need from you in order to get your project started?
• What is the overall expected timeline for your project?
• When do they require payments — for example, do you need to pay a deposit in order to secure your project’s spot?
  

By asking these high-level questions up front — you’ll avoid any surprises throughout your partnership and make sure you have all the facts before you kickoff.

What will you do to ensure your writing will sound authentic to my brand?

This one is huge. We’ve worked with clients who’ve come to us only after they’ve worked with another copywriter or copywriting agency and were completely disappointed with the final deliverables. When we do a little digging here — we usually find out that the previously hired copywriter didn’t do just that. 

They didn’t dig.

Before you hire a copywriter — you want to make sure that they are going to dig deep into your brand’s strategic foundations and work hard to understand everything about your brand before they write a single line of copy.

And if your strategic foundations aren’t solid? A good copywriter will work with you to define things like your brand’s:

• Ideal Client or Customer
• Mission
• Vision
• Values
• Voice and Tone
• Core Messaging Pillars

Without nailing down this information — anything a copywriter does for you is guesswork. And let’s face it — most of us don’t have the time or money to invest in someone who’s just making (un)educated guesses.

That’s why we bake our signature mini-brand workshop (The Mini) into every package we book. We make sure we’re (us and you!) crystal clear on your brand’s foundations before we write a single word.

How many rounds of edits do you include in your package?

This one is really just for clarity’s sake. Most copywriters include one to two rounds of edits in their packages — depending on the volume of copy they are writing for you.

Make sure you know and understand how many rounds of revisions are included in the package you book to avoid any unpleasant surprises after you book. 

We can speak from experience and share that it’s never a fun conversation when we have to let a client know that additional revisions will encounter an additional fee because they didn’t remember that only two rounds were included in their package. 

To what extent will you perform SEO research to ensure my web copy is optimized for organic traffic?

If you’re hiring a copywriter to write web copy for you — as in, hiring someone to write your website — it’s important that SEO is a part of the conversation. SEO stands for Search Engine Optimization and it’s the process of “increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website through organic search engine results.”

To make it plain and simple: SEO is the practice of writing copy that gets you noticed and found by search engines. It’s an important part of writing web copy because — if you’re not optimizing your site to actually be found — what’s the point of having a website at all?

A good copywriter will a) do at least basic level SEO keyword research before writing anything for your site and, b) include those keywords strategically in your website’s copy to please the search engine gods.

Can I see samples of your most recent work?

Anytime someone asks us for samples of our work it’s like they’re almost doing it with an apology locked and loaded. But here’s the thing: If you’re about to invest in your brand/business and pay someone to do a service for you — you can bet your bippy that they should be ready to get you samples of their work ASAP.

A good copywriter — or really, any good service-based provider — will have samples of their work that you can see to determine if you’re comfortable moving forward with hiring them.

Asking these questions before you sign a contract will help make sure you have the best experience possible when you hire a copywriter.

Need to connect with a strategic marketing partner who knows just how crucial it is to have good copy in your marketing materials? Book a free Discovery Call with Carter House Copy today.