How To Hire A Copywriter

Need to hire a copywriter?

(Or want to get hired?)

Then listen close, because this decision can have a major impact on your business.

Choose right and you can enjoy years of fresh offers, new customers, and a growing stream of sales.

But choose wrong and you could be doomed with a copywriter that struggles to produce… ignores deadlines… writes non-compliant copy (that gets your biz in hot water)… repeats mistakes over and over… and at best, breaks even on the money and time you invest in them.

Now, as someone who’s spent the majority of their career in the copywriting trenches — as well as training, recruiting, and hiring copywriters — I’ve given this topic considerable thought.

And frankly, the things I look for in a budding copy star are not what you’d expect…

Because for me, it comes down to 2 factors:

What I can teach… and what I can’t teach.

I CAN teach “creativity” and how to identify big ideas (and early on, I can simply feed them to the copywriters). I can teach how to write well and how to write fast. I can teach copywriting structure and theory.

But what I can’t teach are the intangibles.

I can’t teach work ethic… or attention to detail… or motivation.

So when I’m testing out a copywriter, I want to make sure they do the little things…

  • Do they go the extra mile in their research (i.e. get on the phone with the client, read existing copy, search through testimonials, test the product, etc.)? Or do they make hyperbolic, unspecific claims… or worse, simply make up facts?
  • Do they follow your instructions the first time? Or do they repeat the same mistakes over and over again?
  • Do they seek feedback early in the process and often? Or do they wait until the very end to get your thoughts on the copy?
  • Do they hit their deadlines… or even deliver their copy early? Or do they chronically miss deadlines… ask for extensions… and then still deviler shoddy work?

Anywho…

Those are the big questions I ask when evaluating potential copywriters.

They may not be a magic bullet for everyone (for instance, if you — or someone on your team — doesn’t have the skillset to train copywriters).

But they’re the key things I look for.

And I recommend you do the same.

Your pen pal,

Matt Rizvi