Outsourcing a Copywriter? Here’s What You Should Know.
May 22nd, 2008 Dina at Wordfeeder.com
Many people who outsource copywriting and website marketing projects are concerned with keeping costs down. There is a simple solution to this without sacrificing quality: work together with the copywriter and strive for the highest level of productivity. Here are a few tips for making the process as seamless as possible and letting your copywriter do the best job she can for you.
1. Know what type of copy you need.
You’d be surprised at the number of people who hire a copywriter to write a web page without having a good idea of just what, precisely, they want that web page to do. The fact is, a web page (and by extension, almost any other written product) can serve many different purposes. So ask yourself: is this copy going to sell, inform, direct traffic, capture emails, provoke an action, or something else? If you’re not sure, tell the writer up front so you can work it out together. This way, your copywriter won’t spend a week writing a kick-ass sales page when what you really wanted was an information portal.
2. Know your customer.
In order to give you the best possible product, your copywriter needs to know who he’s talking to. Selling to 40-something college professors requires a vastly different approach then selling to teenaged skater punks. And are we talking rich, politically active teenaged skater punks in South California, or middle-class Christian teenaged skater punks in Indiana? Really, it’s that specific. And one more thing: you are rarely your client. Understand that what works for you and what will work for your target market may not be the same thing.
3. Give your copywriter everything you’ve got.
Every bit of research costs you time and money. You can vastly speed things up (and keep a lid on costs) by giving your copywriter anything and everything you think she might conceivably need to do the job. Samples of the product, samples of competitors’ products, previous sales materials, access to customer feedback (or even the customers themselves), internal branding documents, and so on. The more the consultant knows about you, your business and the product, the better job she can do for you.
4. Be available to your copywriter.
While the copywriter is working on your project, there’s a good chance he’ll need to check in with you to ask questions, get more material, bounce ideas off of you, check the direction and tone of the piece, etc. You and your consultant don’t have to become Siamese twins or anything, but make sure there’s at least one way to reliably and quickly connect with you while you’re working together.
5. Have a budget, and let your freelance copywriter know what the ballpark is.
Copywriting is elastically scalable - a product launch can be done with a simple landing page and an email, or it can involve a full-blown website, press releases, an autoresponder email series, a downloadable teaser and more. Your writer needs to know how much (or how little) money you have to work with so he can advise you on how to get the biggest bank for your buck. Sometimes clients may worry about establishing a budget up front for fear that the project will expand to fill all available zeros. But the fact is, a reputable copywriting isn’t looking to burn bridges by running up the meter unnecessarily. You’re much more valuable as a satisfied repeat customer than a one-time golden goose sacrifice.
As the Boy Scouts know, taking the time to be thoroughly prepared before heading off into a new project can save you time, energy and headaches later on down the line. Your website, newsletter, emails, or other copy work is important business. Give it the best chance of success by being completely prepared and ready to roll - before you pick up the phone.
Copyright 2008 Dina Giolitto, Wordfeeder.com Copywriting and Marketing. All rights reserved.
Popularity: 49% [?]
Email Dina@Wordfeeder.com for a copywriting or website marketing quote today.
September 17th, 2008 at 5:57 am
Copy writing is another outsourcing service. It is important that you are able to elaborate to your chosen outsource company what your expectations are. There must be transparency between the client and management to get an end result that is beneficial for both ends. Before choosing your the company to represent your needs, you must first distinguish what it is exactly you are trying to achieve. The information stated above is an elaborate example of what you should be prepared to do to be able to get the result that you want.