How to Hire a Professional Website Copywriter in the US

copywriting

chima mmeje

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professional copywriter looking at PC

It may seem far-fetched, but when you hire a website copywriter, you’re one step closer to achieving your business goals.

I recently worked with a client whose website wasn’t converting. Visitors struggled to understand her key offering because it wasn’t clearly outlined.

The copywriter who wrote the content for her financial services website was an expert in the health and wellness niche. She was completely out of her depth.

Working with a professional copywriter who understands your niche elevates your website content, highlights your unique value and increases your search visibility.

What Is Website Copywriting?

Website copywriting is the content on your website that explains who you are, what you do and your value to your target audience.

A website copywriter builds trust with your audience and convinces them to choose you. After reading your website copy, a visitor should take the desired action.  The action could be buying a product, navigating to another page, scheduling a call or filling a form.

Today’s website copywriter is also SEO savvy. Your content should resonate with your audience and rank high on Google for a keyword(s) or keyphrase.

How to Hire a Copywriter for Website Content?

Step 1: Establish Your Content Marketing Goals

Before you hire a website copywriter, define your content marketing goals from the onset. Goals help you choose the ideal web copywriting service to create content that appeals to your potential customers.

Content marketing goals include:

  • Increasing search ranking
  • Driving traffic
  • Lead generation
  • Product sales
  • Increase social media followers and more.

Step 2: Write Your Website Content Brief

A content brief should explain:

  • Your goals for your website
  • Your target audience
  • Brand voice
  • Target keywords
  • Other essential brand data that will frame the copy

Step 3: Begin Your Search Online

The simplest way to find web copywriting services is to search online. You can do a generic search for a website copywriter or find someone who writes exclusively for your niche.

However, you can never go wrong with recommendations from peers who have worked with freelance copywriters.

You skip trials, avoid the risk of hiring a copywriting who isn’t the right fit and enjoy the rewards of working with an awesome copywriter.

You can hire cheap copywriters on platforms like Freelancer, Upwork, and PeoplePerHour. But, remember the saying, “you get what you pay for.”

Once you’ve found a website copywriting service that aligns with your goals, it’s time to schedule a call. Discovery calls help you learn more about a copywriter. It’s also a great way to collect multiple quotes and choose an agency that balances quality with pricing.

Qualities to Look for in a Copywriter

  • Subject matter expert
  • Willing to learn
  • Good listener
  • A proven process for creating content
  • Welcomes feedback and criticism
  • SEO savvy
  • Ability to collaborate with designers
hire a professional copywriter who understands your brand
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  1. High-Quality Content

To stand apart from the crowd, your content must cut above the norm. Everyone talks about high-quality content, but how many copywriters can write it?

High-quality content must:

  • Be engaging
  • Easy to read
  • Flow logically
  • Drive action
  • Rank on search engines
  1. Subject Matter Expert

While many generalist copywriters can jump between niches with ease, you’re on sure footing when you work with a niche expert.

There’s usually a marked difference between a generalist writer and a subject matter expert. Go for web copywriting companies who have specialist writers on a range of topics.

  1. Willing to Learn

Expertise is relative. We live in an age of information where your knowledge from yesterday could be obsolete today.

Hire a website copywriter who is willing to invest the time to learn about your product/service, the industry you serve and new game-changing findings.

  1. Good Listener

Listening is the most important skill of a communicator. I wrote an entire homepage copy for Franco Blueprint based on the information I learned while listening to the founder during a discovery call.

Choose a copywriter who:

  •  Listens more and talks less
  • Asks questions
  • Is passionate about helping you grow
  • Seeks to understand you, your business and your vision.

Your target audience buys with emotions and justifies later with logic. Get writers who infuse passion into your copy

  1. A Proven Process for Creating Content

You could wake me up from sleep in the middle of the night, and I would be able to describe my process for writing website content.

You want a copywriter who can outline their process without stuttering or sounding unsure of themselves.

My process includes:

  • Jump on a discovery call with you. The goal is to get to know you better, understand your business model, the problems you face, and your goals for website copy.
  • Ask for your buyer persona and brand guideline.
  • Conduct research to understand consumers’ level of satisfaction with existing solutions. I’ll also get to know your product and identify gaps in your competitor strategy.
  • Conduct keyword research
  • Extract entities from Text Razor
  • Create a content outline based on keyword research, audience research and competitor research
  • Write the copy
  • Optimize for keywords
  • Check for readability and uniqueness
  • Ensure the copy aligns with your brand values, tone of voice and content marketing goals.
  • Send the completed copy to the client
  1. Welcomes Feedback and Criticisms

Great copywriters welcome feedback and criticisms. Heck, they ask for them. You know your business better than anyone. Choose a copywriting agency that welcomes your feedback and edits the copy to fit your vision for your website.

  1. SEO Savvy

It’s almost impossible to rank for your money keywords if you don’t optimize for search engines. Choose a website copywriter who understands SEO best practices and how to write organically without keyword stuffing.

  1. Collaborates with Designers

A copywriter has an image of how they want the web copy to flow. A web designer may not have the same vision. Some copywriters create the wireframe and others work in a team with a web designer.

Choose a website copywriter who understands the basic elements of optimizing web design for search engines, user experience and other design elements on a webpage.

Writing is one half of the process. Design and presentation are the other half.

I often work with a web designer to explain my vision for the project and ensure they get it right for the client and audience.

Should You Hire the Same Person for Website Design and Copywriting?

hiring a professional copywriter isn't the same as hiring a web designer
Hire different creatives to handle the task of web design and copywriting for best result

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Finding freelancers who excel at both web design and copywriting is rare. Why do you want to hire a website copywriter who does web design?

It’s like asking for a mixologist and chef in the same person. You would feel better knowing a specialist was handling each task.

Web design and copywriting are broad fields that require years of training to master. Both are full-time jobs. If you hire the same person for web design and copywriting, it will take longer to deliver and the quality may be affected.

What Is the Cost of Copywriting for Website?

There is no one size fit for every website copywriter.

Some website copywriters have eons of experience and charge from $1,000 upwards per service page.

A newbie copywriter still learning the ropes may charge a tenth of that amount.

Other factors affecting the cost of website copywriting include:

  • Niche
  • Length of copy
  • The complexity of the project
  • Location of the copywriter
  • Project timeline
  • Other deliverables you may require

Conclusion

Trying to hire a website copywriter may seem like finding a diamond in the rough. But it’s worth it when you choose the right person.

A good copywriter breathes life into your ideas, makes your audience fall in love with your brand and increases conversion for you.

 

Looking to hire a copywriter for your next project, schedule a free call,  or drop an email and I’ll be happy to discuss your copywriting project with you.

 

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