Hiring a Copywriter for Your Small Business

Like hiring good employees, finding a good copywriter takes time and persistence. You´ll need to take a break from your day-to-day business activities and conduct a thorough search. In the end, you'll be glad you did: Using a talented copywriter will guarantee better results for your next advertising

Don´t worry if you can´t find a writer who has a lot of experience in your particular business or industry — skilled copywriters and marketing experts can handle a broad range of assignments. Following this step-by-step process will increase the likelihood that you?ll get someone who´s right for your project:

Get referrals. Ask for recommendations from friends and business associates who have worked with copywriters. Also check with your trade association, local merchants association or chamber of commerce. These and similar member organizations often maintain directories of business-to-business service providers.

Develop a list of prospects. Call each qualified candidate to discuss the project and arrange an interview. Do some screening on the telephone, and pare down your list to two or three prospects.

Set up interviews. Ask the candidates to come to your office and bring several work samples. This is the time to ask detailed questions and carefully review considerations like writing style.

Get three references. Call the references and find out if they were satisfied with the copywriter´s work. Was the ad or direct mail campaign successful? Did it help the client sell more products or generate new business? Also find out if they had to do any extensive editing to the copywriter´s initial copy.

Select a candidate. After you meet with several copywriters and do your due diligence, you´ll probably be ready to hire one. If not, begin the process again. Talk to more of your peers for additional recommendations and meet with copywriters until you´re confident you´ve found the best person for the job.

Agree on payment. You should have a figure in mind when you hire a copywriter, but be prepared to negotiate. Some writers set hourly rates, and others prefer to bill on a per-project basis. A flat fee will protect you from exceeding your budget if the project takes longer than estimated. Also, most professionals include one or two rewrites in their fee, so make sure you know what´s included. Like most other vendors, copywriters expect payment within a reasonable period of time — usually 30 days after submitting an invoice.

Set a deadline. Make sure you and the copywriter agree on a deadline for the project prior to starting work.

Prepare a contract. Have the copywriter sign a contract or letter of agreement that spells out the terms and conditions of the project. Include the agreed-upon fee, the deadline and other important details of the project.

For more information, see the Step-by-Step Guide to Hiring an Employee. And if you find, however, that you need to take on copywriting skills internally, read Finding Copywriting Inspiration to give you some advice.