Let’s assume that as marketing manager, or even CMO, you have the resources now to hand off a copywriting job to a freelancer. You’re looking to contract a copywriter long term, but for now this is your first venture. What mistakes should you try to avoid?
Let’s listen in to a subdued manager who’s fallen into a trap that wasn’t obvious from the outset. Or – to be accurate – five traps! Luckily he’s entirely imaginary so we don’t have to feel too sorry for him.
“As a marketing manager, I recently made some mistakes while contracting a copywriter to create material for our business. It wasn’t the most successful of experiments, to be honest. So I’d like to share my experience and some advice on how you can avoid making the same mistakes.”
Why Contract a Copywriter?
Most businesses these days will gain value from having a copywriter on tap. There are just too many marketing opportunities that need a dedicated eye on the wording of what you put out there.
Whether it’s for cold emails, running your blog, or social media posts, copywriters learn your brand voice and the various channels you communicate in, and can give you exactly what will serve your business best.
So let’s see how things can go wrong, and also how you can ensure they go right for you when contracting with a copywriter.
Mistake #1: Not Setting Clear Expectations
“When I first hired the copywriter, I didn’t clearly outline the scope of the project or provide specific guidelines for the tone and style I wanted.”
As you can imagine, this scenario leads to emails parachuting back and forth! And confusion and delay.
But you usually need your copy on time for a specific reason. So – how can you avoid this mistake?
Before hiring a copywriter, set out a plan. This should:
- Define the scope of the project – project creep is common to businesses but your copywriter will ask for extra fees for mission creep, so agree the parameters up front.
- Specify the deliverables – this might include copy, or draft and copy, and one or two revisions, for instance.
- Provide examples of the tone and style you’re looking for – this is vital to you being happy with the results. It’s also one reason why all the AI language models are now allowing you to input “tone required” information. If not, everything will be generic and off-brand.
Mistake #2: Not Reviewing Content Thoroughly
“Another mistake I made was not reviewing the content before publication. As a result, some of it had errors and didn’t align with our brand messaging.”
Do ask to review and approve all content before you allow it to be uploaded by whoever does that sort of task in your business.
This includes
- checking for spelling and grammar errors (but a decent copywriter will not submit errors!),
- ensuring the content aligns with your brand messaging and tone, and
- verifying that the information provided is accurate and up to date (again, your copywriter will have researched but they cannot know every single thing about your business vertical or specific approach).
Mistake #3: Not Providing Adequate Feedback
“I also realized that I wasn’t providing adequate feedback to the copywriter. I assumed that the copywriter would know exactly what I wanted without me having to provide specific feedback.”
This applies more if you want to retain a copywriter for projects as they occur. You’ll need to pay a retainer for this contract plus fees for the work itself.
However, not providing feedback almost always leads to a disconnect between what you want and what is being produced. It’s a gap that widens over time and causes annoyance for both of you.
So –provide clear and constructive feedback to your copywriter to ensure that they meet your expectations. You can do this by email or phone, or writing comments in Track Changes in answer their own queries and comments.
A good copywriter prefers to make suggestions and query points as they go – which get sorted during the drafts and revisions you’ve both agreed to carry out.
Mistake #4: Not Having a Plan for Revisions
“I didn’t have a plan in place for revisions. When the copywriter submitted the final content, there were still some minor changes that needed to be made.”
This refers back to point one about agreeing the scope of the contract. If you don’t have a plan for how revisions will be handled, you bring in unnecessary delays.
So – establish a plan for how revisions will be handled before the project begins. This should also include how long passes before you reply to each revision. The copywriter has other clients!
Mistake #5: Not Agreeing Costs Up Front
“One additional mistake I made when working with a copywriter was not establishing a clear understanding of costs upfront. When I hired the copywriter, we didn’t discuss pricing in detail, and as a result, there were some unexpected costs that came up during the project.”
It’s unlikely a good copywriter would be vague about costs. They know their fee structure and agree the scope of the project.
What this means, therefore, is that you, as marketing manager, need to understand
- their rates,
- any additional costs (such as more revisions than specified, or rush orders that always incur extra fees), and
- their payment schedule (you agree when they will be paid for what).
As an example of that last point, a white paper is a longer work, and contracting with a copywriter means they will want
- some payment up front,
- some payment on submission of the draft, and
- final payment when the agreed revisions have been done.
If you understand how the costing is done, you avoid unexpected expenses and ensure the project stays within your budget. Why mess up your budget and ruin the ROI your contracted copywriter is trying to bring you?
And if you have budget constraints, that’s something to communicate with your copywriter in advance. They may, for example, agree a lower fee for doing less work – fewer revisions, perhaps. A good copywriter will want to work with you to find a solution that meets your needs as well as theirs.
If you’d like to start work with an experienced copywriter, contact me at empatrick@aol.com and let’s talk about how to bring you the perfect writing for your marketing campaign.
Eleanor Patrick writing services 