Why hire a copywriter? Here are 9 benefits to consider
If you’re waffling back and forth about whether you should hire a freelance copywriter, I get it. Maybe you’ve written your own website copy and marketing content up until now. You’ve proven you “can” throw together content. Maybe you’re even a pretty sweet writer!
So do you really need to hire someone to take it over?
If you haven’t solidified your offers, process, target demographics, mission, and values…no. I don’t suggest hiring a copywriter yet. Focus on nailing those things first. It will make hiring a copywriter down the road so much more worth it.
That said, if you’ve been in the game for a while and you know your goals like the back of your freakin’ hand, keep reading. In this post, I’m unpacking 9 benefits of hiring a freelance copywriter.
First, what exactly does a copywriter do?
Basically, if you need words to help you increase brand awareness or boost sales, a copywriter can do it.
That doesn’t mean every copywriter does it all. No, sir. Some specialize in types of content (websites, sales letters, blogs, email campaigns, white papers, etc.). Some are purely conversion-focused, while others also focus on SEO or branding.
BTW, there’s more to copywriting than simply stringing words together. There’s plenty of strategy and research involved in the copywriting process, which makes the difference between something that simply sounds nice and something that has a real impact.
Now, onto 9 benefits of hiring a freelance copywriter.
Benefit # 1: More time to focus on your zone of genius (or to chill the heck out)
Look, if you don’t read any of the other benefits in this blog post, consider this one. We all want more time. We want more time to work on our business, in our business, and, most importantly, to do things completely unrelated to our business.
Copywriters can’t alter the spacetime continuum (yet). But they can help you use more of your time on stuff other than writing your website copy, blog posts, sales pages, emails, social posts, and what have you…
Beyond taking things off your to-do list, hiring a copywriter helps turn idea generation into actual implementation. When you hire a copywriter (or any other professional service provider for that matter), it forces you to take action on those things you keep putting off. And that is the kick in the butt we all need.
Benefit #2: Increase conversions, obvs
I think we’ve established that copywriters do more than sling pretty words together. There’s strategy behind their work.
This includes selling strategy—AKA conversion copywriting. By writing persuasive content that considers the buyer’s journey, handles objections, and nails down the true value of your offer, copywriters help “convert” readers. Converting readers can mean getting them to fill out a form, click a button, or actually purchase something during a product launch.
A good copywriter will do all this without sounding like a sleazy used car salesperson (no offence to car salespeople in general—I know many of you are cool). They’ll focus on uplifting the reader, providing them with a solution, helping them figure out if your solution is right for them, and guiding them to the next best step.
Benefit #3: Amplify your brand voice so you make your mark on the digital block
I’m not going to lie to you. There are probably thousands of other businesses that do something very similar to yours.
But that doesn’t mean you can’t stand out.
Your copywriter will work very hard to:
Zero in on what makes your brand different
Channel your brand’s unique personality
Use that personality to help your offers stand out
They do this by bringing your brand voice to life, which involves much more than just the language you use. It involves a deep dive into how you express your business’s personality whenever you communicate through words. It involves your business’s mission, goals, values, and how that all plays out through your tone and language.
Your copywriter will ask you about the vibe, feelings, and personality traits behind your brand. Then they’ll look at your competition and creep your existing content to spot trends.
The goal is for your copy to sound unapologetically YOUR BRAND. Consistently, across platforms. Think of it like visual branding, but through words.
Benefit # 4: Perfectly capture your services (i.e. no more verbal diarrhea)
Do you ever struggle to sum up exactly what it is you do? Or do you find it hard to articulate the true value of your services? Is it tricky to nail down what makes your approach different from the gazillion other businesses with similar offers?
An experienced copywriter helps sum up your services with a tidy digital bow.
By zeroing in on what details are the most important to your ideal clients, a copywriter helps you cut through the fat and offer just the juiciest meat.
They’ll pick your brain to understand your approach and then do the necessary research so they understand the landscape. By scoping out the competition, they can identify the cool things you do differently and highlight them.
Benefit #5: Get an outsider’s perspective (‘cause you can be TOO close to a topic)
On a similar note, a copywriter helps describe your business without the insider biases you might have.
The fact is, when you’re immersed in your industry, you might not realize how confusing your jargon is to your clients. You might assume they understand certain concepts that they don’t.
By offering an outsider perspective, a copywriter helps bridge the gap between you and your people without using language that will trip them up. They take your big ideas and expertise and turn them into digestible, quality content for your ideal clients to lap up with ease.
Benefit #6: Improve the user experience
Take a moment to think about what’s going on in your mind when you visit a website.
You probably don’t spend long reading chunky blocks of text. You want the “next step” to be clear and easy to find. If it’s too difficult, you’ll bounce right outta there.
If that sounds familiar, you aren’t alone. The average visitor only reads 20% of the words on any given page. A copywriter helps make sure those words count.
A copywriter helps improve the overall experience for your website visitors. They know how to format information and leave only the most valuable content. They also have a general idea of how your website designer/developer will want to lay things out. So they write accordingly.
As a result, your website offers a much smoother user experience. Which means lower bounce rates, higher conversions, and more money in the bank.
Benefit # 7: Get killer insights on your ideal customers
Your copywriter wants to get inside the head of your target market. Hence, a key part of the copywriting process is customer research.
Your copywriter’s goal is to understand how your ideal clients speak about their issues and desires. What causes them to seek out businesses like yours? What keeps them up at night? What have they already tried? What are their biggest dreams?
To find the answers to these types of questions, copywriters can use a variety of tactics:
Review your existing testimonials and surveys to spot trends
Conduct interviews
Create and send surveys
Scope out communities your ideal client hangs out in
Read reviews of similar businesses
All this insight helps a copywriter write stuff that resonates with your people and “speaks their language.” Or, as we call it in the industry: “voice of customer data.”
A possible side effect of this is you could also walk away with a deeper understanding of your ideal client in general. This helps you address potential objections in your marketing and craft the most relevant offers possible.
Benefit #8: Help generate more organic traffic by improving SEO
Many copywriters help optimize your website copy and/or blog content for search engines so you can bring in more organic traffic. That means more eyeballs on your website without you needing to lift a finger. Or spending a fortune on ads.
Of course, many factors play into SEO (including design, functionality, and backlinks), but you’re an extra step ahead if your copy is SEO optimized.
If SEO is part of your copywriter’s services, they’ll consider things like your customers’ search intent, trends, keyword search volume, and keyword difficulty to help improve your rankings in search results.
If your copywriter doesn’t offer keyword research themselves, they’ll know how to incorporate an existing SEO strategy (without sounding like you just jammed in a bunch of keywords).
Benefit #9: Repurpose the copy on other platforms
This is a highly underrated benefit of hiring a copywriter. When you hire a copywriter for a project such as website copy, a sales page, or an email sequence, you don’t just reap the benefits of that specific deliverable.
You wind up with a bunch of content you can easily repurpose into endless other marketing assets. You’ll walk away with snappy one-liners you can showcase on social media, succinct summaries of your offers you can whip out at networking events, and expertly-worded selling points you can highlight in your ongoing marketing campaigns.
Basically, you get a gold mine of brand language to use again and again.
Is hiring a copywriter worth it?
I’m biased….But, yes
You may initially seek out a copywriter to save you time or because you lack certain writing skills. But, chances are, you’ll uncover a whole array of benefits like the ones I highlighted.
If you’re in a position to invest in your business, ask yourself if these things matter to you:
Getting consistent across your marketing so you attract more of the right people
Increasing organic traffic so you have more eyeballs on your website
Generating awareness and recognizability with your target audience
Boosting sales by using clear, persuasive content that highlights what makes you unique
Saving yourself time so you can do other stuff besides hunch over a keyboard for hours on end
Forming a partnership with someone and being able to bounce ideas off of a creative professional (another highly underrated benefit I didn’t even get into)
If these sound like things you want, then it might be an excellent time to hire a copywriter.
If you’re not in a position to hire someone right now, that’s cool. Consider it a goal for future you.
*Shameless transition*
If you couldn’t guess, I’m a copywriter who can help ya do all these things if you’re in a position to outsource. If you’d like to chat and learn more about what working together could look like, please fill out this form. I can’t wait to connect!
Frequently Asked Questions:
How much does it cost to hire a copywriter?
Most professional copywriters will charge anywhere between $300-$1,000 per website page. For emails, you might be looking at anywhere between $400-$10,000 per sequence. I know, big enough range? 😅
The range depends on many factors, including:
The type of copy: If they’re writing bottom-of-funnel sales copy (i.e. the stuff that’s super close to the point of sale), the rates are usually higher.
The copywriter’s level of experience and results they’ve achieved
Package inclusions (such as how much research they include, whether or not they offer wireframing and communication with designers, etc.)
The nature of your industry
It’s important to remember: when you hire a copywriter, you’re getting more than “just words.” You’re getting their strategy, expertise, and skills they’ve dedicated time and money to developing.
You can get copywriting for cheaper than the ranges I mentioned (usually on platforms like Upwork). But the level of expertise will typically be lower.
How do you hire a copywriter?
You can find copywriters by Googling, searching social media (Instagram, LinkedIn, Twitter), and asking your network for referrals.
You’ll quickly find there are quite a few of us. So have a few things in mind to help narrow down your search, such as:
Read their copy and scope out some of their content. Do you like their writing?
Do you want them to be local to you (or at least in the same country)?
Are you looking for a specific type of copy (such as website copy, emails, blogs, sales pages)? Some copywriters specialize in a certain type and some do a bit of everything.
Is it important to you that they specialize in your industry?
What do you value in a service provider in general? Do their values and vibe match that?
Do they have a solid process?
What’s your budget? (This is a big one for obvious reasons.)
What’s included in their core packages?
If they have samples available, do you like them?
Once you've found a few people you like, use their websites to figure out how to get in touch. This will usually involve filling out a form to collect some info about the project you have in mind and then jumping on a call to chat in more in detail.
The copywriter will usually lead the way and ask you some questions to nail down what you need and how they can help you. Once you’ve had a chance to talk it all out, the copywriter will usually send you a proposal that takes your goals and budget into account. Then it’s up to you whether you want to move forward!