A Useful Guide to Choosing a Copywriter
By Sarah McInerney | August 15th 2014
By Sarah McInerney You may have made the decision – a wise decision – to hire a copywriter to craft the content for your new website or print marketing. So how do you go about getting the right one for the job who will quickly get a grip on what you need to achieve and will be able to write as if they live and breathe your business?
A copywriter is a copywriter, right? Wrong. It’s a profession that crosses various abilities and disciplines. Just like in any profession, you’ll find entry level writers, then those with a few years’ experience, and then you have the ones at the top of their trade who have been writing for several years and have a highly developed craft.
The Different Types of Copywriter
Similarly, there is diversity in discipline too. Some copywriters come from a journalistic background. They may have worked in the media, writing features for magazines or reporting on stories for newspapers or online portals. They tend to write in an objective style, as they will always have an eye on sticking to fact and remaining unbiased.
Then you have bloggers. Now these are people who write as they speak. It’s all about own opinion, likes and dislikes, reviews, personal feelings. They tend to tell it like it is, in their own style. And people who subscribe to that style will follow and listen to what they have to say.
Technical writers are another discipline. Usually industry experts who know their stuff inside out, they will write with absolute accuracy and insight into what can be complex subjects. They focus on delivering facts and will be hired to produce technical documentation that communicates instruction to the end user.
Marketing Copywriters for Marketing Copy
If you are thinking that you haven’t been sold on any of these writers yet for your website or print marketing copy writing project, then that’s good news. Because none of the above would actually serve you well for such an assignment. Journalists don’t sell through their words, they tell. Bloggers talk to their audience in their language, not your audience in your language. And technical writers will get it on accuracy, but won’t engage or evoke emotion.
What you need for your website content or printed literature is a marketing copywriter. Someone with a background in sales or promotion, who understands what is involved in communicating messages in such a way that the reader feels compelled to take action.
The best marketing copywriters can adapt to any tone of voice to suit a range of audiences. They will study the values and key messages of a business and find intelligent and creative ways to incorporate them into the copy. They will know how to get the personality of a business across in just the right way, and the really good ones will also be able to develop a tone of voice that suits your brand and audience. They’ll also know how to write within the parameters of the guidelines published by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) so you won’t get into trouble for breaching advertising rules.
Making Waves with Your Copy
If you really want to make big waves with your new website or printed literature, hire a marketing copywriter as near the top of their trade you can afford. Ask to see examples of their work, but always bear in mind that they will have written in the style of their client, not in their own style, so look further than style and check how well they have engaged with the audience in question.
If you’d like help with copywriting for your next marketing project, we have just the right experts for you. Get in touch for a chat about what we can do for you.