How to Hire a Copywriter

Why hire a copywriter?

The need for new staff can affect both your existing team and your bottom line. A great copywriter can:

• Write highly engaging content to promote your business and its offerings
• Convert marketing initiatives and brand tips into engaging arguments
• Produce error-free copy on your company’s behalf for distribution and publication

Deciding between a full-time vs freelance copywriter

Before hiring a copywriter, consider your needs to determine if a full-time or freelance copywriter best fits your situation. A full-time copywriter creates consistent content that sticks to your company’s voice for effective branding. An in-house copywriter knows what you expect and can produce to your standards.

If you don’t have a full-time workload for copywriting, a freelance copywriter can provide occasional work as needed. You might hire a freelance copywriter to create all your initial website and marketing content if you don’t have ongoing needs. When you launch a new marketing campaign, you can hire a freelance copywriter to create the new content. It’s an ideal arrangement when your copywriting needs fluctuate.

What are the types of copywriters?

Many copywriters produce various types of content, but others focus on a specific type of copywriting to fulfill a particular purpose. Knowing what your business needs can help you choose the right type of copywriter. Some types of copywriters include:

• Marketing copywriter: A marketing copywriter uses creative writing strategies and buyer psychology to produce copy that helps sell things. Content they create can include e-books, video scripts and marketing email campaigns.
• SEO copywriter: This type of copywriter focuses on search engine optimization of blog posts and other online copy to help the content rank higher in results.
• Technical copywriter: A technical copywriter takes technical information and makes it easy for anyone to understand. This might include instructions, user manuals or instructional online content.
• Creative copywriter: A creative copywriter creates concise, attention-grabbing content that’s memorable, often advertising content that’s short and catchy.
• Digital copywriter: Some copywriters specialize in online content, such as calls to action and social media copy.

Where to find copywriters

To find the right copywriter for your business, consider trying out a few different recruiting strategies:

• Start with a freelance copywriter. Use freelance copywriters to test their skills first. If you find a freelance copywriter who performs well, offer them a full-time job.
• Promote from within. Your current employees already know your brand, which can help them create informed content about it. Look for an employee who has strong writing skills to promote to a copywriter position.
• Hire from related fields. Someone with experience in marketing or similar fields can often move into a copywriting position. Network with people in those fields to attract a potential copywriter.
• Post on social media. Advertising your copywriter position on your social media channels can help you find a fan of the brand who’s also a talented copywriter.
• Post your job online. Try posting your copywriter job on Indeed to find and attract quality copywriter candidates.

What are the types of copywriters?

Many copywriters produce various types of content, but others focus on a specific type of copywriting to fulfill a particular purpose. Knowing what your business needs can help you choose the right type of copywriter. Some types of copywriters include:

• Marketing copywriter: A marketing copywriter uses creative writing strategies and buyer psychology to produce copy that helps sell things. Content they create can include e-books, video scripts and marketing email campaigns.
• SEO copywriter: This type of copywriter focuses on search engine optimization of blog posts and other online copy to help the content rank higher in results.
• Technical copywriter: A technical copywriter takes technical information and makes it easy for anyone to understand. This might include instructions, user manuals or instructional online content.
• Creative copywriter: A creative copywriter creates concise, attention-grabbing content that’s memorable, often advertising content that’s short and catchy.
• Digital copywriter: Some copywriters specialize in online content, such as calls to action and social media copy.

Writing a copywriter job description

A thoughtful description is important in finding qualified copywriter candidates. A copywriter job description includes a compelling summary of the role, a detailed list of duties and responsibilities and the required and preferred skills for the position.

When writing your copywriter job description, consider including some or all of the following keywords to improve the visibility of your job posting. These are the most popular search terms leading to clicks on copywriter jobs, according to Indeed data:

• Copywriter
• Writer
• Content writer
• Writing
• Marketing
• Journalism
• Remote copywriter
• Proofreader
• Copywriter remote
• Creative writer

Interviewing copywriter candidates

Strong candidates for copywriter positions will be confident answering questions regarding:

• Copy concepts they present within their portfolio
• Examples of how previous marketing copy successfully converted
• Their ability to manage numerous projects at the same time

Need help coming up with interview questions? See our list of copywriter interview questions for examples (with sample answers).