8 Tips For Working Successfully With A Website Copywriter
Hiring a conversion-focused website copywriter is a smart move for your business if you're looking to take your marketing and messaging to the next level, and bring in more leads—but it's also an investment. So, you want to get the most from it, right? Right.
Here are eight tips that will help ensure a successful collaboration with a professional website copywriter. (Like myself!)
1. Clarify your goals going into the project
Before you begin working with a website copywriter, it's helpful to think through what you hope to accomplish through your work together.
For example, are you looking for an SEO-friendly website that helps your site rise through the search rankings, or do you want content that will persuade readers to purchase from you? Do you want a personality-packed brand identity that enables you to stand out from your competitors through voice alone—or are you in an industry where that's not so relevant? Perhaps several of those ring true? There could even be tangible outcomes you hope to achieve—a specific sales figure from your sales copy or a page one SERP placement for a chosen keyword.
Getting clear on your goals will help you hire the right copywriter to write words for your business and better communicate what you want to achieve from the collaboration—which is key to everything going smoothly from the start.
2. Clearly define your target audience
It's your website copywriter's job to craft content that speaks directly to your target market—but, at the same time, you know your business better than anyone! So, it's essential that you, as the business owner, clearly define who your ideal customer is before you start working with a copywriter. If you're already established, chances are this is an easy ask! If you need to consult a business coach, do so—and consider who makes up your target audience, what challenges they're facing, what they value, what their goals are (as they relate to your product or service), what the and how you help them reach them.
Having a specific idea of who you are trying to reach will help the copywriter tailor their content and inform other key decisions like choosing the right language, writing style, messaging, and overall tone for your web copy.
3. Connect your website copywriter with past clients or customers
Client/customer interviews can be a powerful part of honing your website or sales messaging and tailoring it to your target market—and most website copywriters worth their Himalayan sea salt will relish the opportunity to connect with a handful of "ideal" past or present clients/customers and pick their brains.
We'll ask them about where they were at before engaging your services or using your product, their experience working with you, what sparked their decision to buy, and more! There's a wealth of priceless information to be gathered from these interviews that will result in higher-converting copy for your website or sales page—and shed light on why people choose to work with you (or purchase from you) and what drives their decision to do so.
If you cannot facilitate interviews, past testimonials can also help shine a light on these important details.
4. Take the time to provide quality content & responses at the start
To ensure your copywriter produces content aligned with what you're after, answer any questionnaires thoroughly (no need to censor yourself or write in grammatically-perfect sentences!) and gather reference material such as their top competitor websites, articles on relevant industry trends, snippets of copy you like and why, and existing customer testimonials—plus any existing business content that we need to align the copy with. Providing high-quality information like this will help your copywriter refine their messaging and capture your voice, no end.
5. Offer detailed feedback on the website copywriter's work (if needed)
To ensure that the website copy is of the highest quality, it's important—no, essential—to give detailed feedback to the copywriter throughout the review process. Don't be shy about letting them know what you love, what’s spot on, and what needs changing, so they can zero in on your preferred style and tone of voice, as well as capture all the details of your offer. We want you to take a critical and thorough look through your draft so your end copy fits like a glove, is engaging, accurate and well-crafted—and will attract your target audience.
Most website and sales pages I write come with two rounds of edits included—many only need one, and often only minor tweaks—but it's OK to rework pieces too. Know that it occasionally happens, and it's correctable.
6. Trust their expertise and listen to their reasoning (within reason—don’t ignore your gut!)
Don’t be afraid to ask your copywriter their thoughts, and consider their advice if they offer up reasons for copy being a certain way. Chances are, you’re hiring a copywriter for their expertise—so it’s important to remember that they may know a thing or two about writing for the web, persuasion and on-page SEO that you don't—just as you know things about your brand voice, industry, target market, product/service or overall offer that they don't. Bringing both your areas of expertise to the table will help create a solid overall piece of copy crafted to connect and convert—while still feeling true to you and your brand.
The best results come when you work like a dream team—Holder and Linden, Bones and Brennan, Scully and Mulder. 😅 This extends from the briefing stage right through to the review phase.
7. Provide feedback in a timely manner
Time is precious during a website copywriting project, so be sure to provide timely feedback when the copywriter submits a draft or working version of content. The quicker you provide feedback, the easier it will be for them to make changes and ensure every piece of content meets your standards. So, as soon as you review the material and give it time to digest, reach out to the writer with any comments or clarifications needed. This will help keep the project on track and ensure your completed work meets expectations.
8. Engage a website designer too, to get the best possible outcome from your website copywriter investment
According to web credibility research from Stanford, 75% of customers admit to making judgements on a company's credibility based on its website design.
Just as copy matters, so too does design! And just as an interior designer can decorate your home beautifully but not build it—a copywriter will write the content that furnishes your digital home, but not the site's design elements.
Best practice? Put your website copywriter in touch with your designer once the final draft of your copy is complete to work together on implementing your copy into your website. I love collaborating with designers to ensure the copy looks picture-perfect on the page and is formatted and laid out to make the best impact.
Bonus points? Bring on a designer (or developer) who understands SEO. This is because I will write your website copy according to SEO best practices, using the appropriate heading tags, and targeting relevant, low-competition keywords with the highest search volume—but your designer will need to tick boxes on the back end to boost your ranking further and implement the copy correctly, such as modifying image names, tweaking image size, using the correct heading tags, optimising site speed and mobile usability, as a start.
That's it! I hope that’s been helpful. By following these eight simple rules (😉) you can effectively collaborate with your website copywriter to produce copy for your website that resonates with your target audience, communicates your value and helps you grow your business and your bottomline.
NEED FRESH WEBSITE COPY FOR YOUR BUSINESS?
If you’re actively scouring the internet and fielding recommendations for a website copywriter, I would love to put myself forward for your consideration! As a conversion-focused freelance copywriter, I can write website copy that will help you get seen (through on-page SEO) and make sales. Plus, your brand new messaging will lay the foundation for all your marketing efforts, from social media content to ad copy.
