Copywriter Job Description
A freelance copywriter is a professional marketer whose job is to provide persuasive writing services to their clients. This is not to be confused with “copyritghting” which refers to intellectual property rights. The freelancer works in a contractual agreement or on a project basis with various companies which is different from an in-house writer who is permanent personnel to one company. The ultimate goal however, is to generate results through their writing as it’s mainly a performance based sales & marketing position.
Copywriters can work on a plethora of tasks. Here’s just a handful of categories & assignments within them that can be optimized to generate more revenue or market the business in its best light.
Types of Work:
- Articles & Blog Posts
- About Us pages
- Cart & Checkout pages
- Frequently Asked Question pages
- Homepage copy
- Informational pages
- Advertising & Promotional Content
- Facebook/Google/Instagram/ Ads
- Landing Pages
- Email Sequences
- Cart abandonment emails
- Introductory Welcome series
- Re-engagement emails
- Review & feedback request emails
- Weekly or Monthly Newsletters
- Product & Service Descriptions
- Brochures
- Marketing materials
- Product guides
- Sales letters
- Video scripts
- Plus Much more – Basically anything that requires the written word in order to move cold leads to prospects & finally into paying customers or clients. Copywriting is “sales in print” as often stated. It can be applied all throughout the sales process; from top of funnel, to uncovering needs & desires, & finally closing.
The best thing about copywriting however, is that it’s a digital asset that continues to sell your brand, sell your idea, sell your products or services – Around the clock!
Skills Needed or What To Look For In a Freelancer
One might think that all that’s needed is to be creative, write catchy slogans, & put words on paper. However nothing could be further than the truth. Copywriting is a very conceptual endeavor. One that requires knowledge of human nature such as base needs & the desires that drive us all into action.
Without a doubt, a strong written communication ability is a must, but only one facet of the equation. It requires a systematic approach to make the writing efficient & deliver results. On the other hand, also an empathetic outlook to truly understand where your client or customers are coming from.
There’s also several other skills a good freelance copywriter must possess, such as research skills, marketing & sales experience, search engine optimization, and being creative in finding solutions. A good freelancer should be a full-stack, jack of all trades, with a specialization in persuasive writing. After all, they themselves are a business entity, just like the ones they are seeking to help improve.
Most Importantly
Often overlooked, business acumen is one of the most important things to look out for when hiring a competent copywriter. This is the ability to conceptualize how a business operates to make money; Similar to understanding how a mechanical watch is put together & knowing what makes it tick. If they don’t nurture & present themselves (their business) in the best light, what makes you think they’ll do the same for you?
- One of the best places to evaluate this is to check their website:
- Are there testimonials or other markers of credibility that inspire trust
- Do they have images of themselves & present themselves in an authentic way
- Do they have their own lead generation measures in place
- Do their samples present a strong writing ability
- Is it organized & easy to navigate for good user experience
- Is the way that they brand themselves coherent & persistent
- Is the writing on the pages cohesive & make sense
Overall, it’s best to look for competence & someone who can do more than just writing. Someone with a wealth of skills that’s self-sufficient. They need to understand that they themselves are a business, a marketing & sales specialist, & not just someone clocking in for a day’s pay.
Benefits of Hiring A Freelance Copywriter
If you’re looking to hire a freelance writer who knows their stuff when it comes to marketing & sales, we applaud you. This is because you’re on your way to increased success & investing in the future growth of your business.
We’ve all heard the saying that about half of businesses fail within the first 5 years.
We personally see the small business industry as fiercely competitive to get into, everyone & their dog wants to become an entrepreneur. The google search volumes prove this.
However the dark underbelly is that very few of these business owners are seeking to improve their entrepreneurial skills. If not that, then they are simply not seeking help with their sales or marketing (which is the lifeblood of any successful business). Again, the search volumes indicate very few are seeking out professional services.
Observations aside, here are some of the benefits you can expect when you hire a competent copywriter.
- If they’re versed in SEO implementation, they can generate long-term organic traffic through google so more people find you – Without ongoing advertising costs!
- They can bring an element of persuasiveness in the sense that they inspire action such as more signups to your newsletter or higher conversion rates for your website.
- They can build digital assets that are foundational for future sales & marketing growth
- They can make your product or services descriptions more exciting & uncover what makes them truly desirable.
- They can refine your marketing message in a way that attracts more of your ideal customers & even get them to stick around longer by setting proper expectations.
- You can hire them on a project basis or short term commitments which saves your time & resources instead of hiring a full time employee. Plus ideally they’re already trained & versed in your industry!
Freelance Copywriter Rates
Copywriter rates can be difficult to determine. Some charge by the hour, some by project, & others charge by the amount of value they can provide. There is even monthly retainer work in many cases.
The costs depend on the scope of the work but with something as simple as a blog post, you can find those charging $50 who may or may not be native English speakers & those charging upwards of $500. You get what you pay for for the most part.
Whereas that $50 dollar article might check the box in terms of content (words on page).
It might not be readable, it might not be engaging, it might not even be written by a human & actually generated by bot (AI)!
But if it’s not SEO optimized, you can rest assured that NOBODY is going to read it because it won’t be found on google or any other search engine.
So in conclusion, what can you expect to pay a competent freelance copywriter?
We suggest you take a peek at the American Writers & Artists Institute’s state of the industry pricing guide.
It covers a lot of the information covered here such as benefits & what to look out for, but also copywriting rates for a plethora of writing projects that go beyond ecommerce.
Just for a quick reference though, here’s a couple prices straight out of the guide:
- Autoresponder/E-mail Series – $100-$1000
- Monthly E-Newsletter – $800-2000
- Pillar Post (Cornerstone Content) (+4,000 Words) $500-$2500
- SEO Optimized Blog Article (300-1,000 Words) – $250-$1000
E-commerce Freelance Copywriter For Hire
So as a business owner, where can you find a good copywriter?
Well you can find a dime a dozen on Upwork which to some is viewed as the digital sweatshop of the professional service world.
There is also a race to the bottom on Fiverr where many newbie writers start their journeys in hopes of being chosen in the sea of look-alikes.
Not to say you can’t find reputable freelancers there, though are likely to be overbooked for being top-of-the-line. LinkedIn is also a good place to look or place a work ad that might attract qualified prospects.
Recommendation
Our one recommendation is to find a writer that’s specialized in your niche. Or at the very least, show that they’re able to cater to the audience you’re serving.
If you sell pianos online for example, look for a piano copywriter, but if there are none then simply go up a level to music copywriters. If still no results, then consider going up another level to an ecommerce copywriter before making your way over to a generalist.
But if you are looking for a freelance copywriter who’s versed in e-commerce, music, & guitars in particular. Then consider reaching out to us >here<
We have 8 years experience building & running our own e-commerce business in the guitar niche. We make handcrafted guitar picks and are one of the leading brands – Who knew that was even a thing. A big proponent of getting us to the top was writing…
We wrote dozens of articles to attract visitors through SEO, devised our own email autoresponder emails, wrote all of our product descriptions, & we still send out periodic newsletters to this day.
We want to help get you to the next level of your business.
Send us a message with your current situation & goals of where you want to be.
We’ll be happy to discuss some ways that we can be of service & provide a free audit of your website.
>Get In Contact
-The Atlas Vision Team
