7 Questions to Ask a Copywriter Before Signing the Contract

7 Questions to Ask a Copywriter Before Signing the Contract

Deciding to work with a copywriter can be risky business! You’re asking someone to get to know you so well that they can write in the same voice that you use in your diary.

Before you sign that contract, here are 7 questions you can ask them to see if they’re a good fit for you. As a bonus, I included my own answers.

These questions are inspired by Mike Kim’s blog post “7 Tips For Hiring A Copywriter (From A Copywriter).”

1. How did you get into copywriting?

   I was working for a digital marketing agency here in Rochester, NY. I would mostly write social posts and have to come up with graphics for the posts. One client suddenly needed blogs for their website. I wrote two of them and was like, Yep! Forget about the other stuff. I only want to write blogs from now on!

   I googled “blog writing jobs” and the term copywriting came up. A couple of months later, I had left my job at the agency and was working as a freelance copywriter.

2. What kind of copy do you specialize in?

   I often write content for websites including repurposing audio and video transcripts into blog posts. I also thoroughly love the thrill of writing copy for campaign launches. I’ve written a fair amount of about pages, sales pages, emails, and product descriptions as well.

3. Is there a type of business you prefer to write or not write for?

   I specialize in writing for marketing experts and business coaches. I have grown up around contractors in the home renovation space so writing for them comes easily to me. My husband is a real estate agent so I can write in that arena as well.

   I will not write for anything that I don’t morally agree with like real-life witchcraft (Harry Potter references are cool though) or anything that falls under the term “woo-woo.”

4. Do you have any samples?

   Sure do! Here’s my copywriting portfolio.

5. Have you worked with any “big-name” clients?

   Unfortunately, some of the big-names like to keep this confidential but I work consistently with Ashley Shaw -a leader in the social selling space for fitness coaches and Mike Kim - a leader in the marketing and business coaching space.

6. Do you have any certification or degrees that are relevant to your field?

   I have a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature from SUNY Geneseo.

7. Have you ever faced conflict with a client? How did you resolve it?

   I don’t work on Saturdays due to my religious beliefs. During this instance, I was writing emails for a client’s launch. On Friday I had sent the client the emails he needed with a message letting him know that I won’t be available again until Sunday if he needed anything.

   We spoke on the phone a few days later and we agreed that there was some miscommunication since I hadn’t disclosed this information upfront. I hadn’t told him because I had never been in a position where someone needed something on a weekend.

   Now, I make sure to let launch clients know I don’t work on weekends so that we can make sure everything is done by Friday afternoon.

if you ask a copywriter these 7 questions and you are satisfied with their responses, then go ahead and move forward with the project! You don’t have to feel like you have to hope for the best and go with your gut when hiring a copywriter. If you ask the right questions and do your due diligence, the level of risk involved will decrease.

Want to chat with me about your copy needs? Fill out the form or schedule a call with me here!