Is Your Copywriter Getting It Right?

I've talked before about the importance of hiring a good copywriter. Copywriting is the art of selling in print. And if you want your Internet business to be successful, copywriting is not something you want to try at home unless you're already a trained professional.

So you know you need to hire someone to create the content for your website and marketing materials. But how do you know if your copywriter is getting it right? You know that the success of your Internet business rides on compelling copy that reaches out and turns prospects into conversions.

And you know that if the copy is done badly enough to get attention, that copy could end up living almost forever on the Internet. It takes a lot of trust to put that kind of responsibility into someone else's hands.

But there are things you can and should do to protect yourself from bad copywriting. The first is to make sure that you're getting yourself a competent professional. Here's how:

• Always ask for references, preferably from people with businesses that are similar to yours.

• Expect that any copywriter you hear from will have an online portfolio. Evaluate that portfolio carefully and have a few of your associates help. Is the writing grammatically correct? Has the writer created the variety of pieces that you need for your business? Does the copy you're reading make you feel like buying what the writer is selling?

• Even if the person has fantastic references and an impressive portfolio, be sure to interview him or her before you make a hiring decision. See how well he listens and responds to you during the interview. Notice how much research she has already done about your company and what you may need.

After you've hired someone, you're going to want to check over their work carefully before it appears on your website, especially at first. Here are some of the things you want to look for:

• All punctuation and grammar should be perfect. Your Internet business is a professional business, and you need to maintain a professional image to win prospects' confidence.

• Does the tone of the copy fit the purpose of the piece, and does it fit your products and services? To use an extreme example, you don't want snappy upbeat prose if you're selling caskets. And you don't want long, dry sentences to sell party favors.

• Especially if you're very new to this kind of writing, ask a few friends to look at it and answer the question, “Does this make you want to buy/sign up for more information from me?”

• Keep track of your conversion rates after every change to your advertising copy and to your website. Conversion rates don't lie. By keeping on top of this information, you can see what's working, what's not, and what might still use some improving.

Obviously, you can't just throw up an ad on Craigslist and hope to hire a competent copywriter right off the bat. Hiring and then managing a copywriter is going to take some time on your part, and you're going to have to learn a bit about good copywriting in order to do it well.

But given how important content is to your Internet business, this investment is worth every penny and every minute you spend on it.