As websites and electronic commerce are becoming more and more
common, business owners and marketing managers are realising
that quality web copy is every bit as important as impressive
design. And with the ever increasing importance of search engine
presence, the role of web copy has never been more critical.
But in such a relatively new field, customers are still coming
to grips with what they can expect of their website copywriter.
The question a lot of people are asking is, “How do I know I’ll
get what I pay for?”
Before engaging a website copywriter for your next project, ask
them whether they’re able to provide you with the following ten
essentials…
1) Fixed Quote A lot of website copywriters will tell you they
only work on an hourly rate. They’ll cite varying requirements,
rapidly changing technologies, greater incentive, the risk of
customer indecision, and a host of other reasons why they can’t
provide a fixed quote. But don’t be fooled. You have a right to
know what the job is going to cost you. If a website copywriter
won’t give you a fixed quote, think twice…
2) Contract of Works to be Completed Just as important as a
fixed quote is a signed contract. It may not be drawn up by a
lawyer, but a written and signed document outlining the works to
be carried out, and the cost of those works is essential. If a
website copywriter is reluctant to provide a written, itemised
quote including estimated number of words, you have to ask
yourself why.
3) Timeframe Always ask how long your job is going to take. If
you’ve already had a go at writing your own web copy, you’ll
know how time consuming it is. Never make the mistake of
thinking the job will be done in a day. Granted, a professional
website copywriter will be very efficient in crafting your copy,
but no matter who the writer, a quality product requires time.
And on top of writing time, remember that you’ll have to review
and provide feedback on everything they write. In a lot of
cases, it’s the review phase that takes the most time, so make
sure you try to set some time aside, otherwise you’ll find
yourself the bottleneck!
4) Plan of Attack Try to get some idea from your website
copywriter about how they plan to approach your project. Don’t
be fooled into believing you have to hand over the dollars
before they’ll reveal their plan of attack. You have a right to
be comfortable with their approach before you engage their
services. Will you receive individual drafts of every page, or a
single draft of the entire site? What format will you receive
the finished product in? How many review iterations do they
anticipate?
5) Samples A lot of ambitious web service providers of all types
are calling themselves writers these days. They offer
copywriting as a specialist service, but don’t engage a
specialist to complete the work. Always ask to see samples of
their previous copy. Read it thoroughly and ask yourself, “Does
this copy convey benefits?”. Pretend you’re the intended
audience and ask “Does this copy answer the questions I need
answered before I’ll buy?”
6) CV Most copywriters’ websites will give you a very high-level
overview of their business and the services they offer. Some
even offer samples. But very few offer a professional biography
of their writers. If you’re not happy relying on their website
as your sole source of information, ask for a copy of their CV.
The things you’re looking for are a professional history in
writing, and preferably some tertiary education in the same.
7) Testimonials Perhaps the best indication of a website
copywriter’s ability is customer satisfaction. Don’t be afraid
of asking for customer testimonials. A good website copywriter
will be proud of their testimonials – so proud, in fact, that
they’ll be offering them without you even asking. Look for
testimonials from companies you recognise and/or can verify.
Anyone can get their great-aunt write them a testimonial. Some
will even write their own. If you really want to be sure, ask
for contact details so you can give the customer a call and hear
it straight from the horse’s mouth.
8) SEO Copy Skills Approximately 80% of all web traffic comes
through search engines, so it’s essential that your website
copywriter has proven experience in SEO copy. Ask them their
general approach to SEO copy. Do they normally perform the
keyword analysis themselves? How do they know when they’ve used
enough keywords in enough of the right places? Can they show you
a high ranking site they’ve written the copy for? What steps do
they take to avoid diluting the effectiveness of your primary
keyword phrases? Will their SEO copy change the text links on
your pages? (It should!)
9) SEO Copy at No Extra Charge! Never be fooled into paying more
for SEO copy. If you’ve already performed your keyword analysis,
and you know where you want your keyword phrases used, writing
of the copy should take no longer than usual. I’ll say it again…
SEO copy is not an extra – it’s how web copy should be written!
Do not pay extra for it! The only things you should expect to
pay extra for are keyword analyses, adding the HTML code for
unmarked text links, providing guidance on site structure,
sourcing of inbound links to your site, etc. SEO copy by itself
should cost no extra.
10) Writing Experience for Online Media Writing for an online
medium is entirely different to writing for print. Readers have
different requirements and objectives, and reading conditions
are very different. Make sure your website copywriter knows how
to cater to these differences. Ask them to recommend a maximum
page length or word count per page. The correct answer should
include some comment on the trade-off between the problems of
scrolling and the need for a high keyword count for SEO. Ask
them whether they prefer long sentences or short (and hope to
hear “short”). Ask them whether they will include lots of text
links within the main body of the copy, and if so, will they
appear as regular links (colored and underlined) or will they be
unmarked.
Professionally written copy can mean the difference between a
great looking site and a great looking site THAT EARNS YOU
MONEY.
Choose your website copywriter carefully.
About the author:
<p>* Glenn Murray is an advertising copywriter and heads
copywriting studio Divine Write. He can be contacted on Sydney
+612 4334 6222 or at <a
href="mailto:glenn@divinewrite.com">glenn@divinewrite.com</a>.
Visit <a href="http://www.divinewrite.com"
target="_blank">http://www.divinewrite.com</a> for further
details or more FREE articles. </p>
