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Direct Response Copywriting
You're planning to build a new website or create a company brochure and you're wondering whether to hire a professional copywriter or do the writing yourself. After all, you did get that "A" in English back in high school, and your mom always said you were a good writer.
But marketing copy is a different breed of animal. And since it's the introduction most prospects will get to your company, you want to make sure the text creates the right impression. You also want the copy to achieve your objectives, whether that's to generate leads, make sales, get ranked on search engines or build your brand.
You can see the merits of hiring a professional copywriter but first you need to determine how much of your budget to allot to the copy.
The pricing question, however, isn't an Direct Response Copywriting easy one to answer. Some copywriters charge by the hour. But an hourly rate is only half the equation in trying to budget for a job. Without knowing how many hours the project will take, the bottom line is still a mystery.
Because every job is custom, getting an estimate will require you to define your project and then contact service providers for quotes. You can expect professional copywriters to take the following 10 variables into consideration in providing you with a bid:
1. Quantity of copy. The size of the project is a big factor. Writing a 4-page sales brochure is of course less time consuming than writing a comprehensive 12-page corporate capabilities brochure.
2. Complexity of the work. Some projects involve a lot of upfront research, whether that's by reading existing documents or interviewing key people, while others can be tackled head-on. Writing copy about an industrial or technical product, for example, is far more difficult that crafting the words for a consumer product that the copywriter may already know or have used.
3. Creativity required. While some writers have the ability to make it look easy, coming up with clever copy actually takes a lot of work. Writing a one-liner for a billboard can present a bigger challenge than writing a full-length data sheet that offers room to elaborate on all the key points.
4. The going market rate. Most copywriters are at least aware of what other writers are charging. They strive to keep their rates competitive. However, if you choose an experienced professional, don't expect her price to be comparable to a recent entrant to the field or a foreign copywriter who desperately wants the work but may lack the English skills to deliver quality copy. Experience counts, and in copywriting as in so many other services, you often get what you pay for.
5. The level of sophistication of your other marketing materials. If you've already done the hard work to evaluate your competition, position your company and build your brand, then you'll make the copywriter's job much easier. The writing she does will complement your existing marketing strategy.
However, if the copywriter has to provide guidance on marketing and branding in addition to copywriting, she'll invest considerably more time researching, brainstorming and creating and will therefore charge you more. On the plus side, the content she produces can probably be repurposed for some of your other marketing materials down the road, so you'll be able to leverage the cost over multiple projects.
6. How soon you need the work. Most copywriters have a queue for their copywriting projects. If you want to jump the line, you'll need to pay for that privilege because it usually means the copywriter must give up evenings or weekends to squeeze in your project.
7. Level of experience. Sure it'd be easier to compare copywriter rates if everyone told you their per-hour fee. But that's not how most copywriters work because that formula doesn't benefit the experienced copywriter. Presumably, the pro is a faster writer than a beginner because she's had more practice. Should she charge less simply because she's more competent? Of course not. Instead, you need to realize you're paying for her level of experience. Like the physician who demands a substantial payment for even the shortest visit, a copywriter's fee covers the years she has invested in education and perfecting her craft.
8. Overhead. Does the freelance copywriter rent office space or does she work out of her home? Does she have employees, perhaps a researcher or junior copywriter? Is she based in Cedar Rapids, Iowa or Manhattan, New York? Your writer, like any business, has operating costs, and she'll factor in that overhead when pricing her copywriting services.
9. Specialty. If you're fortunate enough to find a copywriter with experience in your field, perhaps she's written for other clients in your industry, then you'll have to invest less time bringing her up to speed. She'll hit the ground running when you give her the assignment. Just like the medical world, copywriting specialists cost more, but they're worth it.
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Direct Response Copywriting
Let's face it: copywriting is a fairly 'niche' occupation. Not many people outside the marketing field know much about it. OK, they may know that copywriters write scripts for well-known TV commercials or press ads. Pressure them to take it any further, however, and there's usually a resounding silence!
It's safe to say that copywriting is a 'specialist' line of work. So why would the argument arise about the merits or otherwise of a specialist or non-specialist copywriter? After all, the general perception is that copywriting is already specialised enough thank you very much. Maybe it's human nature - or the nature of our over-developed Capitalist economies - to want to create new sub-sets of esoteric skill-sets.
Nevertheless, divisions and Direct Response Copywriting differentiations do exist. And that is in a field without the apparent range of the law or accountancy which cover almost every level of our society to include specialists such as divorce or commercial lawyers, forensic or tax accountants - to name just a few.
To anyone outside the marketing world, a copywriter writes words that help organisations publicise themselves, their products and/or services. So far, so good. As a copywriter, you're expected to be able to write anything that's 'commercial'. In other words, the specialism is established - and copywriting is a non-specialist or 'generalist' skill with multiple applications.
Scratch the surface, however, and it soon becomes clear that the world of advertising and marketing is a complex mosaic of techniques and skills that operate differently in different market sectors and with different target audiences. It is this diversity with which copywriting and copywriters are challenged.
It's probably more illuminating to look at this from the wholly differing perspectives of organisations who want to maximise their investment in copywriting skills, and copywriters who may be considering whether further specialisation is desirable or viable as a 'career move'.
As with most other professions, it's a reasonable assumption that most copywriters start off as 'generalists'. In this way, they will learn the ropes and find out which aspects of the craft are most appealing to them personally - and in which aspects they excel. This includes skills such as sales letter writing, website copywriting, advertising concepts, media relations and a hundred other things.
Another consideration arises before taking the specialisation route. This relates to specific market sectors, many of which have their own unique demands. Property sector copywriting, for instance, is hugely different from writing for the IT or telecomms sectors, whilst financial copywriting requires a totally different grounding from, say, travel copywriting.
Some copywriters choose to specialise because they have a long-term interest in cars, travel or some other hobby. They may have been employed previously in an industry that provided the perfect background to become a specialist copywriter in that field.
Yet another route to arriving as a specialist copywriter can only be described as 'accidental'. Many copywriters opt for copywriting as a career because they have a natural fluency with words, or they know someone in the industry who gave them a job.
The 'accidental' road to becoming a specialist copywriter could easily arise from a series of commissions from an agency (or other client) which inadvertently builds a respectable portfolio in a particular sector or type of copywriting (such as direct mail).
Organisations that use copywriting services often have to decide whether to use a specialist or non-specialist, although this depends on their line of business (among other things). There's a broad division between business-to-business and consumer/fmcg copywriters. The approach that's required is very different, although some would say that the ultimate ends are the same, namely, to persuade individuals to take specific courses of action.
Companies in the technology and other specialist sectors will rightly seek out writers with relevant experience. As with so many industries, having insider knowledge of the market, the jargon and what motivates people to engage with you - all this shows in the copy. Talking the same language as your target audience is an essential pre-requisite of marketing success.
For companies of almost every type, the Internet provides a huge choice of copywriters, each with their own skills, experience and fee-levels. For copywriters themselves, the opportunities have never been greater - nor has the level of competition.
Supply and demand is changing the structure of the copywriting market. The demand for online content is huge and this has created an army of 'opportunist' copywriters with limited experience or talent. Fortunately, highly skilled copywriting will always be required across all business sectors. As ever, the future will evolve with market forces.
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