If you’re a stressed-out, project-juggling entrepreneur (and let’s face it, who isn’t?!), I’m going to let you in on a little secret that will help you do more in your business: freelancers.
I’ve been working with freelancers for years, and, as a result, I’ve been able to grow my business at a much faster rate than I could have if I’d handled everything on my own. I’ve worked with highly skilled freelancers—and a few less-than-professional ones—so I know just how important it is to find the *right* person for your team.
But if you’ve never worked with freelancers before, the prospect of hiring one can seem daunting. How do you know if they’re a good fit for your company? Can you trust that they’ll do a good job? Heck, will they even deliver projects on time?!
These are all common and completely valid concerns. But by following the six-step hiring process we’re outlining in this guide, you’ll be able to *confidently* recruit the ideal freelancer for any project.
(Note: We’ve spoken a lot about the benefits of hiring a copywriter for your business, so we’ll use this as our example throughout—but rest assured this process seamlessly applies to any type of freelancer you might need for your business!)
Step #1: Put the Word Out
Hiring a freelancer is not just a case of going out to your network and saying, “Hey, I need a copywriter. Does anyone have one?”
While reaching out to your business contacts can be a good place to start, that is not the place to end. Plus, even if they are a great copywriter for your friend, they might not be the right copywriter for *you*.
So don’t just reach out to your network—consider casting a wider net to explore other potential candidates and resources beyond your immediate contacts. You could try posting on your social channels, contacting your email list if you have one, or using job boards like Indeed. (Just don’t forget to avoid posting jobs with an “easy apply” button—more on that here.)
The more that you get the word out there, the higher the chances are that someone will make a referral or a copywriter will reach out to you. And just like anything else, you want to have options. If you need to get the plumbing redone in your house, you wouldn’t want just one plumber to choose from! And it’s no different when it comes to finding freelancers in any industry—especially because they could be booked up.
Step #2: Vet Candidates
Once you have a selection of possible candidates, there are a few key attributes you want to look out for:
- Portfolio Website
We want to have some way to see a freelancer’s body of work and so one of the first things to look for is if they have a portfolio website. And not only do you want to see samples of their work here, you also need to have some background as to what that work is and how they strategically thought through the project for their client.
Each piece in the portfolio should have a small write-up of who the client was, what the challenge was, and how they solved it. What did they take into consideration to create this piece for their client? And if they have results, great—but keep in mind there may not be results for every single project in their portfolio.
As you review their portfolio, look for depth and breadth of experience. So for a copywriter, you’d be looking for them to be able to switch between brand voices for different clients and work on a variety of mediums like emails, landing pages, social media posts, etc.
A lot of people make the mistake of going to a copywriter’s website, reading the website and thinking, “Oh, I like how this writer writes. I want to work with them!” But how that writer writes for their own brand is irrelevant to how they will write for your brand. Their website is in their brand’s style—you are looking for a copywriter who’s going to be able to adopt your brand style for your pieces.
Something else to be aware of is that within marketing, there are two kinds of writers: copywriters and content writers. Copywriting is the art of getting people to take some form of action, whereas content writing is designed to educate, to entertain, or to inspire (e.g. blog posts). Can a copywriter write content? Absolutely. But if you go to a “copywriter’s” website and all they have in their portfolio is blog posts, you are not dealing with a professional—you’re dealing with a content writer who does not understand the difference between copy and content.
And if you’re looking at someone’s portfolio and thinking “Oh, but they have no certification?”, it doesn’t matter. All a certification proves is that someone purchased a course. The proof is really in the pudding in the work on their portfolio site.
(The one caveat to this is the Circuit Sales System copywriters certified in the CSS method. Those copywriters have gone through the course, taken an exam, and they know the principles of the CSS program. That means they know the strategy behind the CSS and how to apply the copywriting principles to the CSS method to help you with Spark points, Lightbulb videos etc.)
- Focus on Value
Another thing you want to look for on any freelancer’s website, is if the way they speak on their website is centered around what they can do for you and your company.
You want someone who comes across like a strategic partner versus someone who is entirely focused on themselves and tooting their own horn. Yes, they can show off their amazing projects and what they’ve done for clients but if they’re only talking about their five cats and their incredible life in Bora Bora, that’s a red flag.
It’s fine if they have fun facts lower down on the page but the majority of the website should be aimed at speaking to you and how they can benefit you. Especially on their “about” page , they should be explaining how they can be the best partner with you versus any other freelancer in that field. How are they different from the other people you could hire? Because you do have a choice of folks that you can work with.
- Professional Social Media Presence
Beyond someone’s portfolio site, it is also a good idea to check out a freelancer’s social media presence. This is not mandatory (as long as they have a portfolio) but it can be helpful to check LinkedIn and other public social pages to make sure everything is professional.
The last thing you want is to work with someone who is happy to rant about interactions with clients on social media and potentially put your brand on blast.
Step #3: Get on a Call
Once you have three or four copywriters that you think could be good and you’ve checked their portfolios, get in contact with them. Freelancers will often call these “discovery calls”, where they have the chance to get to know you and talk about the project.
By and large, the freelancer should be leading this call. They should be asking you questions about the project, your timeline, your goals, and all of those different elements. But it’s still a good idea to have some questions prepared. For example, you might ask:
What kinds of work have you done like this in the past?
What kinds of clients do you like to work with best?
When have you found that you’ve been most/least successful working with clients?
What was the most challenging project you’ve ever worked on?
What was the best project you’ve ever worked on?
All of these kinds of questions will give you a little bit more insight into the way this person works. Of course, you’re looking for solid answers to the questions, but you’re also looking to see if you feel comfortable with this person because you’re going to be working closely together, offering feedback, and accepting recommendations.
The freelancer should come to this call with some idea of what your business is, what it is that you do, and who it is that you serve. The best freelancers may also come with some sort of idea for your business. For example, they might say, “Hey, I’ve taken a look at your website and I have some thoughts. Have you considered doing XYZ?” But remember they’re not going to give you the “how” because that’s what you’re going to hire them to do.
Understandably, one of your first questions is likely to be, “How much is this going to cost me?” But if you ask that as your first question, no (good) freelancer should be able to answer it. Because every client is different and every project is different, they need to talk to you first to fully understand the scope of the project, what your timeline is, and who they’re going to be interacting with. There are a number of elements they need to consider before they can run their numbers and figure out how much to charge you.
So don’t expect to get a price on that call—usually the freelancer will send you a quote within 24-48 hours.
Step #4: Test Their Skills
For the copywriters that you’re interested in moving forward with, it’s a good idea to then send out a copy test (you can adapt this for whichever kind of freelancer you’re looking for).
This is essentially to test their skills and see how well they’re able to translate your brand voice into a small project for you. (With emphasis on the word *small*—this should be a reasonably sized project no longer than half an hour!)
And when it comes to testing candidates, this work should be paid work. It doesn’t have to be work that you use (but if it is, even better!)—it could just be a project you’ve done in the past. But compensating them for their time starts the relationship off on the right foot and you can just pay them through PayPal.
A small project like this helps to give you a sense of their writing skills, if they can nail your brand voice, and if they can explain the choices they’ve made.
Step #5: Choose Your Freelancer
So you’ve put the word out, you’ve received applications, you’ve looked at their websites, you’ve had discovery calls with some people, you’ve narrowed down which quotes could work with your budget, and you’ve evaluated the copy test…phew! At this point, it’s time to choose your copywriter.
Ideally on the discovery call, you should have talked about the timeline to make sure that this copywriter could work with you. Reach out to the copywriter you want to work with first but don’t tell the other freelancers it’s a “no” just yet. Freelancers operate on a first come first serve basis so if you’ve taken some time to think things through, it might be the case that another client has swooped in and hired them right away.
If you’ve spoken with the one you want to work with and made sure they are good to go for your timeline, you can set up the first kickoff call for the project. After that, make sure you reach out to the other copywriters—ahem, no ghosting please! Plus, if you liked their work, you could always leave the door open to work together in future. And if you didn’t like their work, it’s kind to try and at least give some constructive feedback to help them improve for future clients they may work with.
Step #6 Schedule a Kickoff Call
Your kickoff call is when your copywriter is going to go through all of the elements of the project with you. They’re going to dig in and learn everything they possibly can about your business, about you, about your target audience’s wants and needs, and about the program.
It’s always beneficial to share any previous pieces that resonated well with your audience or where you particularly liked the messaging. Equally, you could share pieces that didn’t work, too. The more specific you can be and the more input you can give them, the better.
In this call, it’s the chance for both of you to get really solid on what you’re trying to get out of the project and what all of the elements are of the project. If it’s a big project, it might even take a couple of hours. But the clearer you both are at the beginning of the project, the smoother it’s going to be. You may even find that you don’t need to do more than one revision. (The dream!)
By following this hiring process, you’re much more likely to end up finding the best resource for your team, who you can collaborate with indefinitely and who will continue to contribute fresh ideas over time. And the best part is, this whole process is applicable to any kind of freelancer you need to work with, from web developers, to graphic designers, and many more!
Psst: Interested in a concise guide on how to navigate the hiring process? I recommend checking out my book “Copywriting Strategies”, which offers a handy cheat sheet for your hiring endeavors!
Note: This page may contain affiliate links.
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Your Turn!
Are you ready to start hiring freelancers in your business? Let us know in the comments below!