If you’re in the process of building out your Circuit, there may come a time when you say to yourself, “Is it time to hire a professional to help write my copy?” The answer, in many cases, is likely to be “Yes!”
But how do you know if now is the right time?
Is it too soon to hire a writer…or even worse, have you left it too late?!
The trouble is, a lot of business owners don’t know they need a copywriter until they *really* need one.
We get it—words don’t seem that hard, right? So you keep putting your messaging on the backburner until things “calm down”…except we all know that they never do.
But having a dynamite marketing message is the key to your audience taking action. And so throwing something together at the last minute, only for it to fall flat, is not going to do you or your bottom line any favors.
With a 20-year copywriting background writing for multi-billion-dollar companies, solopreneurs, and every size business in between, I’ve certainly seen my fair share of business owners in a flap because they need copy, well…yesterday!
Making a well-timed choice to outsource the one thing in your business that will make everything easier—crafting the right message—is crucial. Here, we’re diving into the reasons why taking the proactive approach and hiring a copywriter before you *think* you need to, will set yourself up for success from the get-go.
Creating a Strategic Partnership
There’s no denying it: To build out your Circuit, you need a LOT of words. But hiring a copywriter isn’t just about outsourcing writing tasks; it’s about forming a strategic partnership. Even though they may not be working “on staff” for you, a copywriter can still become a highly valuable member of your team.
Working collaboratively with a writer well in advance of flipping the switch on your Circuit will ensure that you’re priming your audience to get ready for your offer. Remember your target audience hasn’t been living and breathing this for months like you have—your messaging is what needs to get them excited about their potential transformation.
As business owners, we’re working in the trenches of our offer, day in and day out. And when we’re working so close to our own business all the time, it’s easy to lose sight of the bigger picture.
By involving a copywriter in the early stages of your planning process, you can get fresh insights, expertise, and perspectives on your messaging and content strategy.
And if you’re worried about it being too early to seek help from a copywriter because you think you need firm ideas before you reach out…
That couldn’t be further from the truth!
As Circuit Sales System copywriter Stuart says: “It’s like steering a tanker—if you’re heading in the wrong direction, it takes a lot of time to change course. It’s so much easier to set off on the right heading at the start.
By asking (a lot!) of questions and gently influencing your thinking, we can dig deeper and deeper into your customers’ emotions and motivations to produce copy that resonates on a deeper level and compels them to buy.”
But we also want to give a word of warning if you do end up leaving it a little too late before hiring someone…
While a copywriter can work wonders with words, they can’t fix a flawed fundamental strategy. If your messaging isn’t aligned with your brand identity, target audience, or business objectives, no amount of “clever copy” can make up for it.
Collaborating closely with your copywriter from the outset means you can ensure that your messaging is built on a solid foundation and resonates with your target audience.
Some of the most successful projects are ones where business owners and copywriters connect at the very beginning—before you even begin working on your paradigms. And CSS student Nicola is now reaping the rewards from her early partnership with a CSS copywriter:
Your Circuit Sales System Sounding Board
Now we’ve established that copywriters bring a lot more to the table than “just writing words,” it’s worth considering how you can capitalize on their strategic thinking right from the get-go.
In fact, for some of the most successful collaborations with our CSS copywriters, they’ve barely even written a word of the copy! Instead, the business owners have used them as a sounding board on strategy and direction, and they’ve been on hand to edit and give feedback on their writing.
Many writers will gladly meet with you for a (free!) discovery call to get to know you better and figure out what sort of help you need, and whether you’d be a good fit. Or, if you want to dig a little deeper, you can always pay for an hour or two of their time to dive into some strategy support.
That way, you can get a better sense of how they work and what their availability and turnaround time is. Once you’re a bit clearer on the support you need, you can get back in touch and work with them when the time is right for both of you.
Establishing a Consistent Brand Voice
Often facing that late-night-early-morning-coffee-fueled rush to put together an email campaign that aligns with your launch schedule? For some reason (ahem, resistance), a lot of business owners tend to be a little more “reactive” when it comes to creating their business’s messaging.
Once you know what the deliverables are, hiring a copywriter can help to build better organization around the content creation process (and avoid chaotic, patchwork messaging). By starting this process earlier rather than later, you can ensure that your brand voice is clear, consistent, and aligned with your brand values and objectives.
Remember your brand voice is more than just the words you use; it’s the personality and style that weaves its way through all of your communication efforts. It’s the way you speak to your audience, the tone you use to convey your message, and the emotions you evoke in your customers.
A strong brand voice is essential for building brand recognition, establishing trust, and creating meaningful connections with your audience.
Creating a tone guide can help you stay consistent in your messaging by identifying exactly what your brand’s personality is (and isn’t!) and which words you use and don’t use. If you don’t have one in place, working together with your copywriter to create one before you start building your Circuit will lay the foundation for a cohesive and compelling brand identity.
Understanding Your Target Audience
We always say this with love, but remember that this really isn’t about you. As business owners, we tend to spend a lot of time in our own head, focusing on what’s important to us. But that may not be the same as what’s important to your target audience.
When it comes to your messaging, it’s all about figuring out what your audience wants and needs to hear and one of the biggest advantages of hiring a copywriter early on is their ability to help you understand and connect with your target audience.
A skilled copywriter will conduct thorough research with your customers and prospective customers to learn about their pain points, what they find useful about your offer, and—if they haven’t yet purchased—what their objections may be.
But remember this research is not something you can rush through at the last minute. When you hire a copywriter, you need to ensure enough time is factored in to allow them to truly understand your audience and tailor your messaging to resonate with them.
Doing this means you can benefit from stronger connections with your audience and messaging that speaks directly to your ideal customers, driving higher engagement and conversions—just like CSS student Lisa experienced:
Lisa’s business works with high school students to find the right path for them post graduation. The fact that a client said that the messaging voiced things they’d been hearing from their son is a testament to the power of copywriting creating a connection with your audience.
Data-Driven Messaging
One of the wonderful benefits of launching your Circuit (especially versus live launching) is that by selling every single day, you can get data every single day.
By analyzing metrics such as social media engagement, email open rates, and bounce rates, a copywriter can identify what’s working and what’s not, allowing them to refine your messaging for maximum impact.
With enough time to run A/B tests and analyze key metrics, copywriters can create content that resonates with your target audience and make more informed decisions about the overall strategy of your campaign.
They can compare different versions of a piece of content, helping them to determine which elements are most effective, and the parts they may need to adjust.
But again, all of this data-driven magic requires the same, crucial ingredient: time! Time to dive deep into the numbers, time to test and tweak, and time to let the insights percolate into more effective messaging and a higher return on investment.
Avoid the Last-Minute Rush
OK, here’s where we need to dish out a little bit of tough love. If you’re reaching out to work with copywriters too late in the process, and expecting them to be able to help at the drop of a hat…you could be in for a nasty surprise.
Copywriters (especially good ones!) book out in advance—so don’t be surprised if you can’t start a project for two weeks from when you initially decide to move forward with it (if not more time depending on the writer).
Great work requires time and focus. If a copywriter is working to a tight deadline and juggling too many projects at once, they’re likely not going to be able to give your project the attention it needs—and the results may not be at the highest level.
If you want your project to be a top priority for the expert you’re hiring, make sure you give them ample notice, and let them propose a deadline that will allow them to produce their best work.
Working with a writer can be amazing—but they’re not miracle workers! While you know your work and your industry inside out, they don’t, so don’t be surprised if the first draft isn’t perfect—it’s often not meant to be! Building in enough time for a bit of back and forth is essential to avoid rushed messaging (and lackluster results).
Don’t be surprised if a copywriter can’t come up with killer hooks and catchy headlines on the spot or in a very short timeframe. This is creative work, and creativity can’t happen on demand. (Another reason why they need long deadlines…!)
It’s key to remember that you are building a sales system that will last for years. Sure, you can tweak it along the way but investing the time upfront to collaborate with the right copywriter and allowing plenty of time for delivery will pay dividends.
And, let’s be honest—it beats waiting until you’re knee-deep in deadlines, having to compromise on quality, and ultimately setting yourself up for failure.
If you think now could be the right time to start exploring the possibility of working with a copywriter, you can browse our listing of highly trained, experienced copywriters and check out their portfolio sites to start finding your top candidates!
Watch More
On episode 40 of the Energize Your Online Business podcast, Nicki and Kate (with 30+ years of copywriting experience between them!) dig deeper in to why you should consider hiring a copywriter sooner rather than later. Plus, you’ll gain a deeper insight into all the ways you can work with a copywriter and tips to make it the most effective partnership possible.
Your Turn!
What other questions do you have about working with a copywriter? Let us know in the comments so we can help answer them!