The ONE Thing Every Marketing Manager Needs To Know Before Hiring Another Copywriter

 

If you’re considering hiring a freelance copywriter I strongly encourage you to read this short post to the end.

You see, before I was a full-time copywriter I was the marketing manager at a software company. And one of my jobs was to hire and manage freelance copywriters. So I know how frustrating it can be to hire a copywriter, only to have to rework their copy because it “didn’t hit the mark” (that’s the polite way of saying it was crap!).

And while there’s no surefire formula to determine if a copywriter is going to work out or not… there is a simple question you can ask to weed out the wannabes from the true copywriters.

This is the question you need to ask every copywriter you’re interviewing:

“Do you know direct response copywriting?”

If the answer is anything but a resounding “Yes” then move on! You’ll save yourself hours of headaches and rewrites. Trust me on this one.

Now, I’m not saying they’re going to be great copywriters… obviously you still have to do your due diligence. But this is a great way to screen out people who you know will not be a good fit.

However, some copywriters will claim they know direct response when they really don’t. So here are some signs to look for as you try to discern if they’re the real deal or not…

 

You’re Probably NOT A Direct Response Copywriter If…

If the person you’re interviewing displays any of these traits you have reason to suspect they may not really be a direct response copywriter:

• • • They’re Spelling Nazis. They care more about “proper English” then getting readers to act.
    • They like to use big fancy words.
    • They have a disdain for “hard sales” and ads that are too “in your face.”
    • They’re scared Dan Kennedy might beat them up.
    • They think social media is going to “kill” all other forms of marketing.
    • They think direct mail is dead.
    • They think email is dead.
    • Their writing draws attention to itself (whether good or bad).
    • They want to go back to college and study writing more.
    • They learned how to write marketing messages in college.

 

Another Simple Question You Can Ask

Now, you may not be able to pick up on any of the above signs until it’s too late. So here’s a simple question you can ask to figure out someone’s true identity:

“What are your favorite copywriting books?”

If they name books by the Masters then you’re probably in good hands. Authors like:

• • • Eugene Schwartz
    • Claude Hopkins
    • David Ogilvy
    • John Caples
    • Gary Halbert
    • Dan Kennedy
    • Robert Collier
    • Victor Schwab
    • Joe Sugarman

However, if all they know are authors who nobody even knew 10 years ago, you may be talking to an amateur.

I hope this helps you. If it saves even one marketing manager from having to suffer some of the headaches I went through then this post will have served its purpose!

If you want to drop me a line about this email me at [email protected].