If you want your copywriter to changes to copy, make a strong business case for it.
Here’s what I mean:
Let’s say you hire a freelance copywriter for a blog series about why media literacy is an important skill for this generation. The copywriter has created six blog posts to cover this topic. You suggest to the copywriter that they should make changes to the title for one, SEO keywords for another and the call-to-action for all blog posts.
A great copywriter will ask you why, something along the lines of “Why? What is your business case for requesting these copy changes?”
It may sound controlling, but actually it’s an important question.
Copywriting is simply the act of writing persuasive, compelling copy for the internet. Its purpose is to persuade the target audience to take a specific action. This means that every word, sentence and paragraph the copywriter is intentional and serves specific purposes that you’ve already outlined.
So, if you’re asking for specific changes to be made, they will impact how your content performs.
This is why there has to be an evidence-based reason for your requests. For instance, taking out certain keywords will impact search engine results page (SERP) ranking. Changing a headline may impact a reader’s capacity to decide if the content will answer their question.
Similarly, a copywriter should be able to justify their copy choices to you, every time. If you ask the copywriter why a certain word or phrase was used, that copywriter should be able to make a business case with evidence, too. Otherwise, the burden of proof only goes one way, and that isn’t fair nor collaborative. A great copywriter understands that their job is to help their client understand what they’re doing and why.
I’m not suggesting you pull out studies and surveys to make claims or requests (although, that wouldn’t be a bad idea for requests that are big). I am suggesting that it’s important to understand the goals and purpose of your copy so that all of your decisions about it are intentional. “Because other businesses are doing it with success” is not a good enough reason to change your entire copy. “Because everyone is on social media” is not a good enough reason to change your entire copy either.
However, “this SEO keyword has shown to give us more traffic” is a good reason to include more keywords in copy. “Our webpage will do better if the headline includes more persuasive language” is a good reason as well.
Here’s a tip: If you and the copywriter can’t agree on changes, try A/B testing the copy to see which one performs better. That will serve as evidence for making a decision.
In conclusion: Always have a business case for copy changes.
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