Let’s be real for a second—building and running a business is a never-ending list of boxes that never seem to get fully ticked. And if you’re here, you’ve probably gotten to the part of the list where you’re considering hiring a copywriter (or Googling what that even means).
Congrats, friend! That means you’re really, really serious about this small business thing! Welcome. It’s both a wonderful and terrifying place to be.
Building a website is the exciting moment when your business dreams get a digital home to sell your offers and match your brand’s worth.
And, as a human who values integrity over making a quick buck, I feel the responsibility to tell you that there’s a right time and place to invest in copy. While I can’t help you organize your list of business investments by priority, I can help you determine whether hiring a copywriter is the right move for you.
So I’ve put together some questions to ask yourself before throwing down the big bucks.
9 Questions to Ask Yourself Before Hiring A Website Copywriter
1. “Am I clear about what my product or service is?”
Good website copy can help you get your offers in front of the right people. It can help your ideal client connect to you on a deeper level. It’s capable of making your people feel truly seen and heard. And it can help you boost your monthly income.
But it can’t help you with any of that unless you’re clear about what those offers are.
Listen, as a professional website copywriter, I can totally choose the perfect words for your product. But if you’re going to hate it and create a new one in 3 months, you might be better off investing in a business coach who can help you refine your products and services first.
If you’ve spent months refining your offers, and you’re stoked to share them with the world, then copywriting can help you get them in the right hands!
2. “Do I already have a business name, idea, and purpose?”
Now, I know some copywriters are happy to help you work on your business name, but for the most part, they are far and few between. And they will want you to be able to fill out a pretty lengthy questionnaire about it too.
So 10000% figure out your business idea first.
If you have an idea and purpose, and can’t quite decide between a few different brand name options, a copywriter can certainly provide you with some professional advice based on your industry, SEO, etc.
However, you need to have at least a rough idea of what you’re interested in offering the world and why.
The “why” is part of what becomes the magic sparkle behind your brand. It’s an expression of your personality and devotion to creating something new. In my experience, brands with a strong why have always had much more success.
If your business is still in this excavation phase, you’re not ready for a website. But you might benefit from a Brand Voice Guide down the road. A Brand Voice document can help you develop your brand’s persona or character, provide you with the confidence to share your brand with the world, and even help you save money in the long run.
3. “Is my business in its trying-out-looks phase, or its Cher-outfit-reveal phase?”
Listen, it’s totally fine to be in your trying-on-looks-to-see-what-cooks phase. It’s a necessary phase all successful businesses go through. It’s a phase all humans go through (high school emo phase, anyone?)
Some may argue that small business ownership is, in fact, an eternal journey of “trying things on to see what works”.
However, if you’re still not feeling that internal clarity that the current iteration is one you can see yourself backing, then I invite you to pause. Continue playing around. Continue brainstorming, dreaming, and getting feedback from clients and friends until you feel that full-body spark.
Because investing in a website and hiring a copywriter without that spark could result in some Expensive Regret™ a few months down the road.
4. “Do I have the time to write my own copy, or would my time be better spent doing something else?”
I’m going to be real with you—writing your own copy takes a hot second.
As a professional copywriter, I can whip a 5-page website within a few days. However, writing my own copy—well, that’s a beast of its own.
Aside from the time spent writing, there are hours spent excavating, brainstorming, voice-noting, crying, and second-guessing yourself at every stoplight. It’s a deeply personal experience to translate your whole personality into 5 pages of website words that your ideal clients will hopefully resonate with. It’s a lot of pressure, and it brings up a lot of trauma and imposter syndrome.
Because of this, writing your own copy can also be a deeply healing experience—but only if you have the time for it. I can’t tell you how long it will take you, but I can tell you that it took me around one month to write my website copy.
Conclusion: if you have more time than money, then go for it!
5. “Is DIYing my website copy the right move for me?”
No matter how much time you have to write your website copy, if you cringe at the thought of putting your ideas into cohesive phrases, you will not enjoy the copywriting process.
Forcing yourself to do something that’s not in your skillset (or interest) is a surefire way to create resentment around your business and burn yourself out. So, if it really really hurts to write, consider hiring a copywriter!
6. “Do I have the money to invest in professional photos, branding, and design (or a website template)?”
Good copy is one part of your website ecosystem. To make the best of your copywriting investment, you must be prepared to invest in all the other necessary pieces that will bring your digital presence to life. That means creating a budget that includes professional photos, branding, and website design or a website template.
If you already have all or some of these, then you, go Glen Coco!
However, if you don’t, here’s what you can expect to spend on each:
- Professional Photos: $800-$1500
- Branding: $1500-$4000
- Custom Website Design: $4000-$10,000 (for a 5-7 page website)
- Customizable Website Template: $500-$2500 (anywhere from 5-12 pages)
- Copywriting: $2000-$10,000
Total: $8,000-$28,000
Luckily, you usually don’t have to pay these prices upfront. Almost every designer and copywriter I know offers accessible payment plans.
So if you’re hiring a copywriter, please make sure to budget for the services necessary to make the most of your investment! There’s nothing worse than a website with amazing copy paired with an $80 Etsy template and grainy iPhone selfies.
Show your business what it’s worth!
8. “Do I have the capacity to be fully engaged in the website copy process?”
Say you’ve got the budget, the vision, and the clarity to invest in your digital brandscape. You’re cooped up working overtime at your 9-5, and you can’t wait to get your business off the ground. But you’re also a single parent running a household and barely find the time to sit down with a cup of tea.
Before hiring a copywriter, check in with yourself to see if you have the capacity to be present for the process. While a done-for-you copy service offers the convenience of someone doing the dirty work for you, it still requires your active participation.
Expect to:
- Set aside 1-3 hours to fill out the onboarding questionnaire
- Attend a 1-hour onboarding call where you may be asked to elaborate on some information provided in your questionnaire
- Set aside 1-3 hours to review your finished draft and leave comments and feedback to help your copywriter refine your tone.
- Attend a 45-minute live review call to go over your copy.
- Take any additional time to go over the final edits and send off your seal of approval.
8. “Am I willing to educate myself on user experience, TOV, and SEO?”
Say you love writing and have the time and to write your copy. Before writing off the idea of hiring a copywriter, ask yourself if you’re *realistically* willing to get down with some of the Website World Basics™:
- User Experience: How a website visitor or potential client navigates your site, and whether or not it’s easy for them to get where you want them to go (i.e., your services section, inquiry form, or checkout page).
- Tone of Voice (TOV): A huge part of what makes your copy effective and *stand out from the rest* is your brand voice, or TOV. Think of it as your brand’s digital personality.
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO): This is how Google will help the right people find your site. It includes on-page words, phrases, and back-end formatting.
If this sounds like a bunch of stuff you wish you’d never have to learn, then hiring a copywriter will likely save you a boatload of stress and tears!
9. “Am I willing to develop (or invest in) a marketing strategy that sends potential clients to my website?”
Yes, SEO can help potential clients find you on Google. But it also takes a while for your site to develop its authority.
In the meantime, you must create a marketing strategy that sends potential leads to the beautiful site you invested in! That can look like a combination of Instagram, newsletters, blogging, in-person networking, TikTok, and Youtube—pick your outreach flavor!
Because website copy is a massive part of your marketing funnel, but it is not the whole funnel.
If reading this has made you realize that you are not ready for a copywriter, then perhaps you need to start with a brainstorming sesh. Check out my guide to copywriting research, full of prompts and exercises to get your brand discovery juices flowing.
If you’ve realized that you’re in a place to write your own copy, check out my two-part blog series on how to do research for copywriting and how to write website copy.
Say you’re pretty sure you’re ready for a professional copy service, but you’re still not quite sure whether it’s worth the investment. Here’s an honest list of why you’ll get much more than your money’s worth.
10 Benefits of Hiring a Copywriter
- You can skip the hours (or days? weeks?!) of blood, sweat, and tears in front of your laptop screen.
- You can hand out your business card/IG handle/URL link with the confidence of a straight cis white man.
- You can focus on reaching out to dream clients and building your community (instead of wondering if the CTA is CTA-ing.
- You have a 24/7 sales machine that’s working for you even when you sleep.
- You receive fewer unaligned inquiries because every word is tailored to resonate with your ideal client.
- Your copy will be optimized for search engines, jumpstarting your SEO game with a bang.
- You’ll feel more comfortable raising your prices (because of the investments you’ve made in clarifying your offers and user experience).
- You’ll feel more confident showing up in your marketing because you have a clear brand voice to guide every post, story, and email.
- You just generally feel more legit and like less of an imposter.
- You might feel more permission to take up space, as you retell your story to the world.
So… are you ready to hire a freelance copywriter?
But you’re not just looking for any old copywriter. You’re looking for someone who gets your values and firm stances. Because your ideal clients are investing in brands with integrity, and you need someone who can flaunt yours.
Meet, the Full (Moon) Website Copy package, a done-for-you copy service for values-led service providers.
Inside, you get:
- Brand vibe questionnaire
- 60-minute onboarding call
- In-depth market research & 2-3 SEO keywords/page
- Up to 5 pages of website copywriting
- Optimized headings, body text, and metatags for back-end SEO
- Visual layout guide & communication with your designer
- 45-minute live review call
- 3 revisions
- Google Docs & a PDF copy of your polished copy
If you’re ready to give your products and services the digital wings they need to fly, fill out my inquiry form here. Let’s start planning your website’s Cher wardrobe reveal!!!
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