You’ve decided to contract out for web copywriting services. That’s a great idea. It leaves you more time to focus on mission-critical aspects of running a business such as sales, training, and product development. There’s just one fundamental challenge.
There are dozens of copywriting companies. How do you choose the right one, and what are the best sources of web content help?
What is Copywriting in Terms of a Website?
A website copywriter is a professional who writes content for your website. This includes:
- Home pages
- Product pages
- Blog posts
- Landing page content
- About us
- Terms and conditions
- More
Basically, anything that appears on your website or blog can be written for you by a professional copywriter.
In addition to this, companies also hire out copywriting help for guest articles and social media content. It may help to think of copywriting as anything that is written to promote your products, share your expertise, or educate people about your company.
Online Copywriting Services For Small Businesses: Your Options
When it comes to hiring someone to write your web content, you have three choices. You can do the work yourself, hire a content writing service, or find someone who offers freelance writing services.
There are benefits and drawbacks to each of these choices. Let’s go over them.
Copywriting In-House
Benefits:
- You know your products and company history.
- Better understanding of your brand voice.
- Least expensive.
Drawbacks:
- May not have the human resources available.
- Lack of competency in SEO and other online marketing skills.
- Little to no writing experience.
Hiring a Freelancer
Benefits:
- Can use on a project basis.
- Understands the process of content writing.
- Has access to content and analytical tools.
Drawbacks:
- Availability could be sparse.
- Highest hourly rates.
Hiring a Content Writing Agency
Benefits:
- All the same competencies of a freelancer.
- Writers always available
- 24/7 customer support
Drawbacks:
- Plenty of disreputable agencies.
- Must verify that writers are ENL or otherwise fluent.
- Price doesn’t always equal value.
If you want a hands-off experience with few worries, we recommend that you hire a writing service that does copywriting for small businesses. Just be sure to vet them for quality and reliability.
Copywriting For The Web: Pricing
Website copywriting rates can vary widely. To understand how this works, it’s important to know how services determine how much to charge for copywriting. Here are some of the most important factors:
- Total number of words. Most professional copywriting services charge per word.
- Complexity. Content that requires heavy research, data, and images will be more expensive.
- Deadlines. Urgent work is priced higher.
- Translation or localization. If you own a UK based company and need content written for a new branch in Dubai, you’ll require extra expertise.
It’s important to research copywriting services prices before making your final choice. Remember that low priced services aren’t usually the best choice. Instead, we recommend finding a service that charges reasonable market rates and guarantees good quality.
Copywriting: How to Get Started
When it comes to getting quality content writing that gets results, you play the most important role. Before you begin looking for a service provider, you have to answer the following questions:
- What content pages do I want?
- What is my branding voice?
- What is my goal?
- Which short tail keywords do I want to emphasize?
Depending on your goals, you might want to hire a service to write your entire website or just a few pages.
Your next step is to write up a summary of your expectations for each page. This will help you clarify exactly what you want when you place your order for web content services. Here’s an example from a company that sells educational software:
Page Type: Blog Post
Topic: Top 10 Considerations When Buying Software for Preschoolers
Keywords: “Software for Preschoolers”, “Preschooler Educational Software”, “Free Software for Toddlers”
Length: 800 – 1200 Words
Images: 2 high-quality images with attribution
Target Audience: Parents and educators looking for software for children aged 3-5.
Goal: Build thought leadership, earn social media shares and backlinks, drive traffic to websites.
How to Find The Best Service?
Once you know what you want, it’s time to begin the search for the best copywriting service. You can start with a simple online search. This will return pages of results. Next, it’s time to investigate writing providers until you find the one that is best for your company. Here are some things to consider:
- Are they available to take on your work and finish it on time?
- How much do they charge per word?
- What guarantees do they offer?
- Have other customers recommended them?
- What about examples of written content?
- Is there a premium charged for links or images?
As you can see, there’s quite a bit of research to be done for each company that you consider. That can be overwhelming, to say the least.
Fortunately, we can help. Rather than doing the work yourself, take a closer look at our professionally written reviews. We’ve investigated the best copywriting services online, and written thorough reviews of each of them. We’ll steer you towards companies you can trust, so that you can focus on more important business concerns.
Posted by Diana B.