Are you ready to hire a website copywriter? Read this to find out.

AKA how to not waste money on a website copywriter, and make sure your business is ready to hire.

Am I ready to hire a website copywriter? 👈 A question many business owners before you have asked. Investing in done-for-you, custom website copy from a copywriter is a big f*cking deal for so many! Like yay you, you’re officially in the stage where you realize you’re running a legitimate business that’s making legitimate money. You should be so proud of yourself.

Choosing to work with a website copywriter is a great next step if you want to make even more money in your business. Because that’s what a good website copywriter should do: Make you money. It’s literally their one job to turn your website into a lead generation tool for your business.

This is why copywriting is one of those business investments that’s a true investment. Meaning, it promises an ROI.

Hey, I’m Jill Wise, your resident website copywriter reporting for duty 👋 with everything you need to know before you hire a website copywriter. Because I want you to get the best ROI for your bucks.

In this blog post, I’ll cover:

• How to know if you’re ready to hire a website copywriter.
• What type of project would be the best fit for you: Done-with-you, or done-for-you website copy.
• Alternatives to hiring a website copywriter.
• Choosing a good website copy template for your business.
• Why I’m qualified to help you make this major business decision.
• Understanding investments versus expenses.
• And in case you’re a website copywriter creeping how I do things, resources to get support to book out your business too.

Who am I to walk you through this big decision?

A quick pause to tell you why I’m qualified to help you with the decision of hiring a website copywriter, or not… and for what type of project.

I’ve been freelancing in the online world for over a decade at the time of writing this. Not just as a solopreneur, but I built a micro-agency offering full-service projects. At the same time, I built a digital product shop, offer speaking and workshops to other communities, and facilitate and mentor clients within a mastermind for freelancers. I’ve worked with hundreds of clients over the years, both within my agency and as a mentor. All this means I’ve been involved with many website copy projects, and I can almost immediately tell whether or not someone will be a good fit for this type of project.

How to know if you’re ready to hire a website copywriter

Best cases for done-for-you website copy versus done-with-you

Many copywriters offer services of varying depths. Ie. You could hire a website copywriter for done-for-you custom copy, or done-with-you support. What’s the difference and how do you know which is the best option for you? Here’s a simple breakdown.

Done-for-you website copy is best for:

• Established businesses with validated offers. You know what you’re doing, what you stand for, and people already buy your stuff. This ensures you won’t need to change your website copy the month after launching because you’re over the quick pivots that are naturally in the earlier stages of your business. You’re ready to solidify your value with strategic positioning and messaging.
• Business owners who want to hand off the massive task of their website copy to an expert, so they don’t have to worry about it anymore.

Done-with-you website copy is best for:

• Newer businesses that are still experimenting with their messaging to drive better revenue. You want your copy to be effective, but know that things might still change as you optimize your offers.
• Business owners who want to be more involved with their website project.
• Businesses who already have an established brand message, and overall strategy.

What is brand strategy?

Website copywriter services done-for-you versus done-with-you

Done-for-you website copy often looks like:

• Full service packages that are heavy on research, strategic planning, and deliver ready-to-publish website copy.
• Longer project durations to allow for multiple stages of the project.
• Refined and documented messaging strategy to solidify foundations for future copywriting projects.
• Lower-lift for you as the client, after completing standard onboarding homework.

Done-with-you copywriting support often looks like:

• Collaborative effort from you and your copywriter.
• Working to match the stage of your business. Ie. Maybe you haven’t had any paying customers yet, but you know who you want to attract.
• More on your to-do list as you work with your copywriter’s guidance. For example, my Intensive process can include guidance for clients to write their own website copy draft, so I can use my expertise to optimize their copy.

Basically, the difference is that full-service done-for-you copywriting support means your website copywriter will handle the project for you. While done-with-you copywriting support means you have a website copywriter in your back pocket, helping you bring your project over the finish line.

Choosing the best website copywriter for you

There’s a lot of talented website copywriters out there. I know because I’ve personally worked with a lot of them over the years. Either by mentoring them within my programs and mastermind, or collaborating with others on projects.

What to look for when choosing a website copywriter

Aside from choosing someone with positive testimonials and a track record of results, the trick to hiring the best copywriter for you really comes down to a few things.

• Do you align with their unique copywriting style?
• Do they have a method that makes sense for your business?
• Are they going to be easy to work with?
• Do they work well with others?

The last one is especially important, I think. The best copywriters I know make it easy for their clients. They have proven processes. They provide good customer service. And they have workflows in place that make working relationships feel easy, and can deliver on their promises.

A copywriter who works well with others will be able to collaborate with the other creatives you’ve hired to work on your website. That could mean sending all deliverables to your brand or website designer, giving your VA a tour of the website copy docs so they can help you grant appropriate access to your team, and overall just being a good person to work with.

In terms of style and methods, you might not like some copywriters. That’s okay! I know my style isn’t for everyone. While yes, every client that comes through my done-for-you studio for website copy also walks away with a comprehensive brand messaging and voice guide, I also have a style guide for the umbrella of copy written for JW clients.

That means that while every client has their own individual voice and message, there’s also a common thread that brings all these cool people together. We’re all part of the same party, and speak a similar language. The word nerd in me thinks this is really neat… The fact that so many of my clients come to me because they want to Jillify their business a little. ✨✨✨

Even though a good copywriter will be able to adopt your voice and tone within their copy, some just aren’t a good mix. For example, I love clients with personality. I don’t want to work with those who feel bound by rigid traditional professionalism. And I know my style is clear from the moment you land on my website homepage, which helps me attract the best fits, and repel the rest.

When you hire me as your website copywriter, you get copy that sounds like you. But it has that spice you probably like if you chose me in the first place. 💃✨

Hiring a website copywriter vs website copy templates

If you’re a brand new business, first… Yay you! 🎉

You might want to consider using a website copy template though. The reason being that things will definitely change in your earliest stages of business. And an copywriter with integrity will warn you of that fact.

Yes, I’ve worked with clients who are starting a brand new business on a full-service custom copywriting project. But always with the disclaimer that things could change. And often, I don’t allow those who are just starting to book full-service projects. I make validated offers mandatory in most cases because I don’t want to see clients invest thousands in custom copywriting, just to need to change it.

In those cases, a website copy template could be a great fit. It’s DIY, but with guidance. You get to leverage a copywriter’s brain without needing to wait in line every time you need copy updates.

Website copywriting templates often include prompts of what to write, hierarchies to follow within the text, and sometimes even swipes you can try for yourself. My website copy templates are wireframed and come with quick how-to-use videos, so you can plug in your own words as easily as possible. Learn more about my website copy templates here.

Curious about the difference between custom website copy and using a website copy template? Check out this blog post for a deeper dive.

Using a Website Copy Template vs Custom Copy

How to decide if you’re still not sure

If you’ve made it this far and are still debating whether or not you’re ready to hire a copywriter for your website project, I’d suggest looking at what typically goes into a project of this type.

This blog post breaks down all the steps that go into a website copy project.

How To Organize Your Website Project

Do you want to be a website copywriter?

Now, if you’re the aspiring website copywriter who’s reading this post to learn how others do it, I have some advice for you! I mentor other freelancers within my programs, and love to see more people pursuing this as a career path. Honestly, my work is so rewarding. I love it. It’s one of the things that makes me feel like myself, and fulfilled every day. If you want to start freelancing too, yay for you. I’m so excited for you.

Here’s some resources to help you build and grow a freelance business.

First, you’re going to need to know how to set rates appropriately. Learn how to charge for freelance work here. You’re also going to want to get better clients. Read ideas of how to land copywriting clients here.

When you can land clients consistently, you’re going to want to make your processes better. Starting with your onboarding process, which you can learn about here.

And after you’ve mastered those early stages of getting clients and improving your processes, you’ll probably look to other marketing strategies. I prefer inbound marketing, for example. I’d rather have inbound leads land in my inbox versus needing to cold pitch.

If you’re ready to get consistent with your email marketing, The Newsletter Weekly Prompt Pack is a resource you need in your toolkit. It includes 52 weeks of email prompts that you can write in 30 minutes or less each week. Learn more and download for free here.

Understanding investments versus expenses

The best investments I’ve ever made? The ones that are TRUE investments. The Oxford Dictionary defines an investment as: “The action or process of investing money for profit or material result.”

Meaning that you actually get something BACK. You spend resources (time, money, energy)… But you also GAIN. 👈 That’s something I think most people get wrong in the online biz world these days. The word “investment” is thrown around willy nilly and the result is you potentially wasting resources on something that doesn’t promise a return.

In reality, most things people are selling you are just expenses.

Good investments promise a return

The best investments I’ve ever made include the following.

👉 All the things that went into building my pipeline… Which was in the form of both dollars and my personal time/effort. That’s things like: Custom branding, professional photos, strategic messaging, and copy that shows off my personality to attract the right people and repel the rest. The month after my first proper website went live, my revenue doubled. And when I refreshed all these pieces again to realign with my growth, I hit my first $20k month.

Both times, I made more than my investment back after launching.

👉 Education, coaching, and consulting to reach new levels… But from the good people. There’s fantastic courses out there and not so great ones. There’s amazing coaches and consultants, and kinda sketchy ones. I’ve spent tens of thousands on support and education since going full time in my biz.

When I choose wisely, I always gain back that investment. Almost always immediately.

👉 Masterminds, connections, and other communities… By far the best investment that I’ve made in my business to hit, sustain, and grow from the sweet spot that used to be on my vision board… Mastermind communities. I’ve been in 2 so far, each for 1 full year. Both were very different and beneficial in their own special way.

For both that I’ve joined, I made my investment for the entire year back within 2 months.

Why these investments were good decisions

I think the reason why the above have turned out to be the best decisions for me are because they cover the bases of…

✨ Creating a solid foundation for the business. Something that will bring in revenue consistently without needing to stress.

✨ Continuously learning and growing as an entrepreneur. Specifically from people who are where I want to be or can teach skills that I’ve identified I need.

✨ And surrounding myself with others who are in a similar spot as me. Learning by osmosis, motivating each other, and honestly just doing the damn thing.

And by focusing on each of these, I’m almost guaranteed to make a smart choice that truly is an investment. The only WRONG decision I could have made in relation to the above would be trusting the wrong person to work with or learn from.

See what I mean? These choices themselves are investments. Finding the right person ensures the positive outcome.

Things that aren’t strategic: The choices that suck your resources and don’t bring you anything in return. Those are just expenses. Like the 17th office plant you bought at Homesense because you *needed* it for the aesthetics. I’m sure you can think of 1 expense right now that didn’t even give you the aesthetic goals.

Good website copy is an investment

The above conversation about investments versus expenses should show you why good website copy is an investment. That doesn’t mean you need to hire a website copywriter for custom copy if you’re not ready for that step. But at the very least, if you choose to invest in a website copy template or done-with-you copywriting support, I hope you feel comfortable knowing that if you work with someone you trust, you’ll see a return on that investment.

Aspiring copywriters, take note of your one job

If you’re an aspiring website copywriter who’s reading this, remember this: It’s your job to give your clients words that put in work for them. You need to excel at your job, and provide real results for people. Online businesses and freelance businesses like ours are founded on integrity. It’s up to us to maintain those standards.

Hopefully, you know what you need from a website copywriter now.

If we haven’t met yet, I’m Jill Wise. 👋 Brand and marketing strategist, and conversion copywriter. Here’s support options if you’re looking for a website copywriter.

Book an Intensive with me to strategize or optimize your website copy: Intensive days are the fast-track for newer creators, service-providers, and business owners who need done-with-you copywriting and strategy support ASAP. I wear either my business strategy, sales funnel strategist, or website copywriter hat as you need. Learn more here.

Hire me for a full service website copywriting project. In the Studio, we do brand messaging and website copywriting for rule defying founders. My approach combines traditional copywriting tactics with your unique personality to actually connect with and engage your ideal clients. Brand messaging and website copywriting is often the entry point for new clients. From there, we can grow into email marketing and other business growth channels. Learn more here.

Take advantage of actionable tools inside The Biz Bar: Marketing, copywriting, and business-building resources and training to help you fast-track growth. Browse The Biz Bar.

If you’re an established freelancer and want to become a better business owner: Check out my Mastermind. This is where you dream up your next moves and build a solid foundation to scale your way. Learn more here.