Hire the best Copywriters

Before hiring a copywriter, you’ll want to prepare by:

• Understanding the kind of content you need help with and where you plan to publish it
• Deciding how much content you want a copywriter to produce
• Establishing a budget for your project

• Identifying places to source a freelance writer (such as on LinkedIn, a freelance marketplace like Upwork, or through network referrals) or full-time copywriting hire

Once you have those core details figured out, you can kick the process off by writing a job post to attract the right copywriter. 

Writing a copywriter job post

To make the copywriter hiring process go more smoothly from start to finish, make sure your job description contains essential details like:

• Project scope. This includes an overview of your copywriting needs: the type of work you want the writer to do, how many deliverables you require, and your expected timeline for completion. Remember to include time (and budget!) for potential content revisions as you work with the writer to get exactly what you want.
• Budget details. Be clear about how much you’re able or willing to pay for a copywriter, and on what basis. Many copywriters work on an hourly basis, but some also bill by word, by project, or by the month (i.e., a retainer).
• Expertise and experience. If you need a writer who’s particularly skilled in a certain kind of writing, or has years of experience in a specific industry, state this in your job post. Be sure to mention if you need the writer to be comfortable writing in specific languages, too.
• Preliminary or test projects. It can be helpful to detail whether you would like the writer to complete a (paid) test project before all parties finalize an ongoing or larger contract.
• Contact instructions. Remember to include details about how the copywriter should get in touch with you to discuss their interest in the job post. Specify if there’s anything they should include in their message to you, such as a link to a portfolio.

Adding as many details as possible to your job description can help you attract the right copywriter for your content marketing project.

Helpful information to know before you hire a copywriter

It can also be helpful to understand how copywriters work, and what their typical responsibilities are. Check your project scope and requirements against the information below to make sure that you’re not requesting more than the typical copywriter can provide. 

Copywriter responsibilities

Copywriters typically research, plan, and write high-quality content for businesses. Some copywriters may also handle proofreading and editing their work, but not all do—so you’ll need to specify if they’ll be working with an editor at your company or not. 

The type of content a copywriter produces can vary. There are some copywriters who work as generalists—producing everything from social media captions to sales decks—while others prefer to specialize in one or two areas. You may be able to hire any of the following based on your project needs:

• Email marketing copywriters
• Search engine optimization (SEO) writers
• Web content writers
• Bloggers
• Social media writers
• Sales copywriters

The most common projects for copywriters

Many copywriters will be familiar with one or more of the projects below—and probably have great examples of this work (and their writing style) in a portfolio, too.

• Website content. Copywriters may create SEO articles, Amazon product descriptions, help documents, landing pages, case studies, technical manuals, and more. All of this content can be found on websites and may support marketing, customer service, sales, and other aspects of your business operations.
• Branded content. While a copywriter isn’t the same thing as a branding specialist, the two professionals may work closely together—with a copywriter preparing documents like your mission and values statements.
• Corporate copy. A copywriter might work on internal documentation, corporate communications, policy guides and more.
• Ad copy. Whether you are running print and TV ads or want eye-catching social media and search engine ads, a copywriter can help.
• Email copy. Copywriters also create engaging and eye-catching email content to help your brand win back customers, share information with new followers, and boost online sales.
• Social media copy. While some social media managers do both copy and strategy, many work hand-in-hand with a social media copywriter. These writers create concise, on-trend, and on-brand content for different platforms.

An experienced copywriter can help you figure out exactly what kind of content you should be using to attract the right audience—but you should still have an idea of what you want before posting a copywriter job online. 

Copywriter hiring arrangements

Many copywriters work on a freelance basis, but others work in-house for a single company. Some copywriters work exclusively with digital marketing agencies and public relations firms, too, writing all kinds of content for different clients.

You may decide that you’d like to hire a full-time or part-time copywriter to work with your brand continuously, and then bring in additional freelance help as needed. Or, you might prefer to build a trusted team of independent copywriters you can turn to for repeat projects. 

Copywriter work environments

Copywriting lends itself well to remote work, so you may not be surprised that this is a popular freelance profession. All a professional copywriter needs to do their job is a keyboard, computer, and reliable internet connection. 

However, there are plenty of great copywriters who work in offices, too. Be sure to specify whether you’re looking for copywriters who work remotely or who can be in your office. If you’re open to working with copywriters remotely, it can dramatically expand the pool of talent you have to choose from.

Whether they work in-office or remotely, copywriters often collaborate with other members of the marketing team, web developers, social media strategists, graphic design teams, sales associates, and even customer service specialists. 

Information to share with a copywriter

Whether you’re hiring a full-time or freelance copywriter, working for one brand or running a digital marketing agency that serves several, you’ll need to get a few details in place for your writer. Depending on the project, your potential copywriter will need information like:

• Your brand style guide, including brand voice details
• Customer personas or a summary of your target audience
• Essential details related to your marketing campaigns
• Access to earlier versions of marketing copy used by your brand
• Any existing marketing content templates your team uses

If you’re a small business and don’t have access to some of these documents, you may want to find a copywriter who also specializes in marketing strategy—they can help you get all the essential elements in place in order to create great, branded content.

Industries hiring copywriters

You can find skilled professionals delivering copywriting services in an array of industries, including:

• Business to business (B2B) brands. Copywriters help business-to-business companies generate leads, reduce churn, and gain greater market share through effective marketing content. A B2B copywriter may work on blog posts, whitepapers, research reports, sales slide decks, and more.
• Retail companies. Whether a company is focused on brick-and-mortar retail or online sales, copywriters help by writing product descriptions, ad copy, catchy store signage, and marketing emails.
• Consumer packaged goods (CPG) manufacturers. Copywriters create all of the slogans, descriptions, and details that go on packaging for food, cosmetics, children’s toys, and other consumer items.
• Financial firms. From banks to investment advisories, financial firms always need copywriters to help communicate value and updates to shareholders, new offerings to consumers, and policy updates to employees.
• Software as a service (SaaS) companies. A SaaS copywriter may create marketing content, technical reports, or user experience tooltips to help customers navigate through an interface.
• Healthcare and pharmaceutical organizations. Medical industries are highly regulated, and there are copywriters who specialize in communicating drug benefits, plan information, and more to consumers in an easy-to-understand (yet compliant) way.
• Local service businesses. Plumbers, electricians, cleaning services, and other local businesses can all benefit from a copywriter who can polish their website copy, create high-converting email campaigns, and even write great slogans to put on postcards that are sent to residents of a town or city.

Average cost of hiring a copywriter in 2024

The cost to hire a copywriter will vary based on your project, location, the industry, and their writing skills. You can often hire an hourly freelance copywriter for $19-$45 per hour, according to data from Upwork.

Upwork is not affiliated with and does not sponsor or endorse any of the tools or services discussed in this article. These tools and services are provided only as potential options, and each reader and company should take the time needed to adequately analyze and determine the tools or services that would best fit their specific needs and situation.