How to Hire a Professional Copywriter to Sharpen Up Your Catalog
Great photographs will do the initial job of grabbing your customer’s attention, but when it comes down to making a real purchase decision the devil is in the detail, and the detail is your product description.
It’s important to have polished catalog copywriting because there’s no quicker turn off than a half-baked, badly written explanation of a product and its benefits. Hiring a professional writer to craft some tightly worded and expressive descriptions will pay dividends, but how should you go about finding the right person?
Many catalog printing services companies have strong links with freelance writers, and you could ask for a recommendation from yours. But you’ll need to do your own assessment of any prospective writer, and here are a few things to look out for.
Ask to see some examples of similar work the writer has done previously. You’ll quickly get a feel for the way in which they phrase things, as well as an indication of their versatility. Some writers are brilliant in a particular field, such as report writing, but might not be able to turn their hand to creating the sharp and engaging sales copy that you’re after.
Take careful note of the questions your prospective writer asks you. Good writers are by their very nature exceedingly inquisitive people. They have a strong drive to learn new things and make discoveries. If your writer displays a lack of curiosity about your business and products, it’s not a good sign.
How prepared is the writer to really get to know your business? If you’re hoping for great things from them in terms of catalog copywriting, they’re going to need a willingness to get under the skin of your company’s product lines and overall pitch to customers.
Another thing that needs to be nailed down properly is how you’ll pay for catalog copywriting services. You could agree on an hourly rate, and for this sort of arrangement you’ll obviously have to have a relationship of trust between you. Writers, like anyone else, can vary a great deal in their rates of productivity.
Perhaps a better way is to decide to pay an overall project rate. This suits many employers because it isn’t as open-ended, and they know from the outset what they’re letting themselves in for cost-wise. However, you need to build in an agreed number of revisions and redrafts that you can expect from your copywriter otherwise you could both end up resenting each other.
Getting in professional catalog copywriting talent is one way to increase the sales effectiveness of your catalog, and by choosing competitive catalog printing services you can control your costs at the same time.