You've contracted work to a content writer or content writing company, but part-way through the relationship, you've become unsatisfied with their writing. They may simply be a bad writer, or other problems may be afoot.

We’ve had clients who were unhappy with our work. After dissecting those assignments, we discovered a few commonalities. We’ll share them here with you so you can save yourself money and aggravation when you hire out your content writing.

We Were Called in at the Wrong Time

Only about halfway into our working relationship did we realize we'd been called in at the wrong time. The client needed a better defined target market or a more detailed marketing plan, and we didn't notice. Read more to see if you even need a content writer or copywriter in the first place.

The 1st Meeting Was a Brainstorming Meeting

Where are you at in your marketing process when you contact a content writing company? Are you still brainstorming ideas? Or can you accurately describe the kind of content you need?

In some of these failed relationships, we worked without a clear marketing plan. Instead, our clients wanted us to brainstorm campaigns with them. That increased the month's bill before the clients saw what they considered meaningful results.

Furthermore, because those ideas came out of brainstorming instead of deliberate planning, they changed on a dime, and we had to adjust.

You can reduce problems with your content writer by creating a documented plan. That's why we now write down your ideas in our discovery meeting, step away to develop them, and then meet with you again to discuss them.

Our clients are happiest when we draw up a brief that explains the process, estimated deadlines, and potential costs if the plans change.

No Content Writing Briefs

This is related to the previous point. Although we received directions, they were either during a meeting, a phone call, or notes in an email.

With our regular clients, we don’t need a brief for every assignment, because we're familiar with the target market, overarching marketing plan, and our role in the process.

However, in a new business relationship, these points must be documented. When a client wasn’t happy with our work, we couldn't refer back to the agreed-upon brief to see what we'd misunderstood.

When you’re working with a new copywriter or agency, you must put in the time to create a detailed marketing brief. On paper.

What Should a Marketing Brief Contain?

There are variations, of course, but basically, provide your outsourced help with the following details: 

  • your company’s mission, vision, and purpose 
  • the goals of the project
  • target market description, especially of the segment reading this copy
  • where the copy fits in your sales funnel 
  • location for this copy 
  • length of copy 
  • suggested research sources, if needed 
  • style guide (if you have one) 
  • samples of writing you like 
  • samples of writing you don’t like 
  • links to successful competitors 
  • timeline 
  • who else the copywriter will be working with 
  • general overview of the process of working with you 

Yes, this is a lot, and it will take time for you to put together. However, unless you have this thought through, chances are you won’t like the copywriting your contractor will produce. By going through this exercise, you’ll get out of your mind what you’re looking for and put it in a form your content writer will understand. 

Hiring a Content Writer: Plan First, Call Second

Outsourcing your marketing needs can provide you the necessary help to get on with your business. However, it can also cause worries and nightmares if you don’t find the right people to work with.

A little prep work on your end should ease the challenge of finding the right content writer for your marketing plan. One who can produce copy for you that you like and that works.

Contact us if you'd like an honest opinion on working with a content writer. We're happy to offer some advice.

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