7 Myths You Believe About Freelance Copywriters
While 92% of marketers believe custom content is "very effective" for their business, only 62% outsource their content creation. What's with the 30% who like content but don't use freelance copywriters?
There's a good chance they fall into the category of people who believe one or more of the most common myths about freelance copywriters. Individuals who think that copywriters are unprofessional or don't have the right business background. Others remember the early days of SEO, and shudder. Regardless of why you've avoided using freelance copywriters so far, here are 7 of the most common myths, debunked!
1. They Aren't Professionals
It's true that many freelance copywriters work in the peace and quiet of their own home. However, that doesn't make many of them any less reliable or professional than yourself. As a recent analysis of the "contingent workforce" by Dr. Michael Woody found, large and medium-sized companies are actually hiring freelancers in droves. A great deal of top talent has made the choice to work for themselves, and organizations are finding that choosing to outsource provides a great deal of flexibility.
2. They're Not Reliable
Unfortunately, far too many organizations and content managers have been burned by the handful of freelance copywriters who can't adhere to deadlines. While it's enough to leave a bad taste in your mouth, keep in mind that these people are the exception. Unreliable freelance writers won't be at it very long, because they'll quickly lose contacts.
What can you do? I recommend assigning tasks well before they're due if you're testing a new writer. Alternatively, you could opt for a freelance writer network that offers reliability and timeliness ratings.
3. They're Not Experts
Many of us remember SEO attempts around 2006, where many websites hosted just really awful content. It was often stuffed with keyboards, and just wasn't informative or valuable. Rest assured, any freelance writer worth their salt isn't concerned about keyword density these days.
If you value expert-driven writing, you're correct. Nielsen research has found that consumers are increasingly using content for decision-making, but only when it carries some expertise. Regardless of whether you need a medical doctor or equine enthusiast for your brand, connecting with the right kind of expert is worth your time.
4. They're Unmotivated
Freelance copywriters can't possibly be motivated people, right? After all, they don't even have real jobs.
Actually, today's leading copywriters are incredibly motivated and dedicated to self education. Daily topics of study can range from writing best practices to SEO, and will often include a great deal of research for each piece of content they're engaged with.
5. They're Not Native Speakers
Many people believe that native English speakers are well outside their price range. Even worse, some people have been deceived and accidentally purchased content that clearly was authored by someone from their own country.
Search engines are not pretty effective at semantic search. Many SEO experts believe you could get penalized for posting unnatural or hard-to-read content. It's pretty important to hire freelance copywriters with native English fluency, and some could be far more affordable than you think.
6. They're Not Multi-Talented
There are definitely some freelance copywriters out there who can't do much more than pen pretty words. However, as the discipline of content marketing continues to grow, that is changing. If your freelancers have a background in content marketing, they should be well-versed in SEO, image-sourcing, formatting for humans, and user-experience. Hiring a writer with a broad knowledge of inbound marketing can ensure you receive content that's literally ready to publish.
7. They're Not Team Players
Are you guilty of believing this pervasive myth? Do you think that freelance copywriters are self-interested, and won't work for your brand? Are you concerned about inappropriate content, or low-quality work, or failure to follow directions? While all of those things are possible, they're not even likely. Let me tell you why.
If you're willing to commit to training the right freelance copywriter, they could become a long-term team member. Someone with background in marketing or business can adhere to your brand standards, collaborate with other team members, and generally help you reach your goals.
Do you believe any of these myths about freelance copywriters? Why? Share your thoughts in the comments!
Comments (10)
Excellent article and as a writer and Chief Content Officer, you have to find great freelance writers! They exist, but you must look.
Renee, thank you for the compliment! That’s great you found the article to your liking.
wow – I never heard of these “myths” and I’ve been a freelance writer specializing in health/fitness/medical for 30 years. Frankly I think freelancers often work harder and smarter because we have to find and do the work. Also consider this from a 2014 Nielsen report: “expert” content significantly outperformed branded and even social content when it came to product familiarity, affinity and purchase intent. So bylined articles and blogs by experts like me actually boost your brand. Check out the report: The Role of Content in the decision making process, March 2015. Credible freelancers are everyone. One excellent source is Freelance Success.
Joann, thank you for the valuable comment.
Thank you for dispelling these myths, Jasmine! I’m one of those freelancers who says, “Just give me a chance, and I’ll disprove them all!” I especially like the point about being motivated. I think most of the good freelance writers are extremely motivated to find work and do good work so they’ll get repeat business. And, it’s not just writers with a marketing background who can help a business. Consider a journalism background. I’m trained to research, ask questions until I understand a subject, then get to the heart of a story and turn it into an article that connects with an audience.
It’s pretty important to hire freelance copywriters with native English fluency.
Do you think a non-native English writer cannot be good enough?
It’s not an easy question. As you know there are many alternative meanings to the same words. So, we can end up speaking different languages even though we speak English. However, there’s always an exception to the rule.
Jasmine, thanks for your information. But these are not true for all freelance copywriter. It’s little bit difficult to find right freelance copywriter. :)
Harunur, it’s not easy, that’s true. But there are plenty of resources available to simplify the process :) You might check our post 11 Things to Keep in Mind When Hiring Freelance Writers, it has some useful information.
Before I became a full-time freelance writer, I fell prey to many of the same myths that I now work actively to dispel. Here are seven of the top lies about freelance writers that you might believe and the truth behind them.