Freelance copywriters are generally members of the creative team. They are responsible for editing and writing content for a variety of projects. These professionals can sit within your teams and function just like an extension to your team or they can be fully independent.
Here’s a look at some of the responsibilities you might request that your writer take on.
Common Freelance Copywriter Responsibilities
If you aren’t sure when or how to bring your freelance copywriter in on projects or what to expect from them for work, here’s a look at some common responsibilities writers take on.
1. Interviewing
This responsibility might start with interviewing you and your team to learn more about your company, goals and expectations. But it also might include interviewing experts or customers for blogs, ebooks, whitepapers and case studies.
You should be able to trust your writer to talk to your customers without strict oversight. If you can’t, you likely don’t have a great copywriter.
Requesting to see interview questions in advance to help reassure you that the writer is focusing on the right aspects of what they are writing and portraying your company appropriately.
2. Drafting Content
Copywriters can help you turn rough thoughts and ideas into clean, clear copy. But it still might not be exactly what you want. That’s why it’s called a draft. You can then collaborate with them to tweak and adjust it to better match your goals and expectations.
Sometimes, draft content provides you with something to react to. Other times, it’s exactly what you wanted. It just depends on how well you can communicate your expectations and where you’re at in your maturity cycle of outlining who your business is and what it stands for.
3. Editing Content
While you’ve hired your freelancer to write content, that doesn’t mean they always have to draft the content. Instead, they might edit it for clarity, voice and tone, and proper grammar.
Perhaps you want your voice to come through on something like an annual report letter from your CEO. You can certainly have your CEO draft that content and then task your copywriter with editing it to perfection without losing that genuine voice your CEO has.
Or you might work within a very technical space where one small word change can alter the meaning of a sentence. In those cases, writing the content yourself and getting your copywriter to edit for clarity can help, especially as you onboard them and get them familiar with your products and industry.
4. Assisting with Developing Voice and Tone
Many writers are also strategists who can help you outline who you are and what you sound like. Developing voice and tone guidelines is an important part of building clear branding that resonates with your customers and sounds like you no matter the platform or medium you’re communicating through.
This starts with interviewing to learn more about your organization. Then your writer might draft some standard content or examples of ways they believe you should communicate based on your business and who your customers are. You’ll then have a chance to react to that and decide if it aligns with your vision. If not, your writer can try again.
Outlining voice and tone includes stating whether you use humor, how serious you are, certain words or emotions you want to evoke in your content, etc. It’s more than just putting together taglines and catchphrases. It should permeate every word and paragraph you draft.
5. Creating a Content Calendar
Content should be strategic. You can’t do that by constantly reacting to trends or following your competitors. A content calendar helps you plan and outline what’s most important to prioritize what to write about.
Depending on the writer you’ve chosen, the content calendar might include details about high-priority keywords for blogs or new website pages to help you get the most from your efforts.
It also sets realistic expectations for how long pillar content or lead magnets will take to develop. This helps you plan around these content pieces to be ready for what comes next.
6. Innovating Content for Your Organization
Some small business owners have never heard of a lead magnet or simply don’t know how to maximize their use once developed. To be effective, lead magnets should include content that your audience can’t find anywhere else without supplying their email address or contact information to get that content.
So while they might not be innovating new content types the marketing industry has never seen, they will be innovating based on what your organization has seen and done to help you modernize and optimize your marketing.
7. Suggesting Updates to Existing Content
Once you’ve onboarded a new writer, you can work with your copywriter to review and update existing content. This might mean checking all online listings for consistency in your company’s information or it might mean going through existing brochures and flyers before a tradeshow or event.
Regardless, your writer is now your expert ready to make your content come to life in the voice and tone you’ve set. Your writer will also become an expert in your products and services as they currently stand and can spot incorrect or outdated information.
8. Auditing Website Content and Other Marketing Collateral
Sadly, content isn’t ever done. You have to review it regularly for updates. Even marketing content on your website will need to be updated at some point as your brand evolves and you get better at outlining who you are and why customers should choose you.
Blog content also can’t just sit out there indefinitely. You should update that content to keep it relevant based on new research and information. This helps keep your brand up to date and builds trust with your customers.
For a better understanding of what a freelance copywriter does and how you can maximize their work, schedule a free consultation with Bridge the Gap Communication. Rebekah Brately has more than 12 years of experience in content and can help you create a winning content strategy from start to finish.