The idea of outsourcing your copywriting is daunting. You’ve worked hard to develop your unique voice, and you’re not sure you’re ready to let someone else take on this all-important part of your business. At the same time, you’re hard up for a break, and the end of the year is looming.
Starting in November and going straight through January, work tends to slow down in one way or another. For a successful business owner like you, it may be because you’ve made a deliberate choice to step away from your work and spend more time with family. But for contractors and freelancers, the holidays can pack a painful punch. Because when business owners slow down, so does the freelance workflow.
Outsourcing: A Gift To You and Your Writer
When you outsource some of your copywriting during the holiday season, you’re creating a win-win scenario. Not only are you giving yourself the gift of moving a few work tasks off your plate; you’re gifting a freelancer with a little extra work. And that pays dividends, both toward your business and your copywriter’s.
Before you pull the trigger on hiring a contractor to write some of your copy for you, though, you’ll want to identify a few easy-peasy types of copy you can hand off without a fuss. Some of these might include:
- Social media posts. It should be pretty easy for your writer to pull quotes from your published blog posts, or even condense bits and pieces of your content for specific social platforms.
- Social media engagement. Engaging with your audience can take a lot of time you might not have during the holidays. Entrusting this piece of your business to a writer who can step up as your “ghost” is important if you want to keep your voice consistent.
- Podcast show notes. Have time to record your podcast episodes, but want to hand off the process of putting together notes or a transcript? A writer can step in and help out with that. (This goes for video content that needs copy, too.)
- Blog posts. If you feel comfortable hiring a ghostwriter to keep your blog going, this can be a great way to continue turning out content on your blog while you’re away. He or she can draw on older content–or content in other formats–to keep things fresh.
Finding the Right Copywriter for Your Break
Hiring the right writer to take on your voice requires careful research, questioning, and consideration. Bringing the wrong writer on board could be disastrous for your brand, so it’s important to take your time as you choose.
To source strong copywriting candidates:
- Check within your network. Ask other business owners for copywriter recommendations–preferably business owners who know you well enough to understand your brand, how you work, and what kind of writer is likely to jive best with you.
- Choose a writer with experience emulating client voice. You need someone who can quickly pick up on the way you write and speak. If you’re trying to take a holiday, you don’t have time for a big learning curve.
- Don’t cheap out. Copywriters can be expensive. While your budget is very important, keep in mind that you get what you pay for. Hiring the least expensive contractor you can find is a serious gamble.
Equipping Your Copywriter to Win
Before you skip out on vacation, make sure your writer is well-equipped to ghost for you. If you’re an author, provide him or her with a few of your books–some copywriters are super skilled at spinning blog posts out of existing materials as derivative works. Likewise, if you’re a speaker or educator, make sure you writer has access to your video materials. The more information you leave your writer with, the better prepared he or she will be to tackle your copy with flying colors.
Do you outsource your copywriting during the holidays (or at other times of the year)? Have you done it this holiday season? Stop by the Bombshell Business App to let us know how it went!
About the Author
Haley Walden
Haley Walden Copywriting/Editor & Author
Copy Writing and Editing
Haley Walden is a copywriter, editor, and author who helps businesses and authors effectively articulate their established brand stories. She had a knack for emulating voice, a keen eye for detail, and will stop at nothing to give her clients the cleanest, most concise final draft possible.
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