How I Selected The Perfect Copywriter from Instagram
I have outsourced a handful of projects over the past few years and it’s no surprise that I’ve started turning to Instagram for most services I need. Most recently I hired a copywriter to help with some website pages and I found that the process was worth documenting. It’s the process I’ve used to reach out to Virtual Assistants, Web Designers, Coaches, and I guarantee it’s how most modern women entrepreneurs are looking for the services they need.
The first step I took was searching for hashtags on Instagram. I rarely use Google when searching for service based professionals anymore— especially in the realm of personal brands. I find that Instagram is much faster to weed through.
I used hashtags “#copywriter”, “#californiacopywriter”, “copywriterforcreatives”, “#bayareacopywriter”. I knew copywriting could be done from anywhere, but if I could support someone locally and it was the right fit, I would.
Based on these results, it’s no surprise that the photos that stood out quickly were professional, well lit images (example above). I also was drawn to images of people who appeared to be the face of their business over stock photography. This made it really easy for me to click into the handful of profiles that had personal brand photography (there weren’t many).
I want to analyze that a bit further. Yes, I am a personal brand photographer so perhaps I am seeing professional photos as important, but I don’t think I’m alone in this.
Why do professional photos stand out? Well, I am more likely to trust that you are a legitimate business when you invest in your own business. It basically comes down to trust. As a small business owner myself, I want to feel connected with who I work with. Because this person would be writing my copy, I knew I would have to share a lot about myself and my business with this person. Buyers make purchasing decisions based on who they know, like, and trust… social media makes this incredibly easy to navigate through.
When clicking through the next series of Instagram profiles, I began evaluating each copywriter’s entire brand. There is a quick emotional reaction on whether or not I am drawn to someone. I am typically drawn to working with someone that’s similar to me (hint: most people do).
This brought me to millennial women who clearly stated they were working with people exactly like me right in their bio (creatives, women entrepreneurs, modern millennials). By this point, I think I had it narrowed down to two people, so I went to their websites to see their services.
While on each website, I am quickly evaluating the brand once again. Do I trust this person? Do I feel connected? Does it feel like this person will get me? Most people do this subconsciously. We do it all the time with out even realizing it!
The first place I go to on somebody’s website is usually the About Me page. I am drawn to seeing if we will connect and the best way to do that is to know their story and I know I am not alone on this. Side note: SO many businesses underestimate the power of the About Me page. I personally have had many, many inquiries in my own biz that specifically state they reached out to me because of my About Me section.
I know from experience that an About Me page should always be about your customer. If you don’t know this already, the first sentence should be about them and NOT about you. I wanted to choose a copywriter that did this because that signaled to me that they were more aware of what makes great copy (great copy should increase your sales). One of the two websites I evaluated did this, so I only reached out to one person out of everyone in my search. We hit it off on the phone and I decided to hire her. It was a great fit because I had already vetted her quite a bit and I had a pretty good idea of who she was, who she worked with, and what she did prior to us even hopping on call.
THIS is the power of personal branding. If you want clients that you connect with and are willing to pay you higher prices, you have to put yourself online. You have to show your face, tell your story, and invest in your brand.
If you’re wondering, I ended up working with Marissa at Copy Crush who has helped me create majority of the copy on my site and attracted me with her personal brand!
Was this interesting? How do you make hiring decisions? Let me know your thoughts below!