11 things to look for in a copywriting agency

Thinking of hiring a copywriting agency? How can you ensure you choose the right one? Do you google it? Take recommendations? Play safe with the biggest player? Phone a friend? Go 50/50?
Here are 11 things we think you should look for in a copywriting agency:

1. Affinity
   First of all, do you click with these people? This is so crucial, because chemistry is the one factor that can’t be fixed later. After all, you can change the work, but you can’t change the people. Trust your gut. How do you feel when they turn up? Are you relieved, reassured, confident, excited? Or are you nervous, uncomfortable, unconvinced, on-guard? Remember, you’re going to have to work closely with these people and hand over responsibility for some of your most important communications. Trust is fundamental. So ask the hard questions. Do your background research. Grill them over a low flame, and ask yourself, are these our kind of guys and gals? If you’re not one hundred percent convinced when you meet, it’s probably not the moment to commit to an ongoing professional relationship.
   
   
2. Understanding
   The second thing to look for is, do they get it? Sounds basic but if you have to keep explaining the A, B, C of your business, over and over, it’s pretty soon going to become exhausting. We’re not suggesting for a moment that they need to show up at the first meeting knowing your business, its challenges, and its marketplace in forensic detail. In fact, often an outsider’s view is very helpful in bringing you some sense of perspective when you perhaps can’t see the wood for the trees. But beyond that first contact, what will really take a load of work off your desk will be a partner who is quick to grasp the essence as well as the detail of your brand, product or service. Who swiftly understands what you need and what the key points of communication need to be. The best sort will ask you to commit to formalising your thoughts in the form of a brief. It will save a lot of time later and avoid misunderstandings. Part of understanding is making sure you provide all the relevant information. You should only have to say it or supply it once. But springing surprises, drip feeding, or constantly changing will obviously affect the level of understanding, as well as timelines and budgets.
   
   
3. Ability
   Again, seems obvious – but do these people have the writing chops? Are you convinced they have the level of talent and ability required to answer your brief. This question might be tempered with the caveat, ‘for your budget’ but beware the budget option. Sure there are content mills that’ll churn you out words like peanuts in a peanut factory, for peanuts. Hell there’s even AI, if you don’t mind the risk of inaccuracy and the plodding lack of human flair. But assuming you’ve decided to take this seriously, we recommend you interrogate the backgrounds of your potential partners. Who have they written for? How long have they written for? What have they done? Do you like their work? This last question is probably the most important. If you’re looking for witty, quirky, characterful copy and the website only shows work that’s dry, technical and serious, they might not be the right partner. And vice versa, of course. Ideally you’ll find a versatile partner with the ability to adopt the right tone of voice for each of their clients; witty where appropriate, technical where required. You may need a mixture of all the above. But whatever it is right for you will hopefully be covered by point two, above.
   
   
4. Enthusiasm
   What kind of energy do they give off? Do they seem hungry for the challenge or a bit meh – seen it all before? This can sometimes be the problem if you go to a larger agency and find yourself to be a small fish in a large pond. You don’t want to feel like you’re being done a favour but that your business is seen as an exciting opportunity, creatively and well as financially. Are they enthused by your product or service’s offer? Can they see how it can be made motivating, compelling and interesting? Do you feel excited to see what they come back with?
   
   
5. Challenge
   Are they ‘yes people’ or are their responses considered? We’re not suggesting that you need to hire a truculent or difficult partner but at the same time, when you hire an expert you expect to be challenged if you harbour any misconceptions. The best kind of agency partner is the one who makes you think. Who persuades you to consider your problem in a new light. Because if you brief garbage in, you’ll inevitably get garbage out. And unless you’re in the recycling industry, you’re unlikely to want that output. Our advice is to be robust and open to the spirit of healthy debate. We always say that the best work comes from having the right conversations. Not arguments. But being open to discussion, debate and challenge is the best way to get the best work.
   
   
6. Curiosity
   What questions do they ask? It’s great to hire a partner with an insatiable hunger for detail, background, flavour. Some might just do the basics: take what you hand them on a plate, polish it and hand it back. But that shows a distinct lack of curiosity. Do they research beyond your materials? Do they ask questions that make you think? Do they take an interest in your business that excites both parties in the relationship (see point 4 above)? Curiosity may have been deadly for the apocryphal cat, but it’s the lifeblood of great copy.
   
   
7. Delight
   Do you love what they do? Do you look forward to work coming back from your copy partner? Do you want to show it to colleagues, your wife, your mates? Do you feel the right mixture of pride and relief and excitement when you’re presented with new work – not just relief that it’s arrived on time? Whatever the subject matter, however detailed, serious, or business-critical it is, you should feel delighted with the solution. Every time.
   
   
8. Imagination
   Part of your delight (see above) should come from the creativity that goes into the work. No one wants to hire an agency that thinks inside the box, after all. An imaginative partner will bring your brief to life in ways you never expected and may also inspire you to think a little differently too. We creative folk are always impressed by clever technical, entrepreneurial, innovative clients. The meeting of our two cultures can be an inspirational spark. We learn from you; you take something fresh from us. Our job is to bring imagination to any subject and breathe creativity and personality into your copy.
   
   
9. Consistency
   A good copywriting partner is a brand guardian. That means they ensure that a constant thread of personality runs though all your work (see our blog Why a consistent tone of voice is like a stick of rock). Ensuring consistency is about taking a helicopter view of your business. It’s no good writing a LinkedIn post one way on a Monday, and a white paper  differently on a Wednesday. It doesn’t work if your business is passed around from writer to writer unless they’ve had a proper briefing and are fully immersed in your brand voice. Ideally, your audience should know that a communication is from you before they see your company’s name. That’s solid proof that your investment in quality copywriting is paying off. But it requires medium term commitment from both you and your agency. If you chop and change too often, that consistency is lost
   
   
10. Adaptability
    Consistency shouldn’t mean a lack of flexibility. Not every channel is the same, and your copywriting agency needs to be able to work as comfortably across your long form web copy as TikTok. Their responsibility is to understand how the same brand behaves in each medium: email, advertising, blog, each social channel, while retaining its core identity. Sometimes snappy, sometimes encyclopaedic. Sometimes light-hearted, sometimes provocative. But all from a solid understanding of who you are and will always remain.
    
    
11. Niceness
    Finally, are they nice people? Life’s too short to work with plonkers, weirdos or egomaniacs. Would you go for a drink with these people? Let’s face it, nice is nice. We like working with nice clients, and clients like working with nice agencies. It might not sound radical, but we find it works.