Why you don’t need a freelance copywriter

When you’re a client looking for some marketing help, freelancers can seem great. You pay their day rate. Turn them on when you need them and off when you don’t. There are some really talented ones out there. But here’s why you need a copywriting agency (and why you don’t need a freelance copywriter).

Structure

A freelancer is just that – an individual. With their own idiosyncrasies, schedule, filing system (or lack of), and everything that goes with being a self-employed person. An agency offers structure, systems, reliability and professionalism. Sorry if that sounds all “Captain Clipboard” but you are, after all, running a business.

Resource

When you hire a freelance copywriter they are the resource. There’s no back-up. What if they’re ill? What if they break their typing fingers in three places (like Benidorm, Peterborough, and Ulaanbaatar)? With an agency, you know you’re dealing with a team of professionals, with an eye on delivery dates. Your project will still be completed, even if there’s an unfortunate hand-related incident in Mongolia’s capital city.

Longer term relationship

It’s harder to build a long-term relationship with a freelancer. Quite often they’ll only be freelancing until they land their next permanent job. Or else you’ll contact them about a new brief and discover they’re too busy with a six-month project writing blogs for a Bristol’s biggest toupee manufacturer. Sure, some people do have long term relationships with a freelance copywriter. But it’s much easier to have one with a copywriting agency (or even better, ahem, a brand messaging studio). They tend to have a longer term vision, as well as the resource to service you (see above).

Brand guardianship

Where agencies really come into their own is in understanding and protecting your brand personality. You don’t have to keep explaining everything to an agency, as you do to new freelancers. Sending over guidelines, feeding back on things that are off-brand, or picking up on things the freelancer didn’t know you’d tried before. Good agencies will be fully immersed in your brand and its tone of voice. They may even have been involved in creating it. It means you can place a much greater level of trust in them. And you don’t have to feel you’re carrying all the responsibility for your brand reputation.

Long term planning

It’s hard to plan for the future if you don’t know who you’re going to be working with. You can’t really sit down and discuss long term planning with a freelance copywriter, in case they suddenly disappear on a round-the-world unicycle ride. (It’s this flexibility that attracts many to the freelance world.) On the other hand, an agency will be able to help you make a plan for the year ahead or even the next five. And then see it through with specific actions, goals and deliverables.

Strategic overview

Similar to brand guardianship, strategy is not something you can really rely on from a freelance copywriter. After all, they’re not calling themselves a freelance strategist (the clue is in the name). A copywriting agency, however, should have the resource, experience, and ability to think strategically. For example, Craft Words are well versed in getting involved in the strategy side. We help to position brands in their market and advise on how they should behave once their brand is established, by building a content strategy. We often work in partnership with other agencies, advising them on brand strategy and the overall direction of a brand. Or sometimes they will share a pre-existing strategy for us to execute against. Either way, it’s not a responsibility you should delegate to a freelancer.

Craft Words is a brand messaging studio with years of experience helping brands of all sizes woo their audiences with messaging that’s clear, engaging and refreshingly free of faff. We’re proud to have collaborated with some great brands, including Apple, Nike, and VW.

If you appreciate why you don’t need a freelance copywriter, contact us today.