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Ask Tough Questions to Find the Right Copywriter

When you’re hiring a copywriter, you're obviously looking for someone with excellent writing skills. That's a given. But high-tech is a complex industry, so good writing skills alone are not enough. The ideal candidate needs solid business acumen, the ability to quickly comprehend technology, and an understanding of how to market and sell high-tech products.

That's why these 11 questions can come in handy next time you evaluate copywriters. (Download a PDF copy of the checklist here and print it out so you’ll have it next time you need a copywriter.)

High-Tech Industry Experience

1. Do they quickly “get” your technology and understand how it benefits your buyers?
2. Do they understand how to market and sell to technology buyers?
3. Do they understand the typical technology sales process, including selling via direct sales, inside sales, or partner channels?

Strategic Marketing Experience

4. Do they ask lots of detailed questions about your audience, their pain points, and how you address those challenges?
5. Do they understand how content should align with sales-cycle stages?
6. Are they experienced at interviewing subject matter experts and gently, but persistently, “pulling” out the relevant details about a solution or product?
7. Do they understand the business objectives for your content? Can they suggest strategies or tactics that will help you achieve your objectives using content?

Outstanding Copywriting Skills

8. Are they a skilled writer who can easily translate technical concepts into easy-to-understand, engaging benefits?
9. Are they experienced in writing to a variety of buyers – from those that are highly technical and want the nitty-gritty product details to C-level executives who need relevant business benefits?
10. Do they have a strong list of happy high-tech customers? A great portfolio of samples you can browse?
11. If they’ll be writing demand generation pieces, like nurture emails or landing pages, do they understand demand generation principles? Do they have a demand gen portfolio they can share with you?

Does a potential copywriter need to meet all these criteria? No, but the more of these questions you can answer with “Yes!”, the closer you’ll be to finding the right high-tech copywriter for your company.

Learn more about my copywriting services for high-tech companies.

Comments

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