4 Things to Consider When Hiring a Copywriter for Your Wedding Business
Hot Take: Not everyone needs a copywriter.
Yep, you read that right. And even if you need a copywriter, you don’t need to hire them to write EVERYTHING.
Hiring a copywriter can be a huge and scary step in your business. Where do you go to find copywriters? How do you know they’ll be able to capture your voice? Wedding industry copywriting services aren’t cheap.
Before we get too far into this post, I wanna make something clear.
Disclaimer: I am totally, pitching my services in this post. But it’s important to me that you feel confident when hiring a copywriter, no matter who that is. So if you’re trying to decide who to hire, this post will help.
To start, let’s go over the 4 things you need to look at when hiring a copywriter.
Niche
A copywriter’s niche is about preference. Some copywriters choose to cast a wide net. Others niche down. It’s not absolutely necessary to hire a copywriter who has experience writing in your niche. Copywriters understand how to apply the same technical and psychological techniques to any kind of copy in any industry.
If you don’t hire a copywriter in your industry, though, it is possible to run into issues. If a copywriter doesn’t specialize in the wedding industry, they may not understand the nature of your work, your market, and your ideal client as well. This could potentially make the process longer, because there’s a lot more market research involved.
(And if it doesn’t, RUN.)
If you’re considering a copywriter outside of the wedding industry, look to see if they’ve worked with wedding pros or similar service providers before.
Expertise
When you’re looking for a copywriter, take a look at their offers. Most copywriters offer similar services. But many copywriters choose to focus on specific types of copy, and they build their offers from those.
For example, my expertise is in website copy, sales copy, and email copy. I wouldn’t suggest you hire me if you need ad copy because that’s not within my area of expertise.
(Again, if a copywriter is claiming they can write anything, make sure they have portfolio examples you can look through. Some copywriters do write pretty much everything, but you don’t wanna be someone’s guinea pig.)
Don’t be afraid to ask questions when considering a copywriter!
Values
When you’re investing in your business, it’s important to do your research. One copywriter is not going to be the ideal person for every wedding pro. Look at the values copywriters advertise and find someone you align with.
Hiring someone who believes in the same things you do makes the copywriting process that much easier. Your copywriter will already understand your approach to business that much more because you share the same values.
Energy
If you were hiring a business coach, would you hand over thousands of dollars without talking to them first? Hell no.
You should feel the same way about hiring a copywriter. How they write is one thing. How they work is another. You want to make sure the partnership feels right before you commit. This is why I find consultations so important. Have a face-to-face conversation with them. If communicating with them feels good, they’re probably a good fit! Don’t hire someone whose energy doesn’t feel right to you.
Frequently Asked Questions About Hiring a Copywriter
Let’s start with the one on everybody’s mind, shall we?
Why is copy so expensive?
Your messaging is the lifeblood of your business. In the age of the internet, wedding pros are no longer relying on expos and word-of-mouth to make money. If you’re not speaking directly to your clients face-to-face, you’re speaking to them through copy.
Hiring a copywriter is an up-front investment that produces long-term results.
Obviously don’t go into debt hiring a copywriter. But if the copy is good, you’ll make your investment back and then some.
Take website copy, for example. If you spend $3400 on website copy (my most common website copy package price) and your most popular service costs $1500, you’ll need 3 clients to make that back.
How long would it take you to sign 3 clients? A couple weeks? A month?
Your copy will last wayyyyy longer. You might need to make minor changes every few years as your business changes, but the majority of the messaging will remain the same.
Let’s say your website runs for 5 years before you make significant changes. Over 5 years, your website copy would cost you $1.80 a day.
How many clients would you have over 5 years? More? Let’s say you book 24 weddings per year. If each client spends $1000 on average, you’ve made $120,000.
If only 25% of those 120 clients found you through your website, your return on investment (ROI) for that website copy would be $26,600.
Still think copy is expensive?
If you’re running a long-term business, you need to invest long-term. Don’t fear the up-front cost. I promise you, copywriting is something you need to invest in for your business to grow.
How do you decide pricing?
All of my pricing is determined by the length of the copy and the amount of time that project will take. Writing the copy is just a small part of the entire process. I spend twice as much time learning about your business and researching your specific market than I do writing your copy.
I’ve adopted this approach because I don’t believe one size fits all when it comes to messaging (or anything, really). If I were using the same template for every project, it wouldn’t take me nearly as much time to finish a project. But I take pride in creating messaging that is unique to you and actually sounds like something you would say. Especially in the wedding industry, it’s so easy to blend into the crowd and sound like everybody else.
I work best with wedding pros who want to think out of the box and serve a specific type of couple, not just any couple who finds their inquiry form.
Who owns your writing?
The answer to this question differs by copywriter. Check your contract before you sign! My services are like the business equivalent of getting a ghostwriter for your novel. Once you’ve paid your invoice, all of the copy is your intellectual property. The only rights I have to the copy are to use it in my portfolio.
What’s working with a wedding industry copywriter like?
I can’t speak for every wedding industry copywriter, but this is what my clients have said.
Nesrine, a wedding planner in Marrakech:
“Emily was a dream to work with! As a copywriter, she exceeded all our expectations with her creativity, attention to detail, and ability to capture the essence of our brand. Her writing style is engaging and persuasive, and she consistently delivered high-quality content within tight deadlines. We would highly recommend her to anyone in need of top-notch copywriting services. Thank you, Emily, for your exceptional work! -The Philocaly Team, Marrakech”
Jeff, a DJ in Buffalo, NY:
“The best! I have been in business for over 20 years and needed a new "face" to rewrite my entire site. I also had her rewrite all my emails and start writing blogs (that I have always said I was going to do and don't). It had to be done from someone outside and she knocked it out of the park. It was quite seamless and very comprehensive. Emily definitely picked up on my tone and that is what was used in the copy. It is just so much cleaner and precise. I would highly recommend Emily to write copy for your site.”
Chelsea, a wedding photographer in Richmond, VA:
“Emily is so knowledgeable and the process to work with her was very streamlined! I really enjoyed hiring Emily for my website copy for multiple businesses of mine. The final deliverable exceeded my expectations and gave me more confidence on the front end of my business. I highly recommend her if you are even considering outsourcing copywriting.”
Melissa, a destination wedding planner from DC:
“Emily was amazing to work with! I hired Emily to help with the launch of my rebrand and new website for my business B Astonished Events. Not only did Emily offer great copy for my site and materials, but she offered insight on new and creative ideas to add to my website that I would not have thought of! Her communication and copywriting surpassed my expectations and I can't wait to work with Emily again in the near future!”
My Offers
When it comes to copywriting, there are two main phases you need to go through in your business. In the first phase, you’re just starting out. You know what industry you want to be in, but you’re not totally sure what you want to offer and who you want to serve. You know you need to set up a marketing strategy and website, but you’re not sure what to say.
In the second phase of your business, you’ve gotten some experience under your belt. You can now explain clearly what you do and who you serve. You understand your ideal client inside and out. You know where they hang out, what their pain points are, and how your offers can help solve their problems. You usually reach this phase 1-2 years into your business.
I split my entire offer suite into two categories, done-with-you and done-for-you, to serve you in both of these phases.
My done-with-you services include a website audit, a copy audit, an hour-long strategy session, and a brand messaging guide. These services are meant to help you edit your own copy with an expert’s opinion. These offers are great options for the wedding pros who don’t have a ton of money to invest in copywriting but understand the value of having strong messaging. You’ll do most of the work and I’ll come in to clean things up. These services start at $350 and the average wedding pro spends $656.
My done-for-you-services include website copy, sales pages, email copy, and client materials. These services are for the wedding pro who clearly understands their business and is ready to invest in their marketing and messaging. After an initial questionnaire, you’ll leave all the work to me. These services range from $500 to $5,000+ and the average wedding pro spends $3400.
You can find a breakdown of these offers on the services page of my website.
If you’re not ready to invest in copywriting but want to improve your own skills, I also have many free resources for you. You can find these on the resources page of my website and on my blog.
Or check out the Copy Shop for affordable tools that’ll stretch your dollar as far as it will go!
The most important thing is that you feel confident in whoever you’re hiring. Do your research and trust your gut.
If you have any questions or would like to learn more about me, hit me up on IG or visit my website. I’d love to chat with you!
