There is much more to being a copywriter than just sitting down and dashing off 500 words on a Word document. Most of the work that comes in to me requires careful research, first, fact checking and then writing a first draft. This will usually need some revision and editing to ensure that it flows correctly and that there are no daft spelling mistakes (or typos). Then there is often a final read-through before sending it off to the client.
I like my work to be as perfect as I can make it before my clients see it. I take pride in my work and enjoy seeing it up on websites. I offer a professional service and I expect to be paid a proper wage for my work which has to cover sick days, holidays and all other expenses.
Now picture someone that you have found on a job bidding website. They have put in a low bid in order that you will take notice of them. They may not be from your country, although sometimes they are. They rely on lots of small jobs in order to make a living which means that they are producing a high volume of work in a short space of time. They may not have time to research properly and do not expect to fact-check. They rely on their word-processing editing tools to spot spelling mistakes and grammar errors. They may well read it through again before sending it to their client, but they will miss errors because once one piece of work is done, then they are thinking about the next one. They are constantly writing, constantly sending in work because they cannot afford to do anything else.
These people may be good writers, but without the time to edit properly, you might never know it. Writing is hard work when you are writing constantly, you have to look after your muscles and posture and you can get aches and pains like everyone else. It must be like a sweat shop to sit at a computer screen day after day, hardly making enough to get by.
Then there is the quality of the work produced. With Google trying to crack down on useless content, the days of keyword-stuffed garbage are numbered. The search engine will penalise websites that it suspects of using SEO tactics such as adding simple articles containing no information but keywords. It is better to build up your SEO using a blog and articles which are relevant to your niche and contain useful information.
So, should you use a cheap copywriter? Obviously I am a little bit biased here, but I would suggest that you get what you pay for. If you are looking for cheap rubbish, then move along, nothing to see here. If you are looking for well-written articles which will add genuine value to your website, then hire a professional copywriter.
Photo Credit: Photo on Flickr by Mike (Inbet_1979)
Sarah Charmley is a professional copywriter who enjoys researching and writing on all subjects. You can contact her here to discuss your copywriting project.
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