Before you click ‘Post’ on the Craigslist ad you’ve been slaving over all morning, go pour yourself a cup of that burned used-to-be coffee in the kitchen, and consider what I’m about to tell you about hiring freelance copywriters.

Go on; I’ll wait.

Back? OK, so here’s the deal: If you’re about to post an ad that includes a crazy-lowball, per-word rate as compensation, think again. At that rate, doesn’t the concern that you’re going to get EXACTLY what you’re paying for give you pause?

 It should. Because the sad fact is:

If you pay your writers per-word, all you’re
gonna get are. . .words. Probably a lot of them.

As a professional writer, if I were faced with a project that was going to pull in just a few cents per word, I’d make damn sure I was pumping as many words as possible through my keyboard so I could cover my overhead. The end result is that you’re going to get billed for the maximum your puny rate will bear, and you’re actually going to end up being overcharged for that bad content being produced!

The thing is, a really great, experienced writer that bills out at a realistic market rate—either by the hour, or on a flat-fee basis—can tell your story a hell of a lot more efficiently than these pay-for-play assembly line folks can. A real pro will elegantly support your strategy and messaging while engaging your customer with truly sexy/exciting/compelling prose that you just can’t get for .20 per word.

Really, I’m not kidding. Now go re-write that ad, or contact me for help.