How to find a good foreign copywriter

More than 10 years I have been working in the international sphere, and the last two years doing the launch in the US market projects. The main pain experienced by most young companies in Russia and 51% in the world - is the creation of content. In the case of projects in Russia, it is the transfer of materials from Russian to English.

Everybody laughed translations during the Olympic Games in Sochi. This is a good example of how the multi-million dollar budget could not guarantee a successful final product. What can we say about the start-ups that do not have such money. Tell us not only distorts the idea. It spoils the reputation of the product, creates misconceptions and tricks users, that is simply unacceptable.

Whether it is necessary to translate the content that was originally in Russian, or is it better to create everything from scratch - a separate issue. I'll talk about a common mistake in the process of working with content in a foreign language and will give tips to help you avoid them.

The most frequent errors

1. Russian freelancers make the correct translation

According to my colleagues, a representative of one of the largest international public relations agency with offices in Moscow, find an adequate translator on the staff - a big problem even in the seemingly saturated metropolitan market. She claims that among freelancers these professionals can be counted on the fingers. At the same time, as a rule, they are always overwhelmed with orders, so contacts trusted people PR people keep to themselves.

My statistics and experience indicate that the average of the ten-copywriters interpreters with different prices and regalia (up to interpreters Ivan Urgant) only one copes with the test task. Now it is clear, where there are inscriptions Please clean my number ( "Clean room, please").

There is still a star copywriters who ask $ 500 per page of text. Price is due to a long period of residence in an English speaking country and a hint of the carrier level. Particularly pleasing to the phrase "I am fluent in EnglishSince he lived in Europe. "

According to LinkedIn analysis for the year 2018 over 40% of freelancers in the global market are working in the field of copywriting. Average prices for their services range from 10 to 200 dollars per 1000 words or hour. A higher price may be due to the combining of word problems with marketing.

What to do

Remember: the translator or editor should be the bearer of the final target language.

The ideal candidate - a bilingual journalist with the past, but they are rare as gavials. If you found it - take care.

Search for media can be in these foreign freelance sites:

• Upwork.com - the largest American markets, where you can find freelancers to complex projects. The level of medium to high. Cost - 25-125 dollars per hour.
• Fiverr.com - a popular site with freelancers from around the world. Here you can order everything from site to book. For just $ 5 you can order the article and proofreading (though questionable quality) specialists from Bangladesh and Nigeria. But if there is a task to quickly create a lot of content, it is quite suitable option. There are also some expensive experts from 50 dollars and up. I use this website to search for editors and make only prufrid own text or rewrite the business pages. The average cost - $ 40 for working with text in 2000 words.
• Iwriter.com - a well-designed space, but lately there are many spammers who use someone else's content, or simply copy it from the Internet. The main rule - never work with freelancers Basic level, choose Elite. price dispersion is very large, there is no Russian-speaking interpreters.
• Textmaster.com - easy French startup that provides translation services, copyright and prufrida into different languages, including Russian. The cost is considered in the words and is about $ 66 per 1 000 words.
• Textbroker.com - World marketpleys content creation. I have not had time to test it, but it looks promising resource. You can work with the Russian language. Cost is hidden inside, but hardly very different from the average market price.

2. If you chose an English copywriter, you get the perfect text

Not always. Copywriter will make an excellent text, if it is conceptually, emotionally and astrologically understand your idea through the brief. And here it is important to remember that you need to make a brief in English, too, with the most capacious.

Even if you are good at everything, explain copywriters usually write, based on its experience. If the performer is specialized in the automotive industry, your text about the cupcakes can smell gasoline.

What to do

Copywriter does not just have to be literate. He also needs to understand the style and purpose of your text. To find a suitable candidate, consider these tips.

Learn profile copywriter

Experts from Bangladesh, India and Nigeria is better to skip. Choose speakers from the country to which you output the product. Copywriters great demand from the US and England.

All this information can be found in the profile of the artist, as well as his name and a niche in which he understands. In addition, it is important to read reviews.

Request examples of works

Or ask to do the test job. It can be free or paid (if you give work a case that requires serious preparation). Your potential contractor has the right to disagree, and instead send you examples of finished works. The more there are, the better.

Write a clear brief "CHDKKS"

Prepare yourself by answering these questions:

• H: what you want to get in the end? Article marketing or text on the package? What is the mission of the text?
• D: for whom the text is intended? Your audience - it's freedom millenialy or serious representatives of generation X?
• K: how and in what style should be written in the text (the official marketing, humor, children)?
• TO: when you need to pass a job? Specify deadlines and dates of audits.
• FROM: how much you are willing to pay and how many revisions included in the price?

Copywriters usually do not like to revision, but it is important to insist on this. There is a high possibility that the first time your expectations do not coincide with the artist ideas. Do not be afraid to haggle.

You can say that will be glad to long-term cooperation in the case of the compatibility of your expectations and results. It's very motivating to perform a task perfectly and keep the customer behind him.

Secure your choice and turn intuition

Make a list of five candidates, and set each of these questions. Yes, it's expensive, but the final text - this is the face of your business.

On the above freelancing sites have the option to tender, where you can lay out a job description for all. Sift factor will serve as your quality and compiled brief test task.

The golden rule for effective work with a copywriter: 80% - quality compiled brief, 10% - patience, 10% - good luck.

3. A good copywriter - a good marketer

If your content is intended for an audience of the Internet, we can not forget about the basics of SEO, neuromarketing and the latest trends in copywriting.

According to the head of the international agency Express Writers, which provides services for content creation and work a freelance main filter in the selection of candidates value is a special test for these areas knowledge. And 90% did not pass.

What to do

Really effective content is associated with a complex of factors: well-placed marker requests, unique, visualization and clear text.

Stock freelancers often guilty zaspamlennye, water and stamps. To verify the uniqueness of the text, you can use the following resources:

• Edubirdie.com - the most convenient and free service that shows the percentage of the uniqueness of the text emphasizes commonly used words and gives the links where you can find identical content.
• Copyscape.com - can be compared to a web page or the text between the two options or to look for matches on the web. The last option fee and cost from three cents.
• Duplichecker.com - totally free without registration service to check the text for plagiarism.
• Quetext.com - service with a user-friendly interface, but the search does not work very well and is aimed more at academic materials.

To check whether a copywriter coped with the task, Chris Ribaud, SEO-specialist with the experience, results in six qualitative parameters: the uniqueness of the text, hold the attention of the header to the last point, easy to understand, fun to read, the depth of meaning and connects emotion.

Protect your content is unique and drives it through the three pairs of eyes.

It is very important if you create the text for the Landing or other problems showcase, sign agreement non-disclosure of confidential information as a copywriter, that it can not be used this work anywhere more. Here You can see the pattern.

The terms, which will be useful in dealing with foreign copywriters

• Text translation (translation) - translation of texts from one language to another without changing the meaning.
• Rewrite the text (rewriting) - written text in English requires meaningful improvements and changes in the structure.
• Prufrid (proofread) - correction of grammatical, lexical errors and typos.
• editing (editing) - proofreading text for lexical and semantic purity.
• Creation of content with SEO / without SEO - writing the text from scratch, taking into account the parameters of SEO-promotion.

results

1. Copywriter should be a native speaker of the country to which you output the product.
2. Copywriters are found on various websites and have different backgrounds and value of the work. Choose your profile and under budget.
3. Brief - this is important. Write it on the basis of five questions: "What?" "To whom?", "How?", "When?", "How much?"
4. Effective content born in combination with competent SEO, six structure and quality parameters. It is important to check the transaction before closing text to these criteria. If there are questions - feel free to submit material for revision.

see also

• How to hire and retain the best employees: personal experience →
• 10 useful tools for freelance →
• 6 simple rules of text formatting in Google Docs, so as not to enrage the editor →