I can't believe this hasn't been covered before, but every time I search I get buried in posts about price. What is the norm in the copywriting industry (articles) for requirements? What is expected from me as a client? Do you need a profile of my site visitors? outlines? all the research? or do I need to write the article and have the writer rewrite it? Maybe I'm stupid, but in reviewing other ads I just don't understand how decent work could possibly get done.
What you are seeing in the ads is just the initial inquiry. Once the client has chosen the copywriter they want, there is usually an additional consultation either via phone, IM, Skype, email, whatever to discuss the parameters of the article and to get more information about your business. As for writing the article yourself, if you want to have complete control over content included and how the content is presented, you can certainly do that and hire a proofreader or editor to review it and make changes. Outlines are a big help but when you work with a professional you'll find they actually do that for you as part of the process. Any specifics you can share about your visitors and industry are always helpful but again, a good copywriter knows where to find this information if you don't have it. Remember- copywriters are marketers. They know how to capture your target and how to compel them to act. The most important thing for you to do is hire the right one since so many writers profess to be copywriters but really aren't that good at it. Good luck
Any copywriter worth their salt should be asking for much more detailed information once you've contacted them about the project. They should be reviewing the project details you send them, and unless you're extremely thorough they should have plenty of followup questions about the very things you mention (and more) - what kind of research is expected (or if you already have material you want included), who your visitors are, what you're hoping to achieve with those visitors and the copy they're writing, etc. Whether or not you send them an outline is really up to you and depends on whether or not you need something highly specific. If they're not showing a genuine interest by checking out your site and asking questions, you should probably run. In general, it doesn't hurt to give a lot of details up front. For example, if you were looking for SEO content, you might want to send them your target keywords. If you were looking for sales copy you might want to send them info on past conversions, the demographics of the market you're targeting, and info on the product. Those are bare bones things though. They should be able to guide you from there as to what they'll need.
This is my checklist for when clients ask me to do jobs for them. I follow my 5 point checkpoints: 1. Who is your audience 2. Is this for personal use (such as am I writing as say you would or is this informational) 3. I like to ask for the websites, but sometimes people are a little weary as they fear someone might rip the idea off. So they'll ask me to research it. 4. What is the time frame you are desiring. When they tell you this, it's a great way to estimate costs. 5. Do you want the articles to follow a sequence? Meaning the articles are all connected in some way or another. --- You can have your own way, but I have found that the more questions answered equals less confusion and more ability to express what you are trying to accomplish when completing these projects for your potential clients. Another thing you might want to do is talk with them on the phone and if the project is large give them 48 hour updates. You gain trust and you build repoire. Hope that helps, JAM