Through my 8 years of experience as a SaaS copywriter, I’ve learned that some clients do great hiring freelance copywriters and implementing their Google Doc deliverables, while others would be better off hiring an agency.
Keep reading this blog post to determine which type of client you are, and save yourself a lot of money and stress by making the right decision.
What are the main differences between SaaS copywriters and SaaS marketing agencies?
SaaS copywriting requires more than just writing.
A good SaaS copywriter often provides customer research, competitor research, SEO research, and strategy. Some might provide campaign implementation services like loading content into your email service provider or CMS or managing other freelance resources such as virtual assistants and graphic designs. Some might also offer reporting and campaign analytics.
A good SaaS marketing agency, on the other hand, will definitely offer end-to-end strategy, campaign management, and reporting. Those things aren’t a maybe, or at least they shouldn’t be.
When should you choose a SaaS copywriter?
Big caveat: This is assuming the copywriter is good at what they do and (based on their case studies and the quality of your SaaS product) has a high probability of delivering on their promises.
Big caveat number 2: This also depends on the project. Website projects and SEO content are easy to pull off with freelancers.
If a few of these apply to you, then hiring a SaaS copywriter is the right move:
- You need help establishing your messaging and would rather work with a single expert.
- You want a direct relationship with the people working on your marketing.
- You want to own the process and know what’s working and why so you can replicate it.
- You want to save money managing freelancers rather than paying agencies to do it for you.
- You believe that messaging leads copy which leads design.
- The SaaS copywriter can pretty much manage themselves.
- You have someone who can manage the SaaS copywriter and implement their work.
- The SaaS copywriter is willing to manage other freelancers on your team (and experienced in this).
- You already have an agency that’s good at everything else, but their copy isn’t great and you want to provide better copy for them to use.
When should you choose a SaaS marketing agency?
Big caveat: This is assuming the agency is good at what they do and (based on their case studies and the quality of your SaaS product) has a high probability of delivering on their promises.
Big caveat number 2: Paid advertising campaigns, account-based marketing, cold email campaigns, email marketing optimization, and other channels can be harder to manage with freelancers.
If a few of these apply to you, then hiring a SaaS marketing agency is the right move:
- You’d rather spend more money to increase your chances of results with a complex campaign.
- You’re inexperienced in managing this type of campaign.
- You don’t have any other talent required to implement the project or campaign.
- You can’t find a copywriter with the add-on skills you need (referring you to designers, managing other resources, strategy, etc.)
- You’re trying to get results from something highly specialized, like cold email which requires domain warm-up, deliverability optimization, etc.
- You want very accurate and in-depth reporting.
I hope this helps you make the right choice!
There’s no right answer for any team. It all depends on what you’re trying to do and how confident you are that you can execute it well.
You might hire an agency for some things (like Google ads) and a freelancer for other things (like SEO content and web pages).
If you think a copywriter is the right fit for your project or campaign, get in touch with me.