How to choose a copywriter for ads and sales pages that sell

You've got a product or service worth selling, but your ads aren't landing and your sales page feels flat. You've decided a copywriter is the answer—now the harder part: figuring out which one actually knows how to write copy that moves people to buy, not just copy that sounds good.

The difference is real, and it hinges on a few concrete things you can spot before you hire. Most copywriters can turn a phrase. The ones who can sell know something else: they understand how your buyer thinks, what objection sits in their head, and exactly when to plant the hook. Spotting that skill early saves you money and time.

The work they've done and what it proves

When you ask a copywriter for samples, don't just look at the writing itself. Look at the *context* around it. Ask: "Was this for a real product launch? Who was the audience? What happened after you published it?" A copywriter worth hiring can walk you through the thinking behind each piece—why they opened that way, what buyer pain they were addressing, which objection they tackled where.

The strongest signal is when they can show you before-and-after—not just the final ad or page, but the research or brief that came before it. Even better: they can tell you honestly whether something worked or didn't, and why they think that happened. If they only share work they're proud of aesthetically, that's a yellow flag. Selling copy often isn't pretty. It's clear and it works.

For your specific job—ads and sales pages—look for samples in your ballpark. A copywriter who has written email sequences for SaaS might nail a sales page for enterprise software, but may flounder writing Facebook ads for a local service. Industry crossover is possible, but you want evidence they've worked in the territory you're in. Ask them to name a competitor or two whose copy they respect, and why. If they can't articulate it, they're pattern-matching, not thinking.

Vetting their actual approach

A strong copywriter doesn't start writing. They start asking. Before they touch ad copy or a sales page, they should want to know:

• Who exactly is your buyer, and what's their situation right now?
• What's the one thing you want them to do (click, buy, sign up)?
• What stops them from doing it? What's the objection living rent-free in their head?
• Why you, not someone else? What's genuinely different about what you offer?
• What offer or promise are you making, and is it real?

If a copywriter wants to jump straight to "let me see your current ads" or asks vague questions like "what's your brand voice?", they're not thinking like a seller. They're thinking like a stylist. The ones who ask sharp, specific questions about your buyer and your offer are the ones who write copy that converts because they've done the hardest work first—figuring out what to *say*, not just how to say it prettily.

You should also get a feel for how they handle feedback. Ask them what happens if their first draft doesn't land with you, or if your results come back and the copy underperforms. Do they get defensive, or do they treat it as information? The best ones treat copy like a hypothesis to test, not a masterpiece to defend. They'll want to know what the actual numbers say—click-through rates, conversion rates, cost per acquisition—because that's their measuring stick, not their ego.

One more thing: ask them how they'd price your specific job and why. A copywriter who gives you a flat rate for "a sales page" without asking how long it is, how many versions you'll need, or how much research is involved hasn't thought it through. The vague quote is often a sign they'll disappear once the work gets real.

The copywriter who matters for ads and sales pages is the one who treats your job like a puzzle to solve, not a brief to pretty up. They know their past work inside out, they ask the questions that get to what actually sells, and they're comfortable letting results—not feelings—prove the copy works. When you find that person, your ads and sales page have a fighting chance.