Questions to ask a conversion copywriter before hiring

You've found a conversion copywriter whose portfolio looks solid. Now comes the tense part: you're about to spend real money, and you need to know whether they'll actually move your customers toward a purchase. The wrong questions lead to vague promises. The right ones reveal whether someone understands your business, your customer, and the mechanics of persuasion.

Does your process start with research or with writing?

A copywriter who jumps straight to words is already steering you wrong. The best ones ask for—and dig into—your customer data, past campaigns, competitor moves, and sales objections before they write a single line.

Good answer: "I always start by understanding your audience. I want to know who's clicking, who's hesitating, what questions they ask in your DMs or support inbox, and what your sales team hears when someone walks away. Then I look at your past copy—what worked, what didn't—and I run through competitors to see what angles they're missing. Only then do I draft."

Evasive answer: "I've written thousands of ads. I know what sells. I can start next week." This person is selling their confidence, not their process. They're also likely to produce generic copy that sounds polished but doesn't address *your* specific customer problem.

What metrics do you use to define "working copy"?

Conversion isn't magic. It's measured. If your copywriter can't explain which numbers matter for your goal—whether that's email opens, click-through rates, cart additions, or qualified leads—they're flying blind.

Good answer: "It depends on what you're optimising for. Are we chasing clicks, or do you care more about who arrives and what they do next? Let's pick 2–3 metrics that directly tie to revenue, then we'll A/B test so we know which version actually performs better."

Evasive answer: "Everyone will love this copy" or "It'll go viral." These are feelings, not measures. Copy that converts may not be the copy that *sounds* best to you in the draft stage.

How do you handle it if the copy doesn't perform?

This question exposes whether they're willing to stand behind their work or whether they take the cheque and disappear. A copywriter worth hiring isn't afraid of revisions tied to real results.

Good answer: "We'll run the copy live for long enough to get meaningful data. If it underperforms, I'll review what we learned—audience fit, offer clarity, positioning—and we iterate. I build a revision round into my proposal so we're not guessing."

Evasive answer: "Copy quality and performance are two different things." Technically true, but it's a dodge. A conversion specialist knows the audience, the offer, and the messaging must align. They should be invested in the outcome, not just delivery.

What's your experience with my specific channel and audience?

Copy for a LinkedIn B2B offer is a different animal from a Facebook video ad or a Shopify product page. Don't assume expertise travels.

Good answer: "I've run copy for [your channel] in [your industry] before. Here's a case study." Or: "I haven't, but here's my process for learning your channel's norms and your audience's behaviour quickly." Both are honest.

Evasive answer: "Copy is copy." It isn't. Platform constraints, audience expectations, and conversion funnels are all different.

Will you share how you'll test and iterate?

You're not just paying for one draft. You're paying for someone who can diagnose why copy isn't converting and adjust intelligently, not randomly.

Good answer: A copywriter will explain their testing philosophy—A/B testing headlines, testing urgency angles, testing benefit-versus-feature emphasis—and show past examples of how they refined copy based on performance.

Evasive answer: "I'll write it, you'll launch it, and it'll work." Conversion rarely happens on draft one. Anyone who promises it does is either selling to very easy audiences or ignoring the data.

Before you commit, ask to see examples where their copy actually drove conversions for someone in your space. Request references who can speak to how the collaboration went and whether results matched expectations. These conversations will quickly separate writers who understand persuasion from those who just write nicely.

When you're ready, Strove's verified copywriters are ready to interview on your terms—compare their answers, check their work, and hire the one who asks *you* the hard questions too.