How to Choose the Right Pet Writer for Your Business
Looking for a pet writer to help your business grow with expert words?
I’m here to help! This guide will walk you through exactly what you need to do to find a writer for your pet business.
Let’s not waste a second – read on to learn more.
How to pick the right pet writer for your pet brand - step-by-step
Long story short, to find the right writer, you need to:
Decide on what type of pet writer you need
Set your budget
Decide between a marketing agency, freelancer or in-house writer
Source potential pet copywriters
Interview your shortlist of writers
Let’s expand on that, shall we?
1. Decide on what type of pet writer you need
The first question to ask yourself is do you need a pet copywriter or a pet content writer?
What’s the difference?
I like to say: Content writing attracts. Copywriting sells.
If you’re looking for:
SEO blogs
Email newsletters
Social media captions
Podcast show notes
YouTube video descriptions
…then you’re in need of a pet content writer.
Content writing is more focused on driving traffic, building an audience and engaging that audience with helpful or entertaining content.
Alternatively, written pieces like:
Websites
Sales pages
Landing pages
Email sales campaigns
Lead magnets
Product descriptions
…are handled by pet copywriters.
Copywriting has more of a direct-response sales approach. The intent is to use persuasive language to encourage the reader to buy, enquire, or sign up. These also tend to be one-off pieces whereas content writing is more regular.
Perhaps you need a combination of both to hit the ground running with your new pet brand.
That’s entirely possible! For example, I do a combination of pet copywriting and content writing depending on my client’s needs.
So ask yourself what specific services do you require? How often do you require them? And how much do you have to spend?
Let’s talk about budgeting next.
2. Set your budget
Talking about money so soon? Yes!
One of the biggest mistakes I made in my first business as a destination wedding planner was not defining my budget strictly enough when I wanted to outsource.
Instead, I skipped to step 3 (defining the type of professional I needed) without thinking about my bottom line.
So I urge you to think of the money early on when searching for a pet writer.
Now this is easier to define for copywriting projects where you just pay once.
For example, on average, a pet copywriter will charge £500 - £3,000+ for a website.
But for ongoing content writing, you need to know exactly how much you can spare each month.
Blog writing for pet businesses varies from £50 to £500+ per piece depending on the length and expertise of the writer.
Some content writers price their services per word. A good rate is £0.20-0.50 per word.
If you have a small budget, you might only be able to afford one or two blogs per month.
With a bigger budget, you can scale faster by commissioning eight to twelve blogs per month.
That’s not to say that you can’t grow with a smaller budget. You can build up SEO for your pet business with just two blogs per month.
Work with what you have.
3. Decide: Agency, freelancer, or in-house?
So which is better – a marketing agency, in-house or a freelance pet writer?
Honestly, it depends on you! To break it down:
Marketing agency
A marketing agency is a company that takes care of your marketing needs. They have a team of in-house or freelance writers. You rarely have a relationship with the writers who produce your content. Instead, you’ll liaise with an account manager who manages the writer’s work for you. Marketing agencies are the most expensive but they also tend to be multimodal. So they can offer marketing strategy, SEO blogging, social media, website creation, and more for one set fee.In-house copywriter
If you want a writer to live and breathe your brand with zero distractions, you can hire an in-house writer. Your in-house writer will be available full-time for all of your content needs. This is a great option if you’re in a position to expand your team. However, having an in-house writer can be costly – especially if your business isn’t large enough to provide consistent work.Freelance pet writer
Freelance pet writers (like me) are often solopreneurs that you can hire on a per project or ongoing basis. They tend to cost less than a marketing agency but they may have fewer services on offer.
In a nutshell…
…if you’re a medium to large business with clear KPIs and a large amount to spend, a marketing agency is best for you.
…if you want to expand your team and you have consistent need for new written work, an in-house copywriter is best for you.
…if you want a relationship with an individual copywriter that gets your brand but have a more modest budget, a freelance pet writer is best for you.
Me, pet content writing with one of my favourite pet sitting clients.
4. Source potential pet copywriters
Where do you find good pet writers? Excellent question.
I would say:
Google: Good old Google will deliver you some great options for pet copywriters or pet content writers. You can also search for marketing agencies that service the pet niche – though these are few and far between.
LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a great place to search for freelancers, marketing agencies and in-house copywriters. You can also create a job listing for the services you require and watch the applications roll in.
Social media: Use strategic hashtags like #petwriter, #petcopywriter or #petcontentwriter to find potential writers for your business. By consuming their content, you’ll get a feel for whether they can help you with your specific goals.
Word of mouth: As a petpreneur, you probably know other pet business owners. Ask around for recommendations.
Once you have a shortlist of copywriters you’re interested in working with, you need to have a call with them. Let’s talk about the selection phase.
Photo of me writing by Look Imaginary Photography
5. Interview the writers
So how do you vet the pet writers you’re considering?
I recommend a call over email exchange because it’s important you have a good working relationship.
Because, unfortunately, not every writer will work for every business.
Even I turn down businesses if I don’t think we’ll be a good fit or the work required is not within my wheelhouse.
So as you’re interviewing potential writers, here are 10 questions you can ask:
How do you work?
What do you need from me to produce the best work?
Can you upload work directly to my website/social media/email platform?
How do you incorporate feedback into your work?
What is your proficiency level with SEO?
Can you help me achieve ___? (e.g. higher Google ranking, more email engagement, more traffic, more followers, increased sales)
Do you help with marketing/SEO strategy?
Do you have set packages or do you create custom packages?
Could I see a copy of your contract?
Have you worked with pet businesses before? Can I see your portfolio?
To be honest, there are no right or wrong answers here. It just depends on what you’re looking for.
In the next bit, we’ll talk about what makes a good pet writer and how you can tell if someone is right for you.
Me, a pet copywriter writing. Photo by Look Imaginary.
What to look for when hiring a pet writer?
Outsourcing your brand voice is tricky. You need to find a person that resonates with your business. Here are some qualities to look out for:
Quality writing
You’re probably thinking “Well, duh!”
And I don’t blame you. But do you know what quality writing is in objective terms?
That’s the thing. “Quality writing” is inherently a subjective term. So instead of thinking about what makes good writing in general, here are some stylistic things to define for yourself.
How conversational is their writing? Is it to your liking?
How poetic is their writing? Is it to your liking?
How professional is their writing? Is it to your liking?
How do they use storytelling in their work?
Do they use the grammar system you prefer? And if not, are they versatile?
How do they structure their work? For example, do their websites flow? Are their blogs easy to read?
Most content and copywriting have a conversational tone
Good communication
Your pet writer is a valued member of your team and therefore should be a good communicator.
That doesn’t mean that they should be available 24/7. On the contrary. Clear boundaries are important.
However, you want a writer who will respond to you in good time and make themselves available for questions and feedback.
For example, I have a 72 hour rule for responding to emails and include regular optional progress calls in my packages.
The enquiry stage is often one of the best ways to tell a writer’s communication style. I recommend, talking to a few writers and see what works for you.
Knowledgeable about pets (and their owners)
Now there’s an argument to say that any good writer should be able to research a topic thoroughly. I should know – I’ve written about everything from personal finance to real estate.
But let’s be real. Only an animal lover can capture the joy of having a pet.
And the truth is, Google is moving towards more personal stories as opposed to generic advice posts that could be written by AI.
SEO blog posts are no longer about “How to do X”, but “How I did X”.
Capturing those kinds of personal stories is only possible when it’s written by a bonafide pet lover.
But experience with pets comes in multiple forms, right?
Take me for example. I have experience working in rescue shelters, pet sitting, and caring for elderly dogs.
You might be seeking someone with a veterinary degree for a more scientific angle.
The level of expertise you need depends on your audience.
Attention to detail
A good writer should be able to edit their own work.
That doesn’t just mean correcting spelling and grammar mistakes. It also means writing in the correct dialect (i.e. American, British, Canadian, or Australian English).
For me, attention to detail extends beyond what’s written on the page. Staying focused on my client’s ideal audience helps me to write better content. And the devil’s in the detail there.
A writer with a detailed editing process not only stamps out errors, but adds in flair that speaks to your ideal customers.
Expert researcher
Unfortunately, the internet is full of fluff. Particularly in the
I should know – I’m wading through the detritus all of the time!
A top pet content writer should know the best resources on pet care. That goes beyond just the first page of Google.
To write interesting original content, pet writers use a combination of:
Research papers
Documentaries
Expert interviews
Forums
Customer interviews
Respected pet blogs
Books by pet experts
Personal experience
SEO knowledge
This is not a prerequisite, but if you want any SEO work done, you should seek out someone who knows about SEO.
Now there are different degrees of SEO: technical SEO, on-page SEO, off-page SEO, etc.
As writers, we typically work with on-page, content-led SEO techniques as opposed to technical SEO. Some writers do offer that service but it’s generally different to the writing itself.
If you just want beautiful words and are not concerned about SEO, that’s okay too!
Your website can still be found by your dream clients without a dedicated SEO strategy. But it may take a lot longer.
Could I be the right pet writer for your business?
I hope this article helped you figure out how to choose the best pet writer for your business.
If you need enthralling, well-researched blogs for your pet brand, perhaps I could help!
I specialise in creating content that attracts and converts your dream pet owners. You can check out my pet content writing services here to learn more!
Ta ta for now,
Olivia
