10 Best Copywriter Interview Questions to Ask

Hiring a copywriter that aligns with your content process, understands your brand and delivers optimized copy is a crucial step in scaling your content marketing strategy. Walk into that meeting with a list of defined, high-level copywriter interview questions, and you’ll walk out with the best writer for the job.

A copywriting interview should include 4 primary topics of conversation:

• Content creation process: A thorough explanation of the writer’s content writing approach, including their research methods and copywriting process. An ideal candidate provides work samples of effective copy for websites, as well as their efficiency practices. What content management systems (CMS) and SEO tools are used to optimize and streamline their writing process?
• Brand adoption: A good copywriter adopts the client’s content marketing strategy and writing style. An ideal applicant or copywriting agency does initial homework on your brand’s tone and style prior to conducting an interview.
• SEO copywriting: Good copy informs, but great copy achieves visibility and converts readers. A hiring manager should ask potential copywriters about their SEO expertise and knowledge of current best practices for ranking in organic search.
• Career path and workload: Are there reasons a content creator will be distracted from writing copy for your brand? Are they able to write copy specific to your industry? And do they have the capacity to deliver quality content on your timeline?

This article provides 10 great questions to ask a copywriter during the interview process. These questions cover pertinent topics within the 4 categories listed above.

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3 Great Copywriter Interview Questions About Process

The first portion of copywriter job interview questions should reveal how the writer approaches content creation. Seek answers about their methodology, established processes, and ways to increase efficiency.

Can you talk me through your copywriting process from development through delivery?

Ask this interview question first. You’ll know immediately if you have a good candidate for your copywriter position. 

For seasoned copywriters and successful scalable content agencies like CopyDash, this question is easy. Process is everything to a qualified copywriter. 

A strong answer to this question involves detailed explanations of these 7 content development stages:

• Content structure and topic organization (“clusters”, etc.)
• Keyword research and selection
• Outline development
• Copywriting
• Copyediting and optimization
• Delivery method
• Ongoing QA, if needed

How do you adapt your writing style for different content formats — like webpages vs blog posts?

Writers should adapt to individual content formats and develop strategic methods for each. The outline structure, conversion copy and keyword selection for service webpages should look quite different than those associated with a blog post.

Don’t settle for vague answers here. Ask probing follow-up questions about differences in writing process between content formats. Look for smart, strategic choices in 3 areas:

• Head keywords vs. long-tail keywords
• Title and header conventions
• Vocabulary and semantic choices

If you have a working brand tone & style guide, share it with your chosen candidate during the onboarding process.

What CMS platforms allow you to increase writing process efficiency?

A content management system (CMS) platform is a software application that allows users to build and manage website content without using code. Great CMS tools offer front-facing solutions for adding text, image, video and existing templates. They also provide back-end management for data storage and content processing.

While there are multiple quality CMS platforms for copywriters and content marketers, look for a few recognizable names in your candidate’s answer:

• WordPress
• Contentful
• Webflow
• Hubspot CMS Hub
• Drupal (especially for a technical writer)

There’s no debate — read why outsourcing content marketing saves our average client 840 hours and 40-60% in content expenses per year.

Can Your Copywriting Service Adopt Your Brand?

Every content writer has hallmarks of their personal writing style. These don’t matter nearly as much as the ability to adopt your tone and style. 

Example: If a lifestyle blogger can’t adapt his style for sales copy about a software engineer, the tone and style won’t align.

These interview questions help your marketing manager identify a versatile copywriter who can adopt your brand’s identity.

What do you think about our current brand voice?

Learn whether a job applicant took the time to study your brand before the interview. Ask them to define your brand identity and tone of voice, then see how closely their answers match the truth.

If their analysis of your brand voice doesn’t align with your vision, 2 things could be true:

1. You don’t understand your own brand. (Less likely)
2. They walked into your interview blind, without researching your company. (More likely)

If the latter is true, it’s an indictment on how much emphasis the writer places on your project. By contrast, a successful answer to this question is a great show of faith from the candidate.

How would you develop content that resonates with our target audience?

Follow up the previous question with a deeper conversation about your target audience. It’s not always clear to a job applicant who you’re trying to reach, so share that information with the copywriter at this time.

Then, ask them what types of content resonate best with your preferred customer base. This question provides a moment for the writer to display content marketing strategy expertise and knowledge of specific demographics.

How to Hire an SEO Copywriter: Questions to Ask

Copywriting must create engagement with human readers. But ranking in organic search is the best way to guarantee increased website traffic, so driving human engagement through great SEO strategy is vital.

These are 2 excellent SEO questions to ask a copywriter in an interview:

What do you believe are current SEO best practices for copywriting?

The answer to this question should offer a working knowledge of how Google and other search engines analyze content.

Look for the applicant to cover 5 bullet points during this discussion:

• User intent: How does the copywriter use SEO tools to reveal user search intent? Do they find long-tail keywords offer valuable insight into what searchers want? Where else do they go for answers on user desires?
• On-page SEO: How does the writer approach keyword placement? Can they attentively follow your brand’s title and header conventions? Do they write killer meta descriptions? What’s their internal linking strategy?
• On-page media: Are there specific technical media insights they can offer? (Example: delivering on-page images as .webp files instead of .png or .jpg to enhance loading speed.)
• Opportunities: How does the writer gauge the importance of backlinks, guest posting, and regular QA updates to ensure content relevancy on Google search engine results pages (SERPs)?
• Ongoing education: Today’s best SEO practices may not be relevant in 12 months. Copywriting professionals must stay informed on current search engine trends and Google updates.

What SEO tools do you utilize in your writing process?

Proper use of SEO tools allows copywriters and agencies to optimize your content pieces for human readers and search engine visibility. A well-equipped toolkit of SEO software is what separates standard copywriters from professionals who reguarly produce articles that rank and drive organic traffic.

As with the CMS-related question above, look for specific answers to this question. Don’t be afraid to ask for clarifying details. For example, CopyDash proficiently utilizes these SEO tools in its content development process:

• Ahrefs
• Google Analytics
• Google Search Console
• Hubspot
• MarketMuse
• Semrush

Copywriter Interview Questions About Career Focus

During this interview stage, ensure the copywriter or agency has the requisite focus to craft copy for your industry or market sector. Also, set clear expectations for deliverable quality and your preferred content calendar.

Have you written content related to our industry before?

This question isn’t a full disqualifier — a great copywriter without pre-existing knowledge of your industry has streamlined research methods in place to quickly learn and adapt.

However, direct content creation experience in your industry or niche is a major plus. It saves upfront time on research, and allows you to review past work examples relevant to your market.

CopyDash matches each new client with its copywriting team members who offer the best working knowledge of their industry.

Does your current workload allow you to meet our timeline expectations?

Once you’ve established an interview subject as a potential hire, ensure they’ll follow your content calendar with no interruptions.

Simply put: does the writer have enough time to dedicate proper focus to your project? Your content strategy must include as much quality, evergreen content as possible — there’s no time for constant editing and QA when you’re scaling a business.

At CopyDash, our timeline for deliverables stands regardless of workload. 25 optimized articles in 15 business days, 50 articles in 30 business days, and 100 articles in 60 business days. Period.

How scalable is your content development process?

Your content marketing team should grow with you and help you grow simultaneously. All good content strategy must be scalable — if what you write isn’t elevating your brand, then it isn’t effective copy.

There are thousands of copywriters who “fulfill the brief” — check the keyword, copy and paste their outline format, and write using proven copy language that looks great on page.

Far fewer copywriters know how to optimize content at scale. Scalable content requires a focus on engaging formats, evergreen topics, and resonant copy that engages humans and search engines alike.

Scalability is the backbone of CopyDash’s content bundles and service offerings. We don’t just get you copy fast — we make sure that copy lasts.

5 More Great Questions to Ask During a Copywriter Interview

Got a little more time during your face-to-face or Zoom call? Here are 5 more great questions to ask a copywriter during an interview:

1. What do you think is the most challenging part of our job description? This interview questions clearly defines how well the candidate actually read your project outline. It also reveals whether the writer approaches a challenge with excitement or uncertainty.
2. What past copywriting project most reminds you of our project? A great question to ask copywriters to gauge their prior work history in your industry or a closely related field.
3. What’s your favorite aspect of our brand’s current tone and style? Has your potential copywriter cared enough to dive into your brand’s voice, tone and style before the interview? 
4. Where can I see related articles and other copy pertinent to our job listing? A self-explanatory question — get a closer look at past work samples. Ask the copywriter to curate their response with links to 2 or 3 specific content pieces.
5. Do you have any constructive criticism of our current content strategy? Let’s find out if the candidate is candid and knowledgeable. Can they provide valuable insight into ways they’ll improve upon your current content, and tangible examples of how they’d do so?

Ask Us Your Copywriter Interview Questions!

It’s important to conduct a copywriting job interview with a list of defined, unique questions. These help your hiring manager avoid candidates who regurgitate a sample answer list they read on someone else’s blog.

Ask your copywriter questions that demand specificity and concrete examples. Give them a platform where they’re forced to display expertise — you’ll learn quickly whether or not they actually have it.

CopyDash’s owner has 15+ years of content marketing and copywriting knowledge. He meets every new client directly for a free one-on-one strategy session. And he’d love to answer all the questions you have.

Schedule a complimentary strategy session with our founder — it takes less than 90 seconds to get started!