Most small-business websites read the same: bland, vaguely positive, technically correct, and completely forgettable. The reason is usually the brief. Writers can only produce what the client describes; vague brief, vague output. The fix is upstream of the writer.
How to brief a copywriter
Half a page is enough:
- What is this for? A specific webpage? A press release? A proposal section? Different beasts.
- Who reads it? Not "everyone." A specific person — an SME owner shopping for an accountant, a homeowner looking for a roofer, a procurement manager comparing software vendors.
- What do you want them to do after reading? Phone you? Submit a form? Just understand?
- What's the single most important thing for them to take away? One sentence. If you can't write it, the writer can't either.
- Three pieces of competitor copy. Two you like, one you don't. Specific examples beat adjectives.
- Length and format. 800 words on a webpage. 200 words for an email. 60 words on a leaflet.
What you should expect to pay
Irish copywriting rates in 2026 (rough bands):
- €80–€180 for a single landing page — entry-level freelancer, fast turnaround, suitable for foundational website pages.
- €250–€500 for a long-form article (1,500–2,500 words, researched) — experienced freelancer.
- €600–€1,200/day for senior copywriters doing brand voice work, campaign copy, or substantial editorial.
- €2,500+ for a full website's copy from someone who can interview your team and produce six to ten coherent pages.
Anyone offering "10 SEO-optimised blog posts for €100" is reselling generic AI output. The cost-per-word is too low for human writing — be honest about which you're buying.
Spotting AI-generated filler in 2026
- The rule-of-three structure repeated everywhere. Every section has three bullet points; every list has three items; every paragraph has three sentences. Human writers vary.
- Empty-calorie phrases. "In today's fast-paced world." "Game-changer." "Cutting-edge solution." "Empower your business." All flag-words for AI output (or, fairly, lazy human writing).
- No specifics. Generic copy says "we deliver excellent service." Specific copy says "we returned 17% of customer queries within 90 minutes last month." AI struggles to invent the specifics.
- Confident factual claims with no source. AI is fluent and confident, including about things it's wrong about. Verify any claim of statistics, percentages, or named institutions.
Used well — for first drafts, for outlines, for breaking writer's block — AI is a useful tool. As the finished product, it shows.
The single rule of website copy
Every page should answer the question: what is this, and why should the reader care? in the first two sentences. If they have to scroll to find out, you've already lost most of them.