5 Things to Consider When Hiring a Finnish Copywriter

Hiring a Finnish Copywriter – not as simple as it may sound. First of all, Finnish is a language spoken by only about 5 million people, and it’s a language like no other. At the same time Finland is one of the richest countries in the world, forerunners in many industries (like sustainable fashion and renewable energy), and is thus a very interesting market for many businesses from varied fields.

That is why it is essential that you make sure your website copy, social media captions and product descriptions are fluent in Finnish, SEO optimized and on-brand. But here’s where it gets tricky: Finns are notorious for being absolutely awful in sales and marketing. Humility is what society demands from Finns, and the saying “who has happiness, should hide it” is tattooed in every Finn’s DNA.

So, how on Earth could one find an inspiring, uplifting and an able Finnish Copywriter? I don’t want to brag, but honestly, you’re looking at her. 10 years lived abroad have taught me a thing or two about the fact that humility don’t butter no parsnips. And as a former shopaholic I know that inspiring, notice-worthy content is what consumers today want and need.

I could be blowing my own horn, but I am genuinely pointing OUT these next 5 things to save YOU time and money!

I’ve been in online marketing long enough to have seen it all. And while Finns do have a reputation as being honest, efficient workers, they also know how to cut corners to their own advantage. I want to help you avoid the copywriting pitfalls I see so many businesses falling into again and again.

Don’t be fooled by our round blue eyes, pale complexions and shy smiles, we Finns do know how to play the game called “Winner takes it all”. After you have spent an actual fortune on a Finnish Copywriter just to notice that the content actually isn’t up to the mark, it’s too late already. You’ve missed your spot on the Google Search’s top spot, and got no return for your investment.

Such misfortune can piss off anyone, but by checking just a couple things will ensure that you invest in something that actually pays you back with interest. Here’s what you need to know before you go hiring a Finnish Copywriter:

I saw a statistic once where Mandarin was said to be the most difficult language in the world. The number two spot had been given to my mother tongue, Finnish. And having grown up speaking, learning and writing, as well as comparing this language to the many languages I’ve lived amongst, I can confirm it to be near-impossible to learn properly.

You can learn the vocabulary, yes, but once you get to the actual grammar, you are faced with an exception to an exception, which is an exception from an exception. Trying to figure out how to form words with prepositions included (because they are included IN the words) takes a lifetime to master. So if your Finnish Copywriter isn’t native, you’re already in trouble.

You’ve tried it, right? You’ve taken a piece of text, Terms and Conditions perhaps, and slapped them on Google Translator to be translated into Finnish. How long did it take for you to realize that every Finn can recognize the text as non-native within a quarter of a second? Finns are some of the best-educated people in the world, and they know better than to trust a website or an email that isn’t proper Finnish.

So please, for your own sake, do not use Google Translator to replace a Finnish Copywriter! It will backfire quicker than you can say ‘cat’. This is because of the reason that I covered in Part 1: Finnish is such an incredibly complex language that even AI can’t be expected to get it. Add the cultural aspects and slang words in the mix (every city has their own dialect, so good luck with that), and Google seriously stands no chance.

As mentioned before, Finland is one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and thus it is logical that it is also one of the most expensive countries in the world. And I’m sorry, not sorry if I sound rude, but if you go offering a Finnish Copywriter 3 cents per word, you deserve to get pure shit in return.

As fast fashion has very clearly taught us: cheap means poor in every sense of the word. Especially when it comes to content and copywriting. You cannot expect to get quality if you are not prepared to appreciate the time and effort it takes to create THAT copy and content!

Oh yes, you will probably find someone on the freelancing platforms who is a native-speaker and agrees to work for 0,03€/word. But what that does, is to tell you a very clear tale: this is someone who has no prior experience in copywriting (because a professional copywriter would never agree to that), or someone who actually doesn’t even speak Finnish, but is happy to get the money. In both cases they are betting on the fact that you don’t understand what they deliver anyway.

Even if you don’t know what SEO is, your Copywriter must! Any sort of online marketing is 100% dependent on well created, SEO optimized copy, whether it’s on a website, on a social media channel or in a spoken format. At the same time fact is that SEO is something that many Finnish Copywriters do not comprehend.

Unfortunately I can’t tell you why this is, because I do not know. But I see a lot of text in Finnish where the keyword has clearly just been added to every other sentence, even though the keyword alone isn’t enough.

SEO is a mix of things, and yes, the center of that mix is the keyword. But the copy must include all the other ingredients as well, or there is no point to it. Make sure you hire a copywriter that actually knows the value that well created SEO copy can bring to a business as well as to a consumer.

Even though it is true that Google Translator can’t provide you with good Finnish copy, it does provide you with an amiable friend when it is time to check the copy you have been provided.

Even if you can’t use it to check grammar or spelling, you should definitely spend a few minutes to check that the content actually is what you ordered. Surely you want the copy to be 100% on-brand, right? I mean, it’s your business that is being marketed here, not the Copywriter’s ability to string a few words together.

Way too often I bump into articles in Finnish that are completely off-topic, or even include false information. And it astounds me! You wouldn’t want that, would you? Because fact is, if you allow such content to be published, it draws a very unprofessional image of you as well. And as a professional Copywriter, I‘m not sure I want to be associated with such unprofessionalism. A quick check only takes a couple minutes, but can save you a big buck.

If you didn’t notice from the headline, I have no humility-issues to get rid of.

I am your best Finnish Copywriter because I want to actually provide you with copy that brings in the customers, inspires those customers to become regular customers, and reflects straight onto your balance sheet.

With a proven track-record and a bunch of very happy clients, you don’t need to worry about whether I can actually provide quality content, and you know that the investment will actually be worth it.

I’m not just passionate about writing as such, but I also want to learn the stories behind the brands I work with, which plays straight into my copy and content being completely on-brand and suitable for your needs and wants specifically.

Why are you still reading? You should have booked an inquiry call with me by now! Well, you’re here now, so get clicking ASAP, before I’m fully booked with businesses around the world swarming behind my door to get their products and services noticed in the Finnish markets. Click below and let’s get to work!