Should You Hire a Copywriter?

We have worked with hundreds of different businesses creating websites and brands. Each one has different timelines for when they want their new website to go live – and we’ve noticed one common issue that holds up a successful launch.

The website copy.

The text, the words your customers read to know more about your business.

Business managers may not realize that the website content needs to come from somewhere and most of the time they are the ones stuck with having to write it – on top of all their other duties. In a second they are expected to be a copywriter.

Writing Copy Yourself

Speaking face-to-face about your business is a skill any manager is strong at, but we communicate differently in person than we do in writing. You have the benefit of gestures and verbal emphasis, you can use run-on sentences and anecdotes, and you get cues from the listeners themselves. You see if they are engaged or if they are bored.

You may have been a great writer in college but website copy shouldn’t read like an essay. Copywriting follows flexible rules. It should be skimmable, friendly, and help the reader find what they need.

Copywriting is Important

47% of buyers viewed 3-5 pieces of content before engaging with a sales rep. (Demand Gen Report, 2016) (Source: https://www.hubspot.com/marketing-statistics)

Your written copy is an important step in the modern buying process – make sure it’s the strongest communication possible.

You Can’t Copy and Paste

Though they won’t penalize you, Google doesn’t give you any points for having website content scraped from other sources.  Not only is it old-fashioned plagiarism, but it doesn’t add to the collective information of the internet. Users turn to search engines to learn more about products and services, when they’ve encountered information they’ve seen before, they quickly click away to find new info. When it comes time for them to make a purchase, they recall the most helpful information source and trust them with their sale.

Should You Hire A Copywriter?

Yes, if you can afford it, let a professional do the hard work.

If that just doesn’t fit in your budget here are some things to be aware of:

• Industry Jargon – you may take industry concepts and terminology for granted. I can’t tell you how many intelligent clients I have confused with what I thought were simple terms. ( My favorite was when a business owner thought ‘pay-per-clicks’ were just a type of office supply. 📎)
• Limited Point of View – You may not be able to remove yourself far enough away from your own business processes. Your content needs to be tailored to the individual point of view of your target audience. Copywriters have years of training to morph their writing style to fit different purposes.
• Purpose of Text – To elaborate more on the different purposes of your text, you need to think about how your content will be read. Is it a blog post? An image caption, a social media post, or is it an in-depth whitepaper? There are appropriate writing styles for each format.

Good Copy Isn’t a Lynchpin to Success

You could have JK Rowling write your copy but that doesn’t guarantee you sales success. (Well, ok it might, but that’s really from a celebrity endorsement and not because of astounding copy.) You need the tools, strategies, and branding in place to nurture your leads and motivate them to spend money with you.

The real factor in your decision should be how much time do you have?

If you’ve got the time, go ahead and tap out the content on your QWERTY slab, we can even edit it for you and optimize it for search engines (SEO). But if you’d rather focus on running your business, then consider hiring a copywriter.

You will then have the time to focus on website conversion and promotions. Also, what to do with the cash waterfall that just opened up above you thanks to your website.