Shoud I hire a copywriter?

Just like websites, game-changing products are launched every day and nobody comes to play with them.

Oftentimes in this situation, business owners trying to “push” their products and services on the saturated market will hire development companies and agencies to design or redesign their website.

A lot of them turn to agencies because they can’t code, but even those who can are happier outsourcing the project to a professional.

After all, the professionals have done it a thousand times before, they have many more ideas at hand, and they will save the business owner the time they’d waste trying to figure out how to DIY the website.

The time business owners could be investing in doing the work they are great at.

The true reason business owners do not hire professional copywriters

But as eager as business owners are to trust the agency with the code, they are just as reluctant to let a professional take care of the content on their website.

“Hire someone else to write about my business?”, asks the business owner with a raised eyebrow.

If there is a person fluent in English, who knows how to write, and possesses all the information that could be necessary to produce the content right in their head, why on Earth would the business owner hire someone else to do what they can easily do?

And they are certainly right about one thing. No one will ever know their business as they do.

What they don’t know is nobody has to.

The content on a company’s website is neither supposed to provide details about the company nor to list product features one after another.

Are you the best writer for your business?

Website content should communicate with the company’s target audience bearing a couple of goals in mind.

• Firstly, content should persuade potential customers that the product or service is valuable (i.e., show customers how they are going to benefit from it).
• Secondly, it should prove that it’s worth the potential customer’s resources (explain why they should invest in it).
• Finally, it should achieve those goals in a language that makes the potential customers feel excited, as well as find the balance between being informative and being relatable.

Originality is also very important, so no copy-pasting from all over the Internet.

Now, how much time would it take that same business owner to write such content?

Can they afford to invest their own time writing up website content, or is it smarter to invest in professional content writing service?

To hire a copywriter or not to hire a copywriter?

Anyone who’s surfed the Net for more than 20 minutes is aware that many business owners don’t give their website content too much thought. Surely enough, their websites are filled with big words, but oftentimes those words carry little meaning.

We’re bringing you 10 common reasons business owners don’t hire professional content-writing services, along with 10 reasons they might want to rethink that.

1. “I can write sentences in English.”

Just like great design incorporates invisible but effective design tricks that help businesses convert more visitors, copywriters know how to write to incite action.

From writing intriguing product descriptions to placing call-to-action phrases that motivate visitors to subscribe to a newsletter or make a purchase, a professional copywriter knows how to make your customer put a little extra in their shopping basket.

Copywriters know how to write for action and results.

2. “It’s important that I get the message through, even if my grammar is not 100%.”

There are some scenarios when this is absolutely true and charming, like in the case of a tourist trying to impress a hotel receptionist by uttering a few words of the local language. However, when a business communicates poorly, it’s far from charming. It’s unprofessional.

Multiple elements of language ultimately form the brand’s voice, such as grammar, tone of voice, language style, subtle shades of meaning, and content structure, and unless you’re language professional it will be more efficient to leave that to content writers.

Proper English is more professional.

3. “I know what I want to say about my company.”

Do you know what your target audience wants to hear? Oftentimes, companies write whole websites centered around “I”, “We”, and “Our” sentence forms as they are trying to convince potential customers that their company provides a high-quality service or product.

Copywriters will transform all the “I”s into “You”s, because they know that website visitors are there to find out what you can do for them; how your service can make their life easier or better; how they can benefit from your product.

Copywriters speak the language of target users.

4. “Nobody knows more about my business than I do.”

If you’re in luck and hire a copywriter who specializes in the niche your business is in, the research part will probably last shorter.

However, it’s not crucial for an experienced copywriter to have personal experience with the topic they are writing about, because they know what questions to ask and how to get the information they need.

By the time any common sense words hit the writer’s screen, they have already done hours of research on the topic.

A lot of copywriting time is dedicated to research.

5. “What do you mean not everything about my product/service is important?”

When it comes to their business, everything seems important because they know how much effort went into building every part of it.

However, the target audience is interested in one thing only: what the product or service will do for them.
Streamlining the plentiful information about a business is crucial, and copywriters know what to focus on.

Copywriters emphasize the important stuff.

6. “SEO what?”

You’ve probably Googled something a million times. If you’re like most people, you won’t go past the first five listings on a search engine results page. In fact, websites on the first search engine results page account for almost 95% of web traffic. But do you know how those websites get to the first page?

They get there because they tick many of the search engine optimization (SEO) algorithm boxes. This includes placing certain terms and phrases strategically throughout the structure of your website with the goal of crafting expert material for you, Google and the reader.

SEO algorithms change often, so it’s better to have someone up to date with Google’s changes all the time!

Copywriters know how to push you higher on search engines.

7. “I already have a stunning web design that will attract potential customers.”

There’s no doubt that appealing website design creates a stunning first impression of your brand. However, it’s your message that will determine what happens next.

Will you motivate an audience to explore your offer further? What happens if you don’t manage to hook them? The answer is high bounce rates, which means visitors coming to your website and leaving shortly.

When you are filling your website with content, you should definitely be aligned with the development and design teams, and communication is even easier if the development, design and content teams are all sitting at the same office.

For instance, our teams can work remotely, but we found that in-person workshops provide optimal UX and copywriting results. If that’s physically impossible, doing a Google Hangout is your second-best option.

Either way, all teams are included in the project from the wireframe stage to the website launch, making any required changes to the website quick and efficient.

The design, development and content teams work together closely – and quickly.

8. “I’m in a hurry and I can’t find anyone by tomorrow.”

Expecting a copywriter to just get down to the writing and deliver a couple of pages of text in one sitting because they are good at writing is like expecting an engineer to build a Lamborghini from a random box of car parts because they’re good with mechanics.

Great content is not just words bound together in sentences and paragraphs. It is the result of a process that includes research, brainstorming, writing, a couple of rounds of editing, and proofreading – to name the most prominent parts.

This process takes time, but considering this copy will probably remain on your website for a while, it’s time worth waiting for.

Correcting bad content takes longer than writing great content from scratch.

9. “I need website copy and ad copy with the same message, and they want me to pay for each.”

It takes the same amount of effort to write a full-page text and 150 characters of ad copy, and the process is a separate one for each of the content pieces.

Condensing a text without compromising the message and meaning is not an easy job, so if you have long documents and brochures about a product, it pays off to hire a professional to transfer the main message in a limited format.

A 500-word text and 150 characters text can’t be the same piece of content, even if the message is the same.

10. “I don’t need someone to create my message for me.”

A copywriter cannot create your message. Your vision and mission are what guided you through the creation of your business in the first place, and that’s where your message comes from.

That message belongs entirely to you, and the copywriter is here to make that message sound convincing and inspire your audience to action.

Copywriters will give more power and action to your message.

In the end, you get what you paid for

As true as that is, it’s not the takeaway I want you to leave with from this article.

If I managed to demonstrate the importance of great content to you, my work here is done. It doesn’t even matter how you get it – whether you’ll spend hours reading literature on efficient copywriting or outsource the content to a professional.

I want you to realize that words and sentences do not equal content. Content is made up of simultaneously informative, engaging and persuasive constructions which come in various shapes and sizes.

If you decide to go with a professional writer, I must stress that making a decision based on the cost isn’t the best criterium. Go for experience and a proven track record instead.

And remember that copywriters are experts in language, but proper use of language is just one skill they possess.

Their true expertise is using proper language as a tool in finding the right words, selling without sounding ‘salesy’ and crafting a powerful message that will resonate with your audience.