Unfortunately, copywriting is still not a well-recognised industry in Australia.
However, copywriters are really just small business owners like you.
These small business owners simply write to help other businesses achieve their commercial goals for a living.
Specifically, Hubspot defines copywriting as “words, either written or spoken, (that) marketers use to try to get people to take an action after reading or hearing them.”
Importantly, this doesn’t mean that all copywriting is short advertising slogans and product descriptions. Long form copywriting that helps people with information and gives them a taste of what a business offers is also important.
All writing is of course carried out with one goal or another in mind, with copywriting simply focused on financial goals. A healthy set of financials is of course critical to any business.
Copywriting isn’t rocket science, and it shouldn’t ever be presented with marketing buzzwords and meaningless acronyms.
Copywriting is however extremely important these days, for five reasons:
1. Your website is too important to make it a bland and lifeless experience that doesn’t rank
Unlike in the past when people relied on brochures or print advertisements to hear or read about your business, they can now simply go to your website any time of the day or night from anywhere in the world to find out information about you. This is thanks to the one of the most awesome and beautiful inventions of the last 100 years, the internet.
So your website is an extremely valuable and permanently available tool that can either attract people to your business or repel them, within a matter of seconds.
There are so many websites that miss this opportunity. Businesses chuck any old words up on their site, and even their about us page doesn’t include key information about what the business stands for, or even mention the beautiful and hard earnt story that created the miracle that is any small business.
The website is left to languish as just another expense of the business that doesn’t achieve anything. The business owners resentfully shell out to pay for the website every year, feeling disappointed that they’re not getting any benefit from it.
It seriously doesn’t have to be this way.
Instead, your website can be working for you. It can answer commonly asked customer questions, help people understand what you do and don’t offer, attract your ideal customers, and even allow people to buy direct from you while you’re sleeping or enjoying your weekend.
And it’s not all about ranking well in search engine results, though of course we all want this as well. It’s about inviting people in to what you offer in a user focused and attractive way, and in a way that lets them navigate to what they need easily.
2. You’re not going to end up with a dud
If you’re worried that your copywriter won’t understand you and your business, and will instead produce vast reams of content that you hate, you’re definitely not alone.
All small business owners are concerned that they’ll end up wasting their money and in a position where they’re too embarrassed to even use the content a copywriter has written for them.
We’re all nervous about paying for services and getting a complete dud.
But you seriously don’t have to worry.
Copywriters work hard to understand you, your style, your business, your story, your brand, your products and your services before they write anything.
They’ll then write multiple drafts of your copy (in my case three) to refine and hone the content before you’re presented with anything.
Copywriters also have a deep vested interest in getting your copy right, because they need to see their work ranking online, as well as good click through rates and financial success stories resulting from their work.
The success of other businesses is the foundation on which copywriters build a successful business themselves.
Most copywriters, including me, will then build in at least two rounds of revisions from you, so that your copy comes out shiny, polished and golden.
And, like me, a lot of them offer a full 100% money back guarantee if you’re not absolutely delighted with the end result.
So you definitely don’t need to worry.
3. Search engines reward well written copy
Google’s own Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) Starter Guide states the following under the subheading Make your site interesting and useful, “Creating compelling and useful content will likely influence your website more than any of the other factors discussed here. Users know good content when they see it and will likely want to direct other users to it. This could be through blog posts, social media services, email, forums, or other means. Organic or word-of-mouth buzz is what helps build your site’s reputation with both users and Google, and it rarely comes without quality content.”
The guide goes specifically recommends using, “easy-to-read text” and to avoid using “awkward or poorly written content.”
We all skip down to the organic searches information when we search online, despite the fact that search engines now put paid or sponsored businesses at the top of the search engine results. This is because we of course don’t want to look at a paid advertisement, we want to look at useful information that helps us solve a problem. Well written copy that pops up as useful organic search information also of course doesn’t cost your business a single cent.
Personally, I’m a huge tight arse, so free advertising is extremely appealing to me.
Investing in a copywriter to write quality user focused content shows that your business is a leader in its field, as well as of course draws new customers to you. These days websites can also draw customers to your online store from a wider catchment than was ever possible in the past. While I’d expect at least six months to see a change in your search engine rankings if you’re a new business or you’ve just overhauled your content, business is a long game and momentum will build over time.
I should also note that copywriters have invested time and money in understanding marketing psychology. They know how to write from a customer’s perspective, and how to answer customer questions and reassure them. They also know how to simplify information and to break it up so that the most effective and powerful message is communicated in as few words as possible.
4. Copywriting makes you stand out as the unique person and the unique business that you are
There are so many websites that don’t tell the business owner’s unique story or express the critically important reasons that they do what they do.
We’ve all looked at these awful lifeless blah-blah-blah business websites. You know the ones, those websites where all you’re given is the year the business was established, how it’s grown over time, the locations it operates in, and the products and services it provides. Reading this information is like developing a chaffing rash while you’re riding a bike, it’s not enjoyable or comfortable now and you know that it’s likely to get more painful later if you continue riding the bike.
This kind of copy says nothing about the beautiful and hard working person you are.
It also misses the opportunity of stating why your business is unique and different to other businesses out there.
5. Do you have time for this shit?
Do you seriously have time to write your own copy? Professional copywriters put their heart into capturing a business with the right words, and as mentioned above they’ll write multiple drafts before they get anywhere near to presenting you with something.
Overall, people use a copywriter for the same reason that they use any other business. They use one because it ends up being cheaper for them to spend their own time making money in their own business and to contract out copywriting to another business who can do it professionally, quickly and cost effectively.
If you do have the time to write your own copy, great. However, as a more economical option I’d still recommend paying a copywriter to objectively review what you’ve written. This is because when you’re writing about anything you know inside and out you often don’t see the wood for the trees. Or you might be able to see most of the wood, but you’ll just miss parts of it that are important. An objective outsider reviewing your copy will give you valuable insights, as an objective outsider reviewing anything will always do.
Bonus tip - use a professional photographer
I’m a copywriter, but even I seriously hate looking at text without images to support it.
A picture really is worth a thousand words.
Yes, we all need information, and that’s where furry copywriters like me come in.
But we also need to see your business presented professionally in images (and videos if you like them), because human beings really are visual creatures.
Photography businesses can give you a huge library of business photos that are yours to use for all eternity at a very economical rate. And these are useful for all kinds of purposes, not just your website. There’s social media, email newsletters, business resources and product promotions, and the list goes on and on. Happy news for you!
© Annemaree Jensen