Given that we all had an education, it should follow that we can all manage mathematics and writing. Correct? Yes, perhaps. But the day-to-day requirements of writing are not necessarily the same as the specific skills required to produce engaging copy for your business.
Copywriting expertise
For that task, it’s often best to hire the services of a professional copywriter. Their job, full time, is to write the right words for businesses of all shapes and sizes. They have a wide range of expertise, which you can tap into, as well as a thorough knowledge of how language works to inform, educate, entertain and persuade your customer.
The specific role of a copywriter is to help tell the unique story of your business, to motivate your customer to engage with your product or service, and – most importantly – to buy from you or refer you to others who will buy.
Cousin Harry can help …
You may be lucky to have somebody in your family or friends who has a strong grasp of the written word. However, there are particular requirements of marketing and advertising copy that are not necessarily found in your articulate friend. Does s/he really understand your brand?
The biggest challenge you have as a business owner is communicating your proposition. The problem can be that you understand it very well, and your customer might not. A copywriter can help to bridge that gap.
Receiving the right challenge
It’s always a good thing to close the gap between what you know and what the customer knows. A copywriter will help to develop a clear articulation of your product or service, and unlike your family friend, a copywriter will constructively challenge you to tease out the most valuable messages and benefits in your business.
A copywriter will be an expert in asking the right questions. And more importantly, they will be skilled in communicating the benefits that they discover about your business, to your potential customers.
It’s all about ‘after’ not ‘before’.
One of the key questions that a good copywriter will ask you is what customers benefit from after they have engaged with you. They buy from you because of the benefits they receive after they have done business with you.
A copywriter can help wrangle these ideas. And ensure they are clearly laid out for your customer across all of your marketing content, for example, your website, your brochure material, your social media content and your LinkedIn profile.
Great copy is an asset
A good copywriter will also ensure that you get value for money. The copy that they produce is an asset for your business and can be used, or re-purposed, across your enterprise.
For example, a blog for your website can be converted into a series of tips which appear on LinkedIn. Or it can become the foundation for a script for a podcast. And your website Q&As can provide content for a series of advice updates to your clients and prospects.
Customer engagement
An experienced copywriter will know how to create strong points of engagement with your customers. They will be able to help manage the development of your copy so that it is well paced and has just the right blend of emotion and fact for your customers.
Most importantly, a copywriter will save you time and money, leaving you free to focus on the things you do best – managing your business.