Copy drives conversions, and other reasons why you should hire a copywriter…
Writing web copy is easy, right? It’s just a case of sticking together words about your brand. And who better to choose those words than you, the brand leader?
Trust us. In most cases, a copywriter is better than you.
That’s not a dig at your writing skills. We’re sure you’re a fantastic wordsmith! But copywriters have the edge here for a number of reasons.
Even we use a copywriter when we need our or our client’s copy to really perform. Our copywriter is Heather Sheppard – she’s on our ‘About Us’ page – but there are loads of other great ones out there. Here’s why you should hire a copywriter:
Your words are very important
Your copy is almost entirely responsible for:
- Influencing customer thoughts.
- Driving customer behaviour.
- Creating your brand image.
- Passing on information.
- Boosting your bottom line.
All in all, your web copy works pretty hard. Give your copy and your business the best chance by hiring a professional writer.
They know what they’re doing
Copywriters aren’t just great at spelling and grammar. They also have a deep understanding of how online copy works.
They keep up to date with things like Google changes, SEO trends, and what consumers want. They bring all of that knowledge to your copy, and incorporate it so seamlessly that every word feels natural.
Copywritersalso know how to draw customers in, engage and entertain them, and guide them right to your CTA. All you have to do is sit back and watch the conversions roll in.
It gives you loads more time
If you’ve read this far and thought ‘I can do all of this myself!’, consider this: writing takes a TON of time.
You might be a fantastic writer. You might have won the Booker. Hell, you might have won the Nobel Prize for Literature. But do you really want to spend hours hashing out web copy when you could be actively building your business?
Copywriters are skilled professionals who will happily take on that burden for you.
Writing web copy is their entire job, so they can devote whole days to your copy in a way that you can’t. They also won’t be distracted by the demands of your business – which means that their copy will be tighter, more focused, and completed much faster than it would if you were doing it yourself.
You can trust them to do an amazing job. And, while they’re doing that amazing job, you can get on with your actual work.
Or have a lie-in. Whatever works for you.
How to get the best from your copywriter
So you’ve decided to hire a copywriter. Great move! Here’s how to set them (and your brand) up for a successful working relationship.
Create a great brief
Research is part of the copywriting job, but your writer is not a mind-reader. They can research a lot, but ultimately you are the best source of information about your brand. The more you give them to work with, the better their work will be.
You’re the expert on your business. Put your expertise into your brief. Let your copywriter know things like:
- Your brand values.
- Your brand tone of voice.
- Your intended audience.
- The message you want to convey.
- Any straplines or phrases that need to be included.
- Any keywords you want to be included.
- The copy format (for example; web page, blog post, social post etc)
- Points you want to include.
- Points you want to avoid.
- Guideline word count.
- Any information about your brand that they might need.
- Your CTA. If the writer is devising the CTA, let them know the kind of thing you’re thinking of.
- Your house/brand rules (for example, ‘We always use person-first language’).
- Deadline.
- Ways they can communicate with you.
The better the brief, the better the piece!
Use writing apps as guidelines, not as rules
Writing apps like Hemingway are becoming more and more popular. They’re great for keeping your writing to a certain standard…IF you use them properly.
A lot of brands don’t use them properly, and it’s driving copywriters mad. We can guarantee that when your writer sees things like ‘Must have Hemingway score of 7 or less’ in the brief, their heart will sink. They may even refuse to work for you.
The reason for this isn’t that your writer isn’t good enough to work with Hemingway. It’s that these apps aren’t intended to be used as hard writing rules. They lack the nuance to control your copy to that extent.
For example, any sentence of more than two clauses will raise your piece’s ‘Hemingway score’. But sometimes a sentence really does need to have more than one clause. Similarly, Hemingway prioritizes a very simplistic writing style which may not be compatible with your brand voice.
When a Hemingway (or similar app) score is used as a guideline, it’s possible to go through all the flagged sentences and make changes only where needed. When you make a Hemingway score a hard rule, however, you’re setting your writer up for failure. Either they will have to flatten their style (and your brand voice), or they won’t meet your requirements.
So, use writing apps as they were intended. Don’t insist on app-based targets.
Get in touch today for great web copy!
We at Sox know how important good web copy is for your business. If you want advice on copy, copywriters, or anything else about your website, get in touch today 😊 we even have a copywriter you can hire!