Five reasons to hire a professional web copywriter

A stunning custom website design and stylish graphics are great, but without the right words on your website, your investment in its design will be a waste.  ​

Words are what sell.  They go hand-in-hand with quality design to create your most persuasive marketing tool.  They take  the reader on a ‘journey’ as to why they should buy your product or service. They also determine how well you rank on Google and other search engines. So it’s important you use the right words that sell you in the right way.

You can write your website copy yourself, and if you’re a great writer already, that’s a cost-effective way to go. But if you’re not a great writer, there are a few drawbacks to doing it yourself:​

​1.  Have you the time to write the words yourself? 
It takes time to write good copy and if you don’t have the time to do it, your website will be delayed. For every day your website is not up, you’re losing business.

2.  Have you the skill to write persuasive copy? 
Copywriting is both an art and a science and takes years to learn. The words you use will directly influence people’s decision to buy from you. 

Sure, there’s a cost to hiring a professional copywriter but (depending on the value of your service) just one or two new customers could pay for the entire copywriting job.

Surely it’s worth investing a few dollars to show off your business in the best possible light? After all, you’ve gone to a lot of effort to create a site so it’ll be a shame to lose them just because the words you used weren’t compelling.

3.  Can you write in the style to reach your target audience?
While good spelling and grammar are important, of course, what’s most important in composing web copy is the writing style.

Despite what you learned in high school English, your copywriting shouldn’t read like an essay or a business report. Website copy should sound casual, almost like you are chatting with a friend. Sentences should be short and paragraphs limited to one key thought each for easy comprehension.

Should you use active or passive voice? Should you write as though you’re talking to one person or the masses?  If you don’t get it right, your copy will sound awkward.

4.  Do you understand what’s needed to get on page one of Google? 
It’s a harsh reality but if your business is not on page one, it’s not in business. Did you know that people don’t even look past the fifth search result on page one* - so not only do you have to be on page one but you have to be listed in the top five results or you’re just not being seen.  * Source: Jacob Nielsen, www.useit.com

The words you use on your site (both on the page and behind the scenes i.e. in the metatags) directly influence where Google ranks you. If you think you can write those words yourself, go for it. If not, you need to hire a professional copywriter who’s expert at search engine optimisation (SEO) copywriting.

5.  Are you the best person to promote your business? 
This may seem like an obvious answer – you’re probably thinking ‘Yes! I know my business better than anyone!’ but that knowledge can also be a negative.

Do you know the business so well that you can’t see what the customer sees anymore? Maybe you’ve become jaded and can’t see why people would choose you or alternatively, maybe you think you’re better than you are and no-one has the guts to challenge you on whether that’s true.

A professional copywriter is an expert at looking at your business with ‘fresh eyes’ and helping you find the gold nuggets that make your business stand head and shoulders above the rest. Most importantly, a copywriter will provide an objective, honest and unbiased viewpoint that so many business owners can’t find elsewhere.

You’ve invested a lot of money in website design, right? So don’t blow it by not investing in professional copywriting!

Contact me to chat about your website copywriting.