Why hire a copywriter?
Words have the power to control how we perceive the world around us. If you’ve read Orwell’s 1984, you know that already. You clearly still need convincing though, so let’s dive into why is it important to craft compelling copy.
Because words are influential.
“77% of people refer to certain items by brand names.”
Crowdspring.
Have you googled that to check it’s legitimate yet? Wait, did you notice I just used “Google” as a verb? Also, have you ever wondered why we sometimes say “iPad” when we are really referring to our old, worn out Dell computer tablets? Or why the Brits refer to vacuum cleaners as Hoovers and vacuum cleaning as hoovering?
Once a word seeps into our language, it really can stick, and these companies have benefited from this linguistic power in the form of free branding. Either the brands became so popular that the words just stuck or the brand voice in its advertisements were so compelling they claimed a part of our vocabulary.
The theory of linguistic relatively, otherwise known as the Whorfianism, goes as far as saying that the language we each speak defines our entire world view, or at the very least, it powerfully guides our thoughts and cognition. Copywriters, either consciously or unconsciously, are Whorfarians at heart. They assume this concept is correct and they run with it.
Because you need a coherent brand voice.
“Presenting a brand consistently across all platforms can increase revenue up to 23%.” Forbes.
Besides consistent design, your brand needs a clear voice. This ensures that, just as you immediately recognise the Nike tick, you automatically identify the voice of a brand.
Copywriters define the voice of your brand before they write. They sell people ideas and let the ideas sell the product. They construct stories to push you from stage to stage of the customer journey. Most importantly, in all of these stories and ideas, they ensure the business’ overall vision or ideology is never lost.
Because you need tailored content.
“Personalised call-to-actions are 202% more effective than basic CTAs.”
Hubspot.
Beyond my dreams about buying a new sofa for my flat, there are also many other products you could sell me that I don’t even know I want yet. Personalised content might just convince me that I do, in fact, need to buy a new pair of running trainers. How? The shoes I have are perfectly fine! Ah, not so for the copywriter.
The copywriter thinks laterally about what might inspire or push me (me = part of a particular target audience of young folk that don’t care for cushioned ankle support yet) to make a buying decision. Maybe the writer could craft content that makes me believe these shoes will help me run that marathon one day, or maybe they need to induce a little fear in my future broken ankle. The first is more likely to work.
I need a motivation; the copywriter figures out what that motivation is and crafts an entire story around it until I buy the damn shoes. A simple ‘Buy now’ call-to-action would never have convinced me to make a purchase. There’s a reason copywriters often study psychology, too.
Because you need organic content to generate leads and you don’t have the time.
“Brands that blog generate 67% more leads.”
BrandBuddha.
What reason do your customers have to come to your site? What reason do non-customers have to visit your site? When you get them there, what reason do they have to stay on your site? You need content for both audiences and you need to provide them with value that keeps them returning again and again. Well-written, search engine optimised content provides a passive stream of leads to your business. You don’t need me to tell you the value of indirect marketing. However, this a reminder that you have bigger fish to fry than writing blog posts.
Rather than spending hours reading about SEO and getting frustrated at Grammarly for criticising your writing, just get a specialist to write for you and free up your time.
Because you need to simplify your content.
“The average online user only reads about 20% of the content on a webpage.”
Nielsen Norman Group.
Copywriters are masters of simplification. They smash all your business aims together into one slogan. The famous copywriter Ogilvy took a three-week holiday so he could write one Rolls-Royce headline. Preferably, the copywriter would like to sum up all your USPs into one word. (That’s why we aren’t huge fans of the “per word” payment system some clients like to present us with).
The reason we take on this challenging task is clear – people are too busy to care about your business and your wants. They’re focused on their own wants. You have to make them care, quickly. You need to show them you have what they want, quickly.
