What’s stopping businesses from investing in professional copy and content?
You and I both know that there are plenty of benefits to working with a copywriter or content creator.
I’d even go so far as to say that a copywriter’s work can make or break a website or campaign.
So why, then, can it be so difficult for us agency owners to convince decision-makers to invest in professionally written copy and content?
The differences between copy and content: a quick explanation
Though these terms are sometimes used interchangeably, it’s worth mentioning here that copy and content are not the same thing.
Copy is used to sell and persuade; content is used to inform.
In other words, copy is used in marketing and advertising to get the reader to complete a desired action, while content communicates information or opinion to its audience.
Really, businesses need both. They need great copy to attract the attention of their potential customers and establish that all-important emotional connection with them - and they need sound content to provide context to their proposition, educate their audience on what problem they can solve, and lend credibility to their product or service.
What stops clients from investing in copywriting and content creation services?
Great design requires killer text to make an impact, and marketing materials need compelling, crystal clear copy if they are going to perform at their best.
But despite the many proven advantages of investing in excellent copy and content, it’s often surprisingly difficult to convince clients that they should be paying somebody to develop their business messaging.
The latest white paper from Indy goes into some of the main barriers to investment, but here are three of the most common scenarios:
1. There’s a lack of understanding of the value of great copy and content.
Many business owners are simply unaware that their messaging can have such a profound impact on the results they achieve from, for example, their new website, their shiny new brochure or their social media posts.
Some entrepreneurs don’t even realise that working with a professional copywriter is an option. They take on the role of writer themselves under the impression that help isn’t available, when it very much is!
2. There’s a lack of belief in the copywriter or content creator.
Business owners often struggle to place their trust in a writer who doesn’t know their business or their industry inside out. Their mindset is, they are out in the field on a day to day basis, so they know exactly what they should be saying to their potential customers, and how they should say it. In reality, however, the opposite is true. These entrepreneurs are so preoccupied with the what, they often miss the why. They’re so caught up in what makes their latest brainchild so great, they forget to explore why their customers actually need it.
An external copywriter or content writer can bring fresh perspective to the table. They can focus on the benefits of the product or service that’s under the spotlight, not just the features and finer details. They can put themselves in the customer’s shoes, explore their pain points, and make a compelling case for the product or service as a viable solution to their needs.
Most importantly, they can tell a story, instead of rattle off the same old sales pitch!
3. The client didn’t plan to spend money on their content
Much of the time, business owners don’t realise that they need to set aside a separate budget for their copy or content creation – or they get so caught up in everything else that they forget to factor this work into their project budget.
If there really is no money left in the pot, then as an agency, there’s not much you can do but wait patiently for the client to supply their own wording (and hope it’s not too terrible). To stop this from happening, you need to introduce the concept of investing in professional copy as soon as you start speaking with the client, at the proposal stage.
It all comes down to education.
As their designer, developer or agency partner, you need to be educating your clients in the value of great copy and content.
You need to be convincing these businesses that professionally written text has an important role to play in not only establishing a brand and lending weight to a reputation, but also driving customers along a buying cycle.
Yes, you will face opposition in terms of a lack of understanding, a lack of belief in the skills of a third party, and probably even a lack of funds. But these are all short-term barriers to longer-term success.
Danielle Haley is an experienced content consultant and the founder of Indy Consultancy Ltd, an Essex-based copywriting and content creation agency that specialises in crafting SEO-friendly words for the web.