Imagine this…
Your website is a selling machine. In fact, it is your best salesperson. While you’re sleeping, it is generating leads through high rankings in search results, providing potential customers with helpful buying information, accumulating newsletter subscribers, and even making a few sales from your new eBook. Your website loves to sell (even if you don’t).
When people contact you, it’s because they’re ready to buy. Your website is that good.
This is how it should be. Your website should be your best salesperson, as it is the online face of your business. A website should gently lead, guide, nudge, persuade, evolve, and most importantly, be the go-to resource that meets the needs of your customers. Your other collateral should function similarly.
Isn’t Copywriting Just Writing?
No. The term “copywriting” is a little misleading. Every good copywriter knows that writing is only half the process; where a copywriter truly provides value is what comes before the writing: the information gathering, the extensive research, the competitive analysis, the concepting, and the sales-oriented strategy. Copywriting is a unique blend of sales, marketing, and writing know-how.
Copywriters sell with words. We don’t just write because we like to see our own writing (okay, maybe we do). But we’re not going to change a simple sentence into a compound-complex sentence for the fun of it.
Most people do not like to do sales, so will have a difficult time putting themselves in the role it requires to write sales pieces. Copywriting is a unique blend of a sales, marketing, content strategy, researching, and writing.
More Important Than Writing is…
Copywriting is perfectly summed up by the authors of Communicating at Work, Tony Alessandra, Ph.D., and Phil Hunsaker, Ph.D.:
“Good business writing is more about clear thinking than it is about writing style.
Writing can only be as good as the thinking that precedes it. You must know what you want to say, what your objective is in saying it, and why it’s important for your audience to read it.”
In conclusion…
I am a firm believer in educating clients about copywriting first and selling myself second.
Are you sold on copywriting yet? If you can’t afford to hire a professional, I implore you to attempt your own copywriting as even a few strategic changes will benefit your business tremendously. There are some wonderful resources out there. Contact me and I’m happy to point you in the right direction.
If you are thinking about hiring a professional, please allow me a moment to tell you how my unique background will contribute to your business. When you hire me, you get the full benefit of a salesperson who has won accolades for the most cold calls in one quarter, who brought in a major corporate client in under the average time for a complex sale, and who has conducted dozens of sales presentations to potential customers. I have a talent for sales but happen to have a passion for writing, which makes me uniquely qualified to write sales-oriented, customer-focused copy and content for you.
Ready for a free consultation? I look forward to speaking with you!
