Why Use a Copywriter When YOU Can Write the Damn Thing?
I get a lot of questions asking me stuff like the title of this little missive suggests: “Really, why can’t you just go out and write all that marketing collateral: all those sales letters, VSLs, case studies, white papers, and video ads all by yourself?”
I figured I’d go ahead and answer this for you today so you can haul your righteous self, right back up from that writing desk, and go do something you’re actually good at.
Mmmkay?
Right. So, the meat and potatoes of that answer are all part of a terrible story you need to hear. It’s actually a bit awful, shameful really. Keep reading though because I promise it’ll get better.
A Terrible Marketing Story
Now, in days of yore during a downturn in the economy, there were these two CEO’s who each thought of themselves as marketing magicians of sorts. They were arguing over whether a long form sales letter converts better than a video. (For those who don’t know, a long form sales letter is basically one of those long sales pages that seems like The Neverending Story.)
Anyway, they went back and forth singing the virtues of each of these methods for convincing the unwashed masses to fork over their hard-earned cash. They were like two evil geniuses, stroking their beards and cackling as they verbally dueled one another.
Which would outlast the other? (The method for marketing, not the mad wizards.) Is video the wave of the future? Should everyone ditch long form sales letters and go find a VSL template and buy a Canon EOS 5D Mark III ? (Hey, that way you can jump on the ASMR trend and sell products all at the same time!)
They shot hypothetical questions at each other non-stop, rapid fire.
Then they started in on the problem with averages and response rates in the “industry” in general. Could the other even name what good conversion rates were supposed to be for each of these mediums? Could the other pinpoint what the conversion rates were supposed to be in each major niche?
And these conjurers argued on and on like this despite the fact that most businesses actually prefer to be less than transparent when it comes to how their marketing materials are performing lest their competitors get that information and then capitalize upon it.
Then they started making wagers as to which of them could deploy the most effective, most influential marketing materials … and do so while cutting out “non-essentials” like advertising spend. After all, in a recession everyone knows the marketing budget gets cut first!
Therefore, why use a copywriter when we can do it ourselves ….
Why Use a Copywriter When You Have Cringe Worthy Conjurers?
The King of All Corporations called these two guys who were utterly convinced of their own positions and the rightness of them into his illustrious presence.
He asked them, in terms of long form sales letters and video:
“As you know, business is looking sketchy these days and in an effort to save, I am looking to outsource. Now, I’ve heard that you both consider marketing prowess and knowledge of various industries beyond compare. Can one of you write for me a long form sales letter AND the other shoot a video that sells my latest product and the service that goes along with it?”
Of course, these two CEO’s nodded and slobbered and rubbed their hands at the thought of all the big bucks that would surely come their way. They could loot the king by writing everything themselves and no one would be the wiser!
Then the Business Monarch held up a finger and quietly asked:
Did these respective leaders of their own minor companies know how to make these marketing materials:
- Grab the reader’s attention with a benefit-oriented headline?
- Quickly get to the point of why they were writing?
- Establish credibility in their field?
- Reveal empathy for the reader or viewer’s problem?
- Explain why THEIR product was the best solution?
- Compel the reader or viewer to act now?
Of course, neither of these self-deluded illusionists knew anything about that. They knew all kinds of statistics about conversion rates and future trends and they’d taken business management courses and knew that marketing was pretty far down on the totem pole, so how hard could it be … really? Besides, they’d read all the right business mags and marketing blogs …
The King repeated himself and then asked further if these two had ever written copy for their businesses or anyone else’s before?
No. They hadn’t.
But, why use a copywriter when they could just do everything themselves? Wouldn’t that save on the bottom line? Surely, in these trying times His Majesty could understand that! Unquestionably, they could crack open a copy of the Copywriter’s Handbook! No sweat, King! Yes indeed! They could head over to Copyblogger and get some quick tips. Right?
No?
Well, maybe one of them could run out, do some outsourcing of their own by hiring someone with pretty good English from Upwork, or even Fiverr …
No?
And so, the King of All Corporations grew quite angry and thundered down at these two CEO’s who thought themselves Conjurers of Cash.
“Don’t you know,” he cried. “That I find you to be nothing more than little, peddling magicians who work by formulas found online, templates, rules and books, but who have no real magic in your veins?”
The Moral of the Story
Now, the end of the story is really quite grisly and so I won’t go into deep detail, but suffice to say that the King of All Corporations understood that only real, professional copywriters are the power behind long form sales letters or videos that convert.
The King knew that the answer when someone asks, “Why use a copywriter?” is that a copywriter’s whole existence is to ensure the creation of compelling, persuasive marketing communications … regardless of the industry.
The King knew that truly professional copywriters know that marketing is largely a team effort, and so they work well with others who create artistic magic … people such as graphic designers, website designers, programmers, and printers.
Moreover, the king knew that not all copywriters are the same! One copywriter might specialize in long form sales letters while another might specialize in video sales letter scripts! How could these two CEO’s hope to be excellent at both things themselves? And, why would they strive for less than excellence to begin with?
Actually, maybe you did want to hear the grisly end of those two sad CEO’s?
Well, if this was a record of some historical kingdom, you might imagine a dungeon, a stone, an axe, and a headsman lumbering over. However, this is a G rated posting except for the “Damn” in the title. (Hey, my grandparents or kids might read this, okay.)
So … the worst that these bumbling guys got was the fact that the King instigated a hostile takeover of their companies.
They found themselves demoted and forced to work under the tutelage of mighty wordsmiths. However, to their shock and chagrin, they found that another reason to use a copywriter. Of course, that reason was that despite their insane ability to cast spells and gain influence over the buying decisions of others … many copywriters were actually pretty humble and fun to work with!
I guess the moral of the story is that if you’re a business owner, a CEO, a marketing manager … anybody who needs to persuade an audience with amazing marketing materials … well, you could write the damn things yourself.
But, you’d be wiser to hire a professional copywriter that specializes in your niche.
In fact, you might want to consider seeing if you and I are a good fit. If you’re in the Financial Newsletter, Publishers, Supplements and Remedies, Health, Fitness and Exercise, Diet and Weight Loss, SAAS and Software, as well as the Computer or Biotech industries …
Get in touch by emailing me at will@williamblesch.com or just head over to my Contact Page.
I recommend that you do so at once unless of course, you have your own in-house, master magicians with power like mine.
See you in my next correspondence.
– Will Blesch
P.S.
I wrote a shorter piece detailing exactly who needs a copywriter.
Also, if you’re a noob and you’re wondering if there’s a place for you at the Youngling’s table … there is. For you, this realization means two things…
* If you love writing, you’re already ahead of the curve. You’ve got a skill, if combined with other elements, that can propel you to online success.
* Businesses NEED content and that means even more opportunities for you as a freelancer or service provider.
In short, WORDS fuel the Internet and this is your opportunity to cash in on that.
That’s why I’d like to invite you to check out Alice Seba and Ron Douglas’ WriterHelpWanted.
Alice is a veteran content marketing expert and Ron is a New York Times bestselling author, so you’re in good hands here. Collectively, they have over 25 years experience of turning their writing into a full-time income.
That’s it for now padawans!
