Whether you're advertising a product or service, producing a newsletter, putting together a brochure, or relaying company news to employees, chances are there's going to be writing involved. Within that writing, you have to convey a message to your audience, tailor that message so that it reaches the right audience, provoke that audience to take action, and last but certainly not least, uphold your company's image.
So, with an agenda like that, why would you even consider letting a non-professional write copy that could damage your company's image? Believe it or not, people do take the risk with non-professional copywriters. Just in case you're teetering back and forth between hiring the external, yet highly qualified, professional copywriter and the internal, convenient employee in the accounting department to write your copy, hopefully the following myths and counter-arguments will bring you back to the land of logic.
Myth #1: Anyone can write.
Bologna! Nike wouldn't trust just anyone to write about its products (and essentially, it's image), so why would you? The fact is, while many people think that they can write—and worse yet, think that they're good at it—not everyone can write. And that's ok, because there are professionals who can. Writing is their job, and there's reason why they're paid for it. Trust them.
Myth #2: One form of communication works for all purposes.
If you agree with this, you could be missing out on some serious pieces of business, not to mention turning away some of your current and potential customers. One invaluable skill of the professional copywriter is tailoring messages into working communications that align the company's purpose with its intended audience. One size doesn't fit all.
Myth #3: External copywriters won't know the company's position as well as an internal employee.
Granted, not all copywriters are outsourced, but many of them are. But whether your copywriter is in-house or not shouldn't matter. One of the first steps a professional copywriter will take when beginning any and all projects is to get to know the client and the client's intended audience. Otherwise, it's like writing a message in a bottle, tossing it out to sea, and hoping that the right person picks it up.
Myth #4: Using big words adds credibility to a company's image.
In this case, bigger definitely is not better. Big words, which can turn into industry-specific jargon, only fuddle a message and confuse the audience. You don't want your audience to read your message twelve times before they grasp its meaning. Copywriters are also editors, and they understand the value of simplicity. This doesn't mean that your message will be turned into something elementary, it only means that copywriters know how to craft words into meaningful messages that the audience understands.
So, take it for what it's worth, but I wouldn't put my company's well-being in the hands of someone who isn't a professional.
About the Author
Katherine Weddle is a freelance copywriter who occasionally works with Haystack In A Needle's clients. Contact Us today to find out how Kathrine can improve the copy on your web site.