For today’s post, I’ve asked local copywriter, Chris Haddad, to illuminate for our dear readers, the critical yet misunderstood role of the marketing copywriter.

For a marketing strategy to work, all the components have to work together, amplifying and enhancing each other, to build a bridge between you and your target market. One of the very most important of those components is marketing copy. (”Copy” is just a fancy way of referring to the text of a marketing piece.) Good copy can ignite a solid marketing campaign. But bad copy is like water on your fireworks.

Sadly, most independent businesses (and even quite a few large businesses) treat copy as nothing more than a tool to convey data and they end up with one marketing dud after another.

And now here’s Mr. Haddad to help you understand his profession and a few pointers on how to decide if you need one of his kind.

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Thanks Dom,

In my business life I have a lot of conversations that go like this:

Me: “I’m a copywriter”

Small Business Person I’ve Just Met: “A Copy. . . whater?”

Me: “Writer.”

SBPIJM: “Oh. So you . . .uh . . go down to the courthouse and help people get copyrights on stuff?”

Me: “No. I sell stuff with words. I write marketing and sales materials that help businesses make big heaving piles of money.”

SBPIJM: “OHHHHHHH!!!! Well, why didn’t you just say so?”

At this point I usually smack my palm into my forehead really kind of hard so it makes a thick “Thwack” sound. And then go stumbling off.

OK, so what the heck is a “Copywriter” then?

A copywriter is a subset of marketing wonk who specializes in writing in a way that produces sales, builds brands and puts marketing punch into whatever your company is trying to say.

Basically copywriters dig through a lot of research and do everything we can to figure out the emotional mindset of a target market. And then we write stuff that’s–hopefully–going to have customers opening their wallets and emptying them into your pockets.

We also spend a lot of time squirreled away in darkened rooms talking to ourselves about “Calls to action” and “Subheads” and “emotional selling” and stuff like that. We’re a wretched and lonely lot with aching forearms and a tendency not to blink enough.

So, how do you know if you need a copywriter?

Well, if you’re looking to use your website, brochure, email or podcast as an honest to goodness business building Sales Tool, you should at least think about getting a pro.

A good copywriter will be able to boil down your message to its strongest essence and structure your copy in a way that has the highest chance of producing a sale.

And she’ll l be able to bring a valuable level of perspective to your business– perspective that it’s very difficult to get when you’re dealing with your own business.

Now, here’s the downside: Copywriters cost money. And the better the copywriter (and the better his track record) the more cash he’s going to demand. So ultimately the decision on whether or not to hire a pro comes down to good old ROI. Does the project you’re planning have the potential to make more for you than a copywriter is going to charge? Then pony up the dough. If not, well, talk to a Strategic guy like Dominic and let him help you figure out a plan that will be both good for your budget and good for your business.

Ta,
c

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