Why hire professional copywriters, even if you’re the DIY type

“Why should we hire copywriters?” is one of the most frequent questions we get asked here at Luminate. The simple answer is that you don’t have to. There’s nothing stopping anyone from developing their own content strategy and writing their own copy.

 But should you?

 As a busy business owner, stretched-thin director of development or multi-hat wearing executive director, is writing a persuasive website, impactful direct mail letter, or vital donor communications piece really something that’s at the top of your to-do list?

And if it is, should you really be the one to do it?

Here are five reasons why hiring a professional copywriter is the right choice.

1) Get copy that gets results. Professional copywriters know the “tricks” to writing persuasive copy, meaning the copy is likely to pay for itself in the sales or donations it generates. And, a skilled copywriter can move readers to act without brazenly manipulating their emotions.

2) Get quality content. Professional copywriters spend years studying the craft and even more years practicing the craft on a daily basis. They’re good at sentence structure; they’re good at grammar; they’re good at conveying a powerful message. And, they’re good at getting to the point without fluff or verbal clutter. The stakes are high with every piece of content you’re putting out in the world and you need to make sure it makes the right impression from the get-go.

3) You’re too close to write about the topic effectively. Because you are living and breathing every aspect of your organization, your perspective is often different from that of your audience. The problem is that you actually know too much, which can be a mixed blessing—while knowing too much has been a large part of your organization’s success, it also means that you’re more likely to get lost in the details of writing your own copy.

A professional copywriter knows how to understand your audience and what it is they need to know. And, they know how to write it all in terms that everyone will understand.

4) Writing copy isn’t the best use of your time. Your time is valuable. And if writing blogs, newsletters and more is not in your job description, doing so is not the best use of your time. Not only will outsourcing the copywriting free up some of your time for other important tasks, it will also be completed faster.

5) You’re just not any good at it. At small businesses or small non-profits, particularly ones without marketing and communications staff, writing stories for newsletters, content for the website or copy for the next blog post often falls on whomever has time (or doesn’t have time, as the case may be). The reality is, just because someone is good at their job, doesn’t mean that they’re also good at copywriting. And if you can’t effectively communicate your message, then your message will fall flat.