“Do we really need a copywriter?”
“Has AI taken your job yet?”
That’s a question we hear more and more these days. And our answer is always the same: “While AI is a useful tool, it does not yet fully understand human feelings and can’t write with the emotion that non-profits need in their storytelling and communications.”
Because there’s a difference between writing and crafting something that feels genuinely human.
A good copywriter brings more than writing skills to the table. They bring curiosity, judgment, experience, and an outside perspective. They ask questions, notice what's missing, understand your audience, and think through what you’re trying to accomplish. And when the subject matter is personal or emotional, this becomes even more important.
We were reminded of this recently when a past non-profit client reached out for story writing support.
We had worked with her more than five years earlier to write parts of their annual report before they took it in house. But the client found herself way behind and had three impact stories that needed to be written.
The interview notes, call transcripts, and audio recordings were sent over. That’s when we noticed that along with the notes there was a fully written story; were we just supposed to copy edit this one, we wondered?
“Start from scratch,” she said. “That was me messing around with AI before calling you.”
When we delivered the drafts, her response was: “These stories are excellent. I made only minor edits. We’re 100% good.”
From being dissatisfied with what AI could produce, to being thrilled by what we crafted. That’s the power of having professional copywriters who understand the nuances of human emotion write the very human impact stories that define your non-profit.
If you’re setting out to work with a copywriter for the first time, here are a few tips to keep the relationship (and the project!) moving along smoothly.
Understand what you want to accomplish. You don’t need to know exactly what the final product will look like, but you do need to have a basic roadmap of where you want to go.
Know who you’re writing for. Your target audience may change from piece to piece so we need to know who will be reading the final product and what you want them to do with this information.
Give good writing the time it needs. AI might be able to write just about anything in a flash, but good copy needs time to develop. Your copywriter isn’t just writing, they’re spending time researching your organization, reviewing background materials, thinking about your audience, conducting interviews to learn more, and working through different approaches to decide what information belongs in the final piece — and what doesn’t.
Be part of the process. Working with a copywriter doesn't mean handing over a project and waiting for final copy to appear. The best copywriting is collaborative. Before the writing starts, your copywriter will need information from you: your goals, your audience, your expertise, your challenges, your existing materials, and the things you want your audience to understand. Then, when the draft arrives, read it carefully and provide useful feedback. (Here’s another blog on how to provide great feedback!)
And here’s one more tip: If you’re going to have an ongoing need for copywriting, build a relationship with a writer you trust. The more a copywriter works with you, the more they understand your organization, your audience, your voice, and the nuances of your key messages.
That familiarity creates consistency. It also creates something that’s hard to get from an AI prompt: a shared understanding of what good communication looks like for your organization.