Is a Copywriter Beneficial

[Toon]

Does anyone use, ever used a copywriter for their website, brochure design etc. How much if your budget would you be willing to spend??

Or maybe is it up to you to write as only you know the types of ideas you want to put across??

[D856C]

A copywriter can put across your ideas in a compelling way to increase conversions (sales) or for branding purposes.

It’s time we designers stop thinking of ourselves as merely pixel people, and start thinking of ourselves as the creators of experiences. And when it comes to experience on the web, there’s no better way to create it than to write, and write well.
-- A List Apart, Calling All Designers: Learn to Write!

This is coming from A List Apart, not some sleazy marketing firm. I've seen it and you've seen it -- most written content isn't very good. Designers are still using Lorem Ipsum placeholders, and then talking about "content-driven websites." And then what happens? Does the great, insightful writing suddenly show up? ...Heroically produced by the client in the nick of time?

Uh ...not quite. So ask yourself Writing for the Web: Why is the Advice so Scant?

People spend more time on the container layout than what goes into the layout, which just happens to be the entire purpose for the site. A copywriter can assist you in focussing in on what's really important and how to get to the point.

One nice website has a beautiful Flash header on the theme "balance." Although the header actually used the word balance, the copy never made mention of it. A web design company used a picture of a lone tree on a grassy plain. Why? ....why not.

It's not about who's got the better copy idea. Quite often it's about not having any idea at all.

Want to use a Flash header, go right ahead. But then tie in the header visual with copy explicitly about balance, and how your consulting firm restores balance. (That's right, it was a business site. And instead of bulding on the theme of balance in copy, the site was a collection of trite boilerplate.)

Want to use a tree as a visual for your web site? Good. Then use copy to use the tree as a figure of speech for your philosophy of web design.

A very simple idea ...ninteen out of twenty sites never use.

[Toon]

Thats the sort of anwsers I was looking for, good read and something to think about.

[flashwiz]

Ive started using a copywriter lately... and i must admit, what a difference... going to get them to do my site too...

[heyward]

Wowed by design, too many clients don't spend any money on the words and often look to the person in the office with the lightest workload to put something together. An in my experience many designers don't like to part with some of their budget and so tell clients that they can write it themselves. As a copywriter I have ideas but I don't pretend for a minute that I can design, so why is it so often the reverse with designers?

[Kelly Creative]

I agree 100% and welcome Mr Copywriter

[maritsaki]

I guess it's sad clients can't always afford both, we didn't always use copywriters, (mainly because it was hard enough to get clients just to pay us) but the point of good design is to communicate a message and make the audience read the content and if that's not up to the standard of the design that's a job half done.

[D856C]

I guess it's sad clients can't always afford both, we didn't always use copywriters, (mainly because it was hard enough to get clients just to pay us)

This is a curious statement, given the job of the copywriter is specifically to avoid such either-or objections. Often, with many copywriting clients, the problem is not the copy or even the product but the client's perception of their service.

Case in point, I got a call from a client with "a friend." This person was selling something called a shaving mug. FYI - a shaving mug is a cup you put soap and warm water into, whipping it into a foam with a brush. In essence "manual shaving cream."

And the product went over like a lead balloon. Shaving mugs got wiped out by shaving cream from a spray can decades ago, "Push Button Shaving Cream." At the point I came into the picture the guy had slashed his selling price twice and was trying to figure out how to lower prices yet again.

He had these shaving mugs in an attractive POP display, for selling at retail stores (for $9.95 - or less if the client had his way) and they weren't selling ...at any price.

This is what people call Selling. And in such a situation, why would you need a copywriter?

Of course, I did what anybody would ...took a trip to the barber shop. While getting a haircut, I noticed they offer shaves and use shaving mugs. Of course, these were just plastic cups, because who sells shaving mugs any more?

So I asked why -- when everyone else uses push-button shaving cream -- does the barber shop use shaving mugs? The answer was "When you're selling a shave, customers expect professional tools for shaving."

Market research and tagline developed, I went back to the client. I had them repackage the mugs in groups of three and five, put in a report on how to sell shaves, and sold them for $39.95 and $49.95 as a business tool for barber shops. Nobody can "afford" shaving cream they have to make manually. Everyone can afford a business building tool that pays for itself in one week or less.


The moral of the story: If Copywriting Services Cost You Money You're Doing It Wrong.

People are caught in a zero-sum mental trap. If the client has budget $X you think you're splitting the pie with a copywriter.

That's wrong. Because you're selling web design services and the client has a fixed idea in their mind than a layout costs $x. That's the same as the shaving mug guy trying to sell at retail. He was trapped into thinking only about the price he was asking. He was so set in this mental box he could not think in terms of value creation.

A good copywriter (let me repeat that, a good copywriter) will help you reposition your product like I repositioned the shaving mug.

Working with a copywriter lifts you out of the web design business and into the beginnings of web business consulting. The price points are different, the expectations are different and you're growing the pie.

Stop thinking zero sum game here. Web development costs money (at least the way you're looking at it, it does). Copywriting makes money. If you want to grow the pie instead of figuring out how to slash your prices, joint-venture with a copywriter.

Not a typist who calls themselves a copywriter and only does keyword stuffing -- a real copywriter.

Too many people think pricing is selling. It's not. These people need to check into The Brand Autopsy Discount Detox Center.

These are the same people who think a logo is a brand. A logo is not a brand. And, just like shaving mugs, people are selling $25 logos because they don't know the difference between a logo and a business identity. The words are not interchangeable, and the failure to understand and make important distinctions is taking money out of everyone's pocket (that includes the client's pocket).

Too many people are trying to get the client to pay them to play with PhotoShop. That's not even logo design ...it's a lame attempt at monetizing a hobby.

The design crux is layout design is headed toward $0. Stop selling layouts. Here's a secret copywriters know that web developers largely don't: The client's budget is flexible. Put yourself in the market for layouts -- whether knowingly or not -- and you've locked yourself in the pricing basement.

Stop the pricing mentality and start with the mindset of building value. You're don't sell copywriting services like CSS or Ruby, you're creating value. Copywriting isn't an expense, it's a business building investment.

And if you can't wrap your head around that, then please do copywriters everywhere a service and stay away from them.

[heyward]

I couldn't agree more. The design will catch the eye, the words will sell the product of service. Together they will sell a brand. If businesses are serious about creating a brand which will lift them above their competitors, then they must seek the guidance of both a designer and copywriter - whether it be print, web or multimedia.

[maritsaki]

Thank you for your thoughts D856C, but I'm not sure you understood what I meant, the bottom line was, I wish I could use a copywriter on every project as without one it's like a beautifully designed juice carton with no juice in it... Also that unfortunately there are far too many clients out there who will not see any further than what they can afford to spend... even though it is a good investment, but at the time a lot of them will not see it (it's sad but true). Just because we can put sentences together does not mean anyone can be a copywriter the same way as just because anyone can use a programme does not make them a designer. I meant no offence to copywriters, I was merely trying to state that they are an invaluable asset for the completion of any project.