This is a guest post submitted by Krista Walsh Copywriter.
For many business owners, the first time you hear the phrase “website copywriter” is the moment your website designer recommends you hire one.
And more than likely, you have some questions before immediately jumping on board: What is a copywriter? Why should you consider hiring one? Couldn’t you just write your website content yourself?
This article will address these questions so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not to heed your designer’s advice to hire a copywriter.
What is copywriting?
Copywriting is a specific form of writing within the realms of marketing and sales.
That email you got from a retailer promoting their Black Friday sale? Copywriting. That piece of mail you got promoting a new credit card offer? Copywriting. That sales page you read for a digital course? Copywriting.
And, yes, every page of a business’s website? Copywriting.
Copywriting is writing that generates revenue
Unlike other forms of writing (a novel, an essay, a blog, a newspaper article, internal business communications), copywriting is always written with the goal of guiding the reader toward a specific action, usually an action tied to revenue. For example…
- Shop our Black Friday sale
- Apply for our new credit card
- Enroll in our digital course
For a service-based business website, your website copywriting should guide readers to inquire about working with you.
Professional copywriting makes a website more effective by:
- setting the company apart from alternatives
- calling in the target market
- making readers feel safe and excited to take action
Can you just write your website copy yourself?
Absolutely, you can. The better question is, “Will DIY-ing my copywriting or hiring a copywriter be better for my business?”
Not everyone should hire a website copywriter
You might be surprised to find that my answer is not that hiring a copywriter is always better for everyone’s business. In fact, I turn away clients who I don’t think will benefit from hiring a copywriter.
Here’s who should NOT hire a copywriter for their website:
- New business owners who haven’t validated their offers or services yet. If you haven’t worked with many clients yet or aren’t sure of your business model, don’t invest in a copywriter. Even the best copywriting cannot prop up a service or offer that doesn’t have a proven demand or track record.
- Business owners who are looking for copywriters to save their business. No copywriter can guarantee that working with them will lead to X number of clients in X number of days (and anyone who does say this is probably a scammer).
Here’s who SHOULD hire a copywriter for their website:
- Business owners hiring a website designer. Copywriting is hugely important for the effectiveness of your website. So if you’re investing significant money into design, don’t risk that investment failing because your copywriting doesn’t convert.
- Business owners looking to capitalize on their success. Once your services are getting results, people are buying, and past clients are happy, now is the time to invest in hiring a copywriter! A copywriter will make sure that anyone looking you up online sees the true, proven value you bring to the table… and, ultimately, a copywriter helps your website draw in more perfect-fit clients.
If you are in the YES-HIRE-A-COPYWRITER camp, then it’s important to know why working with a copywriter may be in your best interest, even if you are a good writer yourself.
Copywriters do more than wordsmithing
There’s a common misconception that copywriting = sitting down and churning out words that sound good. Or that the value of hiring a copywriter is getting words that sound a little better than the words you could write yourself.
No, the real value of working with a professional copywriter is all about getting conversions on your website:
- Copywriters help you uncover the messaging that will set you apart + sell your services, which can be hard to recognize as the founder of a business
- Copywriters help you present your services suite in the clearest and most-conversion friendly way possible on your website
- Copywriters help you decide what information to put where on your website, including shaping webpage layouts and creating the navigation menu for your website
This is why even fantastic writers will find that hiring a professional copywriter (especially for something as foundational as their website) is so worth it.
Will the copy from a professional copywriter make a difference?
I’m biased, of course, but… yes.
Copywriting often matters more than design for conversions
Design is hugely important for your website. Poor design is noticeable and can make people view your business as unprofessional, untrustworthy, or outdated.
But copywriting is what directly leads to conversions (i.e. people taking action on your website). In fact, one 2021 study from Unbounce found that copywriting had more than double the impact on conversion rates than design did:
Professional copywriting gets results, even in the absence of professional design
From my own client results, I have seen the difference in conversions and traffic numbers before and after I write or edit someone’s website copy.
For example, consider the following results of what website copywriting can do, by itself, even without a website designer:
- Marina Nabão, an embodiment coach, had launched her website with the copy she’d written. But, she wasn’t seeing anyone taking action on her website.
She hired me to do a Powerful Messaging Makeover (heavy editing, content restructuring, SEO work, and website strategy changes).
After three weeks, she wrote to me to say, “Three weeks after the edits and SEO update, I already see an increased number of visitors and more people taking action and scheduling calls with me.”
- Deb Stevenson, a photographer, was re-launching her website along with new branding and a new website template (not working with a professional website designer). She had copy she liked personally but she wasn’t booking any high-quality clients through her website — the clients that reached out were all price-shoppers and would ghost when they heard her rates.
She hired me to do my full website copywriting and SEO process to uncover what messages would speak to serious clients who were willing to pay her rates (plus, get her ranking on Google!).
One month after her new copy launched, she said, “Since my website copy makeover I’ve had 3 Google inquiries and all 3 booked my services. They were my ideal clients and a pleasure to work with. I believe my website now reflects my brand and my values clearly to potential clients so, by the time they book a discovery call, they are ready to work together.” - Patrushka Mierzwa, a well-respected sound engineer for film, had recently pivoted into teaching and speaking, and now she wanted to launch a website to attract more speaking clients to her.
She hired me to do my full website copywriting and SEO process to craft website messaging that would attract speaking clients all over the world. She put the copy to work for her in a simple website template.
Shortly after launching her website, she shared, “We’ve already been contacted by a new client and we have a job in Mexico, a new market for us!”
Copywriting alone is powerful, but design + copy is exponentially better
I chose the examples above because I wanted to make it clear that the results these business owners saw were not related to better design, but were due 100% to messaging, website strategy, and SEO — the wheelhouse of a website copywriter. In other words, to demonstrate that professional copywriting is crucial for the effectiveness of a website.
However, for most people, I recommend working with both a designer and a copywriter to get the best results possible.
Your copywriter creates the messaging, website strategy, and SEO foundations for a website that speaks to your target clients, sells your services, and ranks on Google. Your designer brings your website to life in a beautiful, professional design that immediately resonates with your target market and sets you apart (and often puts into place the technical SEO elements!).
If you can’t afford to hire both, many copywriters and designers offer non-custom options that are less of an investment, so that you still get the value of working with professionals without the custom price tag. For example, I offer a Powerful Messaging Makeover (the strategic content edit I did for Marina), and Steph offers a semi-custom One Day Website option!
In short: To get the most from your new website, bring on a professional website designer and website copywriter.
About the Author
Krista Walsh is a website copywriter and strategist helping client-based businesses turn their websites into lead-generating machines. She’s the person you call when you want your website done right from the ground up!
