The difference between writing and copywriting.
When I was about 15 my best friend’s mother asked me what I was going to do with my life – as if I would have any clue at that age. I told her that I wanted to be a writer, to which she replied “And how are you going to make a living Cheryl?” Well Mrs. Bingham, it turns out that I’ve made a pretty good living as a writer, thank you very much – albeit with some other skills adding to my marketability. The point is I’m first and foremost a writer. It’s what I do. And I do it for people who are not writers, who don’t like to write, who don’t have time to write and who need help writing. The second point is, if you’re not a dedicated writer like I am, and you need marketing communications written, you should probably engage a writer to get the job done for you.
Writing takes time.
Is there anything worse than trying to write when you don’t have time to write? Well, maybe but according to a lot of my clients, it’s a pretty stressful situation. So if your other responsibilities keep you doing the quick step, step aside and let a qualified writer write it for you. It will be better and faster – and you can get the other stuff done.
Everyone’s good at something; maybe it’s just not writing.
Over the years, I’ve worked with a lot of engineers, financial people, manufacturers and others who could wax eloquent about their chosen field – but only to an audience of people just like them. They found it nearly impossible to write about their field in terms that others could understand. So while you and your colleagues may have astounding capabilities as electrical engineers or be brilliant at estate planning, that does not mean you’re good writers. Enough said.
Why take the risk that it won’t be right?
I cannot count the number of times a client has come to me with self-written copy for an ad, a piece of collateral or a web site. I generally tell them that I can use the copy as direction but that I will need to apply my skills to their information in order for their communication to be effective. Some are offended; some are skeptical; most are grateful. Why? Because it takes the heat off.
After all, most marketing communications are done because of the need to sell something – quite often under adverse circumstances. So why would anyone take a chance on screwing up a chance to generate sales/leads? It really doesn’t make sense.
As a writer, I’m still amazed that other people aren’t as fond of the practice as I am. But I suppose CPAs might wonder why I’m not all that fond of numbers, too. So I try to strike a deal with my clients – I won’t practice marine research or sell floor coverings or develop any software if they’ll just let me do the writing. It works out well for all of us.
