Don’t Outsource Your Copywriting
What you gain writing your own marketing copy - and what you miss when you don’t
A local dry-cleaning business has started offering door to door laundry service here in my town. For a monthly fee, they'll pick up your dirty clothes and then bring them back all clean, fresh, and folded.
I know this is useful for some people. For me, though, I like doing laundry. Taking care of the items that clothe my body feels like a fundamental part of living. Pre-treating a stain, washing, hanging a delicate shirt, folding something into a precise square - all of it feels like a cherished act of care.
And so is crafting your business' messages.
Writing your own copy is a deeply personal act. One that merits your love and care. One that offers you the chance to create a beloved conversation between you and your ideal client. One that can feel deep in your bones authentic.
And, perhaps, unlike your family's laundry, is something I advise coaches, healers, and creatives against hiring out, especially early on in your business' development.
Don't Outsource Your Copywriting
I've seen lots of coaches, healers and other creatives hire out their copywriting early on in their business' development.
Maybe they think they're not the best writers. They worry they won't be able to articulate what it is they do or how they help people.
Or perhaps they think writing their website is a slog. That's an easy place to get to, I get it. There were moments - like when I was on my fourth draft of my website's home page - when I wanted to rip it all up and throw it out the window. Hit the permanently delete button.
Or maybe they've seen countless marketing messages from business marketing coaches and gurus telling them if they hire them to write their web copy, they'll have clients lining up to work with them.
Whatever the reason, they've hired someone else to write their copy. And here is what they're missing by doing that.
What You'll Be MissiNG
In addition to spending money before your business may be bringing in much, hiring a copywriter(s) means you miss out on two important things.
Knowing your business intimately
Contracting out your copywriting when your business is early in its development takes away an opportunity to know your business well.
Asking the hard questions - who do you help and what do you help them with and what do you do help them with, for example - and then finding the words to describe that forces you to wrestle with articulating the foundation of your business. It’s the gritty, messy work of creation that helps you get clear.
Not learning how to articulate your business means your missing something fundamental - not only to creating an effective website but to crafting every other piece of marketing you produce in your business - business cards, sales and landing pages, and email marketing, to newsletters, social media posts, and more.
Leaving that work to someone else also can also leave you feeling like you don't own the language. When that happens, other marketing projects become harder.
When you're asked to explain your business or introduce yourself, if you haven't really spent the time being intimate with those details, you stumble. Or when you're ready to launch a campaign for a new offer, your words can feel manufactured, or worse, unclear.
Imbuing your message with style and wisdom
You're also missing the opportunity to pour all your energy into crafting a message of care designed specifically for your ideal clients.
No one knows your ideal clients like you do. No one wants to help them like you want to help them. That's powerful intention. And no one knows how you speak and think naturally better than you.
Yes, you can tell a good copywriter about your ideal clients, and about yourself, but the ability to bring both your own personal energy, love and style to the page is not easy or inexpensive. In some cases, the filter feels palpable. Two clients I've worked with knew the words the copywriters they'd used on their website didn't feel quite right. They just assumed the copywriter is the professional, so they must know better, right? Nope.
No one knows your business and yourself better than you do.
Even the best copywriters are only putting words on a page that are their perception of you and your business. And many times, though not always, that impression is skewed toward 'what sells' vs. what helps people feel seen and able to understand what you offer.
Also, when you write the words yourself, you're more keenly aware when they need to shift, which is a common occurrence if you're newer in business. Even people who’ve been in business five years or more will often know a shift is needed. You'll be more responsive to change when needed if you haven't already dropped a lot of money up front for copywriting.
What Your Ideal Clients Want
Your ideal clients don't want slick copy. They don't want professional sentences. They don't want sales-speak.
When people visit your website, or read your newsletter, or see your post, they want to know two things:
Do you understand and see me? Can you help me?
After that, they want to know you. The real you.
They want to feel you in your words. Sense you through your website, in your copy. They want to connect with you.
All that has to happen before someone decides to trust you – before they’ll hire you.
Pulling It All Together
What your ideal clients really want doesn't have to come from hiring a professional copywriter. Yes, there are principles that will help your marketing become more effective. It's something I help clients develop so for now, I'll just touch on them: You need empathy and alignment. You need resonance. You need clarity.
Once you have a draft of your copy for your website, having someone give you a second opinion and feedback can be invaluable. You can ask former clients or trusted friends. You can take courses where you can get feedback.
Hiring someone as a guide or marketing mentor to help you learn messaging and concepts by doing is also powerful. With time and effort, you can get better at writing your marketing copy.
Spending time with your business, finding and working with the words that express your business' soul is a deeply intimate, powerful exercise.
It will help you get to know your business better and it’ll improve all your marketing. It’ll bring more of you and your essence into your marketing. And it’ll enable you to give your clients exactly what they're looking for when they engage with your business.