By: Hana Brannigan, in-house copywriter for Bayou Brand House
Copywriters are the secret sauce that transforms a ho-hum website, campaign, caption, or blog post into a compelling and creative piece of content. Some people may call us the masters of words (oh shucks), but one thing is certain: our expertise can bring hidden magic to your content by making sure your brand’s message comes across in an impactful way.
Every business needs to sell something, and having well-written content can be the difference between a great idea going unnoticed and a great one that captures attention and sparks demand for your product/services.
Read on to learn more about copywriters and how they can benefit your business! BTW, this is the first part of a three-part series called Business Start-Up — a series where we take a deep dive into frequently asked questions about the professionals you may need to hire to elevate your brand and business.
Q: What does a copywriter do?
A: Copywriters are people who specialize in writing copy — that is, words. We often write advertisement copy, brand content (social media posts, emails, ads, etc.), and website copy for a living.
A copywriter’s role is to persuade your readers, visitors, or subscribers to take a desired action. Whether that’s encouraging people to sign up for a free trial, setting up a consultation call with you, hitting the follow button, or convincing them to buy your product, there is always a goal or intention behind the words written.
And arguably the most important part of a copywriter’s job is to convey your message in your unique brand voice. (More about this in the section below!) We can inject new life, energy, and personality into your existing content by simply switching up the words or phrasing we use.
Q: How does a copywriter write in my voice?
A: If you’ve ever read a blog post or even just a text written by a friend, you know the subtle yet palpable feeling of being spoken to in a very personalized, familiar manner. This feeling is the essence of branded content and what makes it so impactful!
While I can’t speak for all copywriters, our process here at Bayou Brand House begins with a comprehensive brand questionnaire. In this questionnaire, we ask you about your long-term and short-term goals, who your ideal clients are, what adjectives you would use to describe your brand, your hobbies, favorite podcasts, and loads more questions.
The purpose of this is to fully grasp what makes you you, understand your brand’s personality, and get familiar with your goals so we can write in a way that feels authentic and accurate.
Q: Do copywriters have niches or are they all the same?
A: There are many different types of copywriters who specialize in niche topics! In fact, I would caution you against working with a jack-of-all-trades copywriter because they might not be well-versed in every unique aspect of your market.
However, the most widely used type of copywriting is commercial copywriting for selling products or services. Some other specializations you can find among copywriters are medical or pharmaceutical, E-commerce, B2B (business to business), creative or content marketing, public relations or press, legal, and the list goes on! My specialty lies in website copy and content marketing for small, mission-driven businesses.
You could most likely Google anything (such as “gaming copywriter services”) and find an agency or contractor that specializes in anything (like an agency specifically for professional gamers… I know this because I just Googled it.)
Q: What can I expect when working with a copywriter?
A: This will highly vary between copywriters, so make sure to read their website clearly, which will undoubtedly give you a good idea of what it’s like to work with them! (If you’re feeling more confused after reading through their website — run.)
At Bayou Brand House, all you have to do is get in touch for our House Special! The comprehensive brand questionnaire (remember that?) will guide you through all the questions I have to complete your copy. If I feel like something is missing as I’m writing the copy, or if I need you to elaborate on one of your answers, I’ll reach out with further questions.
Once your copy is complete, I hand it over to you in a Google Doc so you can make notes and suggest edits as needed. Most people are surprised when they get their document because it’s much longer than expected, but this is necessary for SEO. Search engines need context to rank your website properly and populate for the right searches. Plus, I always explain to clients that the aesthetic parts of your brand (your logo, the fonts, color palette, patterns, etc.) and your photos act as the pieces that invite someone to visit your website, but the website copy is what gets them to feel comfortable enough to stay and keep coming back.
We typically go through one to two rounds of revisions and then it gets handed over to Ashlie for website design!
Q: I think I can write things on my own… Do I really need to hire a copywriter?
A: Of course you don’t have to hire a copywriter! You don’t have to do anything, really. (Sorry, is my technical side showing?) If you’re thinking about writing your own copy, you’re likely quite proficient in stringing sentences together. And as long as spell-check is available, you don’t really need to be an excellent speller to write your own copy.
But I would just ask yourself if it’s worth spending the hours you might spend trying to write your own copy — not to mention writing copy that might not be set up for the best conversion. Plus, some other issues I see a lot on websites written by non-writers or non-copywriters are grammar mistakes, run-on sentences, fragment sentences, and confusing language that doesn’t precisely explain the message they want to get across. These mistakes could be hurting your business without you even knowing.
This is all to say that you can definitely learn how to write effective, concise copy — you just have to be willing to put aside time in your schedule to do so. However, hiring a copywriter could elevate your business quicker and you could get a return on your investment sooner than if you were to go through the process of doing it yourself.
Final thoughts
As a business owner, your ultimate goal when creating a website or any other piece of content is to drive a potential customer to take action.
Whatever that action is, working with a copywriter is one important way to help you achieve this goal. That’s because we can help you make your message clear for your target audience. We understand the principles of marketing, what phrases and words connect with people, and how to convey your message in a concise way.
I hope that this article helped you become more familiar with who copywriters are and how they can help you and your business! As a reminder, this is the first part of a three-part series we’re calling Business Start-Up. Each article in this series will take a deep dive into the frequently asked questions about the professionals you should consider hiring to elevate your brand and business.
If you’re considering working with a professional copywriter, click here to schedule a complimentary consultation call!
