We see this scenario a lot. A small business owner comes to us wanting a new website. They say basically, “We will provide all the content, we just need you to make it pretty.”
When you don’t hire a copywriter and decide to write your website content yourself you may think you’re saving money. However, this could be the most costly decision a business owner can make for the future of her or his business. Why?
1. You Have The Curse of Knowledge
Lee Lefever coined this term in his book, The Art of Explanation. The Curse of Knowledge means you are too close to your business to explain it in layman’s terms. On a scale of 1–10, you know your business at an 11. Your potential clients know your business at maybe a 2 or 3.
This is most obvious when working with law firms. A general rule of thumb is to write content for your website on a level a 6th grader could understand. There is a great tool called the Hemingway Editor. You paste your content into the editor and it rates it by what grade level is needed to comprehend.
Several years ago, I worked for my family’s law firm here in Indianapolis. My uncle was a partner and would sometimes write blog posts for the firm. When I dropped his posts into the Hemingway Editor, they rated at a graduate degree level of comprehension.
Basically, none of his actual clients would have any idea what he was talking about. To be fair, he did a better job of simplifying legal concepts face to face. When he put pen to paper though, not so much.
When you write website content on a level too advanced for your potential clients to understand, you risk them feeling overwhelmed and leaving your website before hiring you.
Hiring a copywriter and outside messaging expert ensures you tailor your content to your target audience. You need them to easily understand how you make their life better.
2. You Make It All About You
The second major risk you run writing your own website content is making the content all about you. Most small business owners think they have to lay it on thick when it comes to their authority to convince people to hire them. You might think your potential clients need a lot of convincing that you are qualified to help them.
They don’t.
In reality, the authority piece of your website is just a little box they check in the back of their minds. “Yep, they’ve done this before, and can do it again.”
See, your customer isn’t all that interested in you. They are interested in themselves. Prospects are coming to you in pain. They have a problem that needs to be solved. All they are thinking about is their problem.
So, your website needs to focus on the problem you solve for your prospective clients. When you hire a copywriter, you ensure your website’s focus is on the things that matter to your customers and what drives them to action.
Your awards, college degrees, certification badges, volunteer positions, and favorite sports teams don’t actually drive your customer to action.
3. You Focus on Facts Not The Narrative
It may feel kind of sad, but a narrative is more powerful than facts. Don’t get me wrong, facts are important, but not primary.
You need to invite your customers into a story of their own transformation. You do not need to overwhelm them with facts and details right away.
Your customer wants something as it relates to your business. That is why they are visiting your website. Yet, there is something preventing them from getting what they want and that makes them feel frustrated. Your job is to step into their story with a plan and a call to action to guide them to success and avoid failure.
If you didn’t notice, that last paragraph is a story. You are the one that helps your customers achieve the transformation they are hoping for.
Once your customer steps into the story and can picture their transformation, you can drop in some facts and stats to deepen their commitment.
4. Frameworks Are a Game-changer
A good copywriter is likely working with a framework. They’re not starting from scratch every time they write a new website or piece of content. They know what works and what doesn’t. They have either adopted a framework or created their own based on what works for their clients.
When you write your own content for your website, you’re starting from scratch. You probably don’t know what works and what doesn’t. So, you make the mistakes of a rookie copywriter or a novice.
You may be an expert in your content, but you’re not an expert at writing your content in a way that turns words into money in your bank account.
We use a messaging framework called StoryBrand. StoryBrand is a 7-part narrative messaging framework created by New York Times Bestselling Author, Donald Miller. It is an absolute game-changer in helping our clients invite their customers into a story.
Our brand messaging sessions create the story we invite your customers into. Then, we write and layout your website homepage using that story framework. Instead of beating your customers over the head with awards, stats, and facts, we invite them into a story of their own transformation.
A good framework actually allows the copywriter to be more creative within the boundaries of what will be successful. When you hire a copywriter, you not only get a good writer, you get a successful framework.
Hire a Copywriter and Win
Hopefully, you see that handing off your content writing duties to an experienced copywriter can make all the difference. As a small business owner, you need your website to be effective. Why take the risk of doing it yourself when you can hire someone to do it right.
We would love to help your business create a great website that turns visitors into clients. Schedule a call and let’s get started.
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