This is the biggest thing you should know: no one is paying me to write.
Oops.. but you are a copywriter, right?
Keep in mind if you’re looking for me now. Because the truth is only hurt when you are about to call me.
I mean, from websites to emails, to ads, to social media and so on, no one is paying me to write.
For copywriters, writing for the web and sales copy are not creative endeavours.
Yes, if you want us to be creative, we shall do it; get up at 3 AM, sip an instant coffee to fire up my brain’s neurons to craft catchy phrases for your next Facebook ads campaign you want to see the following day.
But, that’s not the case.
When it’s time to write copy, I mean copywriting for getting customers and sales, we put our creative heads down.
Because that’s why I get paid for.
Clients should pay copywriters to connect website visitors with a copy that performs measurably well.
Most clients measure if things work and if things do not work. They hire a copywriter to craft copy that should perform well when they measure it.
(not content writing)
They can see whether or not copy works in Google Analytics, Facebook Ads Manager, Google Ads dashboard or the sales report.
They hire a copywriter like me not to write copy but to get immediate business results. Period.
So When Should Clients Pay Copywriters?
The truth is the clients pay a copywriter to be a writer.
Because most copywriters believe they are. They should write something looks fantastic in the eye of the clients.
Writing things that sound good is good as the one who needs to be convinced of copy is the client. And that person wants things to sound good.
But this is where copywriters miss the point.
Unless you are writing for brands, writing for the web requires you to understand human behaviour, sales, web usability and UX.
If the copy sounds good, cool. It just helps to make the brand more likeable and more trustworthy.
But a copy that sounds good is a copy that’s primarily decorative or excessively creative. Or just too clever.
Website visitors or people who see your ads on digital platforms don’t care about copy that sounds good.
They care about themselves; the pain, the struggle, the escape, the cure, the fascination of living a good life they know won’t last forever.
Copywriters, like me, are hired to write copy with purpose, usually for commercials.
Visitors to websites have a job they’re trying to do, such as reading the product info, looking for the Contact Us button, or looking for a copy to convince them to buy an RM79.90 vitamin C supplement.
The ad copy should drive visitors to the landing page selling a business opportunity program for a 30-plus hard-working man looking for ways to escape the rat race.
A 5 series of email drip campaigns to convince subscribers to purchase a 7 dollars per month workout program. That’s pretty much what copywriters like I do.
Remember, it’s not how many words you put on but the results you bring to the table.
So when will you pay me to write for your next blockbuster copy? 😉
