One of the first things I do when I sign a new client is congratulate them.
Why? Because hiring a website copywriter is a HUGE deal.
Very few people know what a copywriter is. (“So you copyright stuff?” I hear this a lot.)
Even fewer people actually hire copywriters.
Even fewer grow their businesses enough to hire a copywriter specialized in a skill like a website copy.
So yeah, it’s a big deal when you hire a website copywriter.
If you’re thinking you need a professional to come up with the words on your website, but you’re still not entirely sure what a website copywriter does, you’ve come to the right place. I’m going to share with you all the things website copywriters do for your website. (Spoiler, it’s a lot.)
As I’m sure you’ve noticed if you’ve started googling stuff like “how to write my website copy” or “what to put on my website,” there are about a thousand little details that contribute to making your website a place that makes you sales.
Quick FIY: I can’t speak for all website copywriters. It’s the wild west out here in the online service provider space, and everyone has their own method and expertise.
But I can say that there is a specific rhyme and reason to EVERY part of my process. Let’s go through what they are.
What does a website copywriter do for your brand, business, and website?
My website copywriting projects take about 4-5 weeks to complete. Sometimes people are surprised to hear this, since the word count for each page doesn’t tend to be more than the length of a blog post.
It’s the strategy, homework, and preparation that takes most of the time in my website copy projects.
But that strategy, homework, and preparation is like 99% of the reason you’ll be making sales from your website when we’re done.
We don’t cut corners. After all, it’s the thousand little details that add up that truly create a great website.
A website copywriter helps define your brand messaging
The first stage of every project I do is always brand messaging.
You know the marketing cliché that says, “if you’re talking to everybody, you’re talking to nobody?” It’s cliché, but boy is it true.
During the first stage of my projects, we get super specific on your ideal client, the problems they are facing, and how your brand is uniquely positioned to solve those problems.
This lays the foundation for every page we write for your website, and gives my clients endless ideas for their content marketing after we’re done with the copy.
Not only do my clients get conversational copywriting that’s optimized to make them sales, but they also get the clarity they need to sum up their brand in a single sentence or two.
Yes, the work we do will help you refine your brand and business, both online and in person.
It also makes my life as your copywriter much easier, since defining brand messaging is the ultimate antidote to blank-page syndrome.
We know exactly what your brand is trying to communicate, and we’ve positioned it in a way that your ideal audience will understand.
A website copywriter optimizes your website for SEO
Controversial, but I don’t think every website needs “SEO copywriting.”
(I can hear the SEO gurus losing their minds already…)
A lot of my clients who sell high-ticket would simply not be able to handle the traffic they’d get if they showed up No. 1 on Google for something like “business coach.”
Now, I think you should be able to find your own website on Google, as in, if someone googles your business name, your website should be top of the results (which isn’t automatically guaranteed, if you could believe that.)
There are also some SEO elements that would simply look unprofessional if we skipped them (title tags and meta descriptions, for example.) I help my clients with those.
Here’s the best SEO tip in my opinion: create a really freaking good website.
Creating a website that Google wants to send people to is the best way to be friendly to search engines. As your website copywriter, that’s something I absolutely help you with.
As far as keyword research and other SEO tactics, together we’ll make the best decision for your brand and your website during our strategy stage
A website copywriter curates the best ideas to help you make sales
This might surprise you, but sometimes the best lines of copy don’t come from me.
Sometimes my clients are just speaking about their business, trying to describe it, and they will unknowingly say something *genius* which I swipe for our copy.
I would not be doing my job if I let a good idea pass, simply because it didn’t come directly from my brain.
Sometimes I think copywriters should really be called “copy curators” because our job is to sell your stuff. We’ll use all the tools at our disposal to make that happen.
When my clients get their website copy back from me, there shouldn’t be any surprises on the doc. Everything on there is part of the strategy we’ve been talking about for weeks at this point, and every piece of copy serves a specific purpose.
Copywriters know how to recognize a good idea when it’s in front of them, and use it to it’s best advantage.
A website copywriter acts as the architects for your website
Sometimes clients come to me knowing exactly what pages they want me to write.
Sometimes they have no clue what pages they need, they just know they need words.
In both cases, we make the pages of your website a conversation that backs up the strategy we’ve put together.
As your copywriter, I’m going to have a say in the overall vision of your website, including navigation, sitemaps, menus, footers, links, etc. I help oversee the holistic creation of your website, not just the words on the page.
I wireframe all my copywriting projects, so you don’t just get a Google doc full of words from me.
Wireframe: A PDF drawing/rendering of your website, complete with copy, so that you can see what the site will look like before it’s built.
Like I said, there’s a rhyme and reason to everything we do! By the end of our project, you won’t just have the words for your website, but a clear idea of how everything works together to bolster your brand.
Think of your website copywriter like the architect of your website, then you hire a contractor to build it, or a designer to paint the walls.
Ultimately, you let the architect use their skills, because they know how to build something great.
A website copywriter will handle website details you’ve never even heard of
Did you know that your menu is another piece of strategy to help your website make more sales?
Did you know that there is an optimized way to format testimonials for your website?
Creating a great website is about a lot more than just the words on it. When I started learning about website copy, I already knew about copywriting. I was stunned to figure out just how much I didn’t know about building websites that sell.
It’s overwhelming to say the least, but if you hire a website copywriter, they can take care of all these details you never would have even thought of if you were DIYing your website.
Don’t worry, I’ve got your back.
A website copywriter will save you time and make you money
One of the biggest reasons why business owners hire a website copywriter is because they don’t have the time to write their website copy themselves.
Or rather, they don’t have the time to learn how to write high-converting website copy themselves.
Website copy isn’t like Shakespeare or something. The reading level of the end result will land between a 6th and 8th grade level.
But learning how to simplify your message, strategically feed the reader information, and keep them engaged long enough to make a sale? That takes a lot of time, knowledge, and skill to learn.
Business owners who hire website copywriters know they will get more bang for their buck by hiring someone who’s already learned and mastered this skill than trying to learn it themselves.
Most of my clients are not bad writers. (They tend to be pretty good writers, because they are smart, resourceful people!) But they know that to get the highest return on their time and money, they should invest in having a professional write their website.
A website copywriter will collaborate with your web designer
Ok, from what I’ve heard, not all copywriters do this. (In fact, when I spoke to a friend who also worked in this industry, she nearly spat out her drink when I told her I did wireframes because hardly any copywriters she’s worked with do them.)
Finding a website copywriter who wireframes their projects is hard! But seriously, it makes this process soooo much easier.
I always tell my clients I’m happy to speak directly with their designer, but honestly, the wireframes do most of the heavy lifting.
They literally just build what I’ve sent them, implementing their creative expertise and knowledge of user experience as they go.
From the feedback I’ve gotten from my clients, this is the easiest part of the project.
All in all, hiring a website copywriter is a no-brainer investment for your business
Obviously, I’m biased here, but my client projects speak for themselves.
I love writing. And I love working with passionate, ambitious business owners. And I love that our skills come together to make them sales in their business.
When you hire a website copywriter, you’re getting a serious bang for your buck.
Want a taste of what it’s like to work with a copywriter?
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