To manage costs, many companies choose to handle the development of their marketing materials strictly in-house. What they dont realize is that they could be limiting their profits by following this strategy.
Companies fall into one of two categories when it comes to copywriting. They either have a professional copywriter on staff. Or they dont.
For Those That Dont
Choosing not to enlist the services of a professional copywriter can be a big mistake. There are certain dos and donts in copywriting, and ironically a majority of advertisingwhether its a brochure, a sales letter, a print ad, or a radio spotget them backward.
These may still make sales, may still make a profit, but they arent making anywhere near the level of sales that they could be.
The biggest fear of hiring a copywriter for most businesses is the cost. Its true that a copywriters fees can be substantial, but if the work the copywriter does boosts your profits by 5, 10, or even 50%, isnt that worth it? The truth is well-written copy can skyrocket your sales, sometimes more than doubling the response of your marketing efforts.
Sometimes though, even if you see the potential of working with a professional copywriter, you just might not have the cash flow to hire one. In that case, put together a proposal offering a copywriter a commission for the sales their work generates. If you can show that you have a product that will sell, and if the copywriter believes they can out-pull your existing efforts, then you should be able to make a deal.
Another concern that companies have is that an outside copywriter just wont understand the product or industry well enough to sell well. There are some industries where its true a copywriter needs a background in that industryfinancial newsletters is one. But most times, what the copywriter needs to understand is how to sell with their words. If they can do that, then they will also take the time to research what they need to know to sell your product. And often they can bring a perspective to your marketing efforts that you may have overlooked because of your closeness to the product.
For Those That Do
Having a salaried, professional copywriter on staff might make hiring a freelance copywriter seem like a silly idea. But often, its one of the smartest things you can do.
A salaried copywriter is a great asset, but even the best copywriter in the world needs to be challenged by someone other than him or herself on occasion.
One of the greatest beauties of direct marketing is the ability to test a promising marketing piece before you invest a huge sum of money rolling it out as part of your campaign.
Hiring a freelance copywriter to produce a piece to challenge the piece your staff copywriter is putting together does two things. It gives your staff copywriter extra motivationtheyll want their piece to beat the challenger. And it gives you the chance to make sure your maximizing your profits.
If the freelancers piece beats your control piece, than youve only upped your sales and your profits. If your staff copywriter produces the winning piece, then you can rest assured that it was better because of the challenge. Either way, the company wins.
Hiring a freelancer may not be something you want to do for every piece your company puts together, but hiring them to challenge the most important pieces will result in better overall work. And, you never know, your staff copywriter may enjoy the challengeexcitement that will shine through in your marketing materials.
Bottom Line
Hiring a professional freelance copywritereven if you already have oneis the best way to ensure that your marketing materials stay sharp and deliver better-than-expected results.
Heather Robson is a founding partner of DragonFly Creative Media,
a company that helps businesses that are overwhelmed or struggling
move forward with their marketing. For a free estimate and proposal
on a copywriting or web project, contact her at
mailto:heather@dragonflypro.com.
