5 Signs You're Ready to Outsource Your Website Copywriting
Wishing your website content would just write itself?
You’re definitely not alone.
When you start to envision your website, design may seem like the intuitive first step.What if I told you it’s most important to start with your website copy?
What?! No, really.
I know, I know. Choosing your color palette and your signature fonts with a crazy talented designer like Allison just sounds like more fun. I get it, but starting with well-written website content will influence every part of your website design.
Whatever step of the website building process you’re in, thinking strategically about your copy from the get-go will help you once you blend it with your design.
But let’s talk about what the word “copy” even means.
What is a website copywriter anyway?
Good question! Whether you’ve heard the term “copywriter” tossed around a few times or the term is completely new to you, let’s break down what the title actually means.
A copywriter is someone who writes content specifically for marketing and advertising purposes. This means a copywriter can work on anything from website content to social media copy to various print materials.
Website copy, then, is any written content on your website with the purpose of (a) turning visitors into customers or (b) turning visitors into clients. It’s conversion-based writing, meaning that it’s crafted in a way to entice visitors to take the intended action.
Why does website copywriting matter?
Naturally you want people to take action on your website, but what are some other reasons to outsource your website copywriting? How do you know if you’re ready? Here are five of the most common signs I see when working with clients on copywriting.
Reason #1:
You’re tired of tweaking your copy every few months
What would it feel like to go a whole year without touching your copy because you feel THAT confident in your website? It may sound like a pipe dream, but when you work with a professional website copywriter, you’re able to do just that.
Feeling like you have to constantly tweak your copy isn’t the best use of your energy. As a small business owner, you have so many other areas of your operation that need your attention.
When you outsource your website copywriting and build your messaging from a solid website strategy, the result is a website that can run (and more importantly, convert) all on its own.
Reason #2:
You want ALL of your copy to be done at one time
Not only will you be able to stop tweaking your website, but you’ll also have your copy done in a small amount of time. Some of my clients come to me after trying to write their own website content for as much as 3-6 months. I can only imagine how frustrating the website process becomes when that happens!
Instead, a professional copywriter will be able to focus solely on your copy and messaging so you have quality content in less time. This is because writing is their specialty which allows them to work on all of your copy at once.
I still have yet to meet a website designer or developer who will start creating a website without any content. Copy informs the website design so having it all done at once keeps your website launch process flowing smoothly.
Reason #3:
You want to uplevel your SEO efforts
One of the greatest benefits of investing in website copywriting is the added SEO benefit of optimized writing. While not all copywriters are fluent in SEO practices, many are. My professional background is in digital PR and SEO, so I love blending what search engines love with what audiences love.
When Allison and I collaborated on her own website copy, we were able to put SEO into practice by incorporating highly searched for keywords and blend it with her backend SEO by customizing titles and meta descriptions.
Okay, so that may sound like a foreign language, but this is the part that matters. After launching her new website copy, Allison has been able to book out branding projects 3-6 months in advance with most of her clients coming from Google. As a copywriter, these are the success stories I LOVE!
Before you decide to work with a website copywriter, be sure to ask them if they use SEO best practices as a part of their process. If so, you can also ask what that looks like so they can educate you on how it could help your website.
Reason #4
You want a well-defined, consistent brand voice
This is one of the main reasons why my clients outsource their website copywriting to me. As business owners, we want to differentiate ourselves from our competitors. You’ll look different when you work with Allison on visual branding, but you’ll sound different when you work with a copywriter like me.
I worked with 35+ copywriting and content creation clients in 2017 alone, and no one had the same brand voice. Yes, even people within the same local market in the same industry sounded different from one another. Everyone has a different heart behind what they do. When blended with their signature communication style, it makes for a unique brand voice.
It’s not surprising, then, that developing a client’s brand voice is one of my favorite parts of the copywriting process. In fact, I geek out a little bit when I get into it at the beginning of a website copywriting project… you’ve been warned!
Reason #5:
You want to create a better user experience
A high-value copywriter won’t just write your website copy. They’ll also take you through an overall website strategy. This means defining your bigger website goals and tailoring each page you’re crafting together to meet (and exceed) those goals.
Without a bigger website strategy, your copy won’t be able to convert as easily. It may read well on the screen, which is a great first step, but it needs to inspire visitors to take action. Well, an action that doesn’t make them click the exit button, that is.
Once you’ve decided on what your website strategy will accomplish, you’ll be able to partner with your website copywriter to create an easy-to-read website navigation and a custom flow of pages that feels like a perfect fit.
When all of these elements work together, you’ll create a better user experience for website visitors whether they are landing on your website for the first time or coming back to find more information.
Why does your user experience matter? Well, for one, it keeps visitors on your website for an extended amount of time. This tells Google that your website is of high quality because your bounce rate is lower, which refers to the amount of people who click off your website after viewing only one page. The lower your bounce rate and the longer visitors spend on each page, the better the user experience.
As you start to think about all of these strategies and weaving together every element of your website copy, you may start to feel a bit overwhelmed. If you’re telling yourself, “I had no idea this much went into writing my website content,” don’t worry. You don’t have to do it all on your own.
Why I love collaborating with Allison’s clients on website copywriting
Allison and I worked on five websites together in 2017, one of them being her own website! Yes, everything from her About page to her Let’s Work Together page was written by me (with her creative direction and input, of course!). Not only that, but Allison also did all of my visual branding when I rebranded around the same time.
The collaboration was magic! As close friends in the industry who love working with small businesses with big hearts, we knew we were onto something. Now we’ve blended our services together to create a one-of-a-kind collaboration that guides clients through every step of the website building process from strategy to design to copy.
We have a whole system in place so working on professional website copywriting fits right into the website design process. That way, your original project timeline runs smoothly and your website launch date stays intact.
If you’re interested in working together on your website copywriting, let Allison know during the inquiry process when you contact her to book your visual branding project or visit my website to learn a little bit more about my copywriting process.
Any additional questions?
I’d be happy to answer them! Put them in the comment section below and I’ll reply back in snap. Looking forward to hearing from you!
Kayla Hollatz is a copywriter and ghostwriter for businesses in the visual and wedding industries in Minneapolis and nationwide. She loves blending her extensive background in digital PR, SEO, and blogging with her fierce passion for creative writing. You can frequently find her ghostwriting website content, blog posts, and email sequences from her three-season patio with a mug of hot chocolate in hand. Kayla is also deeply rooted in using her platform as a way to give back, primarily to sex trafficking survivors in Minneapolis.