Yesterday I wrote a quick review of the Copy Hacker’s books. Today I found myself contemplating either writing the copy myself on the eventual main site for Profit Awareness, or hiring a copywriter. I was surprised because the Copy Hacker’s books do a great job of telling you how to write copy – and I am a cheap do it yourself-er.
Another printing press at villa d
Showing the importance of copywriting
I thought a bit more about it, and I realized that (prior to reading the book) I had not even thought about the copywriting, and had assumed that the words would just appear on the page. After all, a product page should describe the product, right? The thought of hiring a copywriter was as foreign as hiring an alchemist.
I did not consider the copy a separate part of the process, and something to be crafted, but rather an offshoot of the site’s conceptual theme.
After reading the book(s) I now understand these important things:
- Your website needs a message
- Messages need to be crafted
- Copywriting is essential to crafting that message
- I can probably write adequate copy
- Copywriting can be a lot of work for me
- I can identify a good copywriter
- I can manage a good copywriter tolerably well.
Doing it myself or hiring a copywriter
My innate stinginess will probably win, and I will write the copy for ProfitAwareness.com myself, but at the moment I am split on hiring a copywriter or not. I am now convinced of how important copywriting is. In either case, there will be some copywriting going on.
Giving it away
The important thing I learned is that if you give away your methods, people will see the value of your craft, and they see how essential it is.
By convincing the potential buyer (in this case, me) of the value of the whatever it is you’re selling, your craft transforms from an unknown element to an essential element. Giving away the secrets of your craft is the best way to show how essential your craft is, which creates demand.
Now I want to write my own book on the bundle of services I provide and it to potential clients.
Editor’s Note
This blog post originally appeared on the Profit Awareness Blog – as that app is up for sale, it has been consolidated into the main Digital Tool Factory blog.
