Copywriting service vs DIY: Which is better for your business?
Copywriting plays an essential role in the success of any modern business. But is it better to go it alone or enlist the help of a digital marketing agency?
Make An Impression
Many businesses don’t have the time, resources or expertise to handle their own copywriting projects. For this reason, these tasks are often outsourced to a content marketing agency or a freelance copywriter rather than handled by an in-house member of the team.
Read on to find out about the benefits of outsourcing professional copywriting services and how an agency can help you improve your communications and grow your business.
What is a copywriting service?
A copywriting service is offered by a digital marketing agency or freelance professional, that provides businesses with high-quality written content for a variety of online publication purposes. These services help businesses improve their online presence, attract and retain customers and – ultimately – increase their revenue.
The main goal of a copywriting service is to create persuasive and engaging content that captures the attention of the intended audience and motivates them to take a specific action. This might be to make a purchase, subscribe to a newsletter or fill out a contact form.
Professional copywriters have expertise in crafting compelling, concise and clear messages that convey the intended meaning in an engaging and effective way. They also have a deep understanding of their client’s target audience, including their needs and pain points, which enables them to write copy that resonates with readers and elicits the desired response.
What types of texts require a copywriting service?
A copywriting service can be used for a variety of texts that require persuasive and compelling language to influence the audience. Common types of texts that may benefit from a professional’s expertise include:
- Website copy
- Product description content
- Social media posts
- Blog posts and articles
- Advertising copy
- Gated content
What skills do you need for copywriting?
Copywriting requires a combination of creative and technical skills to produce captivating and persuasive written content. Key skills include:
- Excellent writing skills: It goes without saying that a copywriter must be a great writer if their goal is to capture and retain the reader’s attention. They should have a solid grasp of grammar, spelling and punctuation to ensure that their writing is error-free.
- Creativity: Copywriting involves coming up with unique and original ideas tailored to the target audience. They should be creative and able to generate and execute ideas that stand out from the competition.
- Research skills: Effective copywriting starts with great research. An essential part of the job is gathering and sorting relevant information and data to inform their writing.
- Knowledge of marketing: A copywriter should have an excellent understanding of marketing strategy principles and how to use language to persuade and influence the target audience. They should be able to create copy that aligns with the brand’s tone and voice while also addressing the needs of potential customers.
- Attention to detail: A keen eye for detail is a must for any copywriter. It’s important that all copy is error-free, polished and written to a professional level.
- Adaptability: They must be able to adapt to different writing styles and formats, depending on the project’s requirements.
What are the hottest copywriting niches?
If your marketing activities fall into a specific area, you may consider hiring writing services with particular expertise in a certain niche. This way, you can rest assured that the professional copywriter is well versed in industry jargon and knowledgeable about the latest trends so they can help establish your brand as a leader in your field.
Some niches that lend themselves well to content marketing include:
- Finance
- Technology
- E-commerce
- Travel and tourism
- Real estate
- Lifestyle
- Education
- Fashion and beauty
What are the benefits of using outsourced copywriting services?
There are several advantages of using outsourced copywriting services to grow your business and captivate your audience, including the following:
Access to professional writers
By outsourcing copywriting services, businesses can work alongside a team of skilled and experienced writers who know the ins and outs of creating high-quality content that’s tailored to their specific needs.
Cost-effectiveness
You may be surprised to know that outsourcing copywriting services can be more cost-effective than hiring an in-house writer. This is because you only pay for the work that needs to be done, without the additional costs of salaries, benefits and overheads
Time savings
Outsourcing copywriting services allows you to free up time and resources, enabling your teams to focus on other core business-related activities.
Expertise
If your business operates in a particular niche, outsourced copywriting services have writers who have industry-specific knowledge, expertise and experience on specific topics and industries.
Scalability
These services can generally be scaled up or down depending on project requirements, giving you more flexibility.
Fresh perspectives
Enlisting the help of a digital agency can bring fresh perspectives and ideas to the table, helping you to find new and innovative ways to communicate with your target audience.
What are the advantages of doing it yourself?
Despite the numerous advantages of enlisting outsourced copywriting services, there are a few benefits of hiring an in-house professional to handle all your communications. The main one being that they are always at your beck and call.
This gives you more flexibility when you need to assign content as well as increased control over deadlines. If you need to fast-track a project or amend a deadline with an agency, you’ll need to send an email or make a phone call rather than just heading to the in-house copywriter’s desk.
Agencies typically work with multiple clients to a tight schedule, which means you can’t always guarantee your request will be handled at such short notice. That being said, agencies are generally agile and try their best to meet the client’s needs.
This can easily be handled by being organised and an agency should help you create a content calendar so that last-minute requests are kept to a minimum.
How to create copy that converts
Writing great content is no easy task. It’s not the same as being able to craft readable email copy or a text message to a friend. To write copy that converts, you need to possess a number of skills and adopt various best practices.
Know your audience
The first step in creating copy that converts is to understand who your audience is. Research their pain points, desires and motivations and use this information to create copy that resonates.
Focus on benefits, not features
When creating copy to promote or sell your product or service, focus on the benefits rather than its features. Benefits are what your customers will gain from using your product, while features are the product’s characteristics. Benefits sell, but features don’t.
Use persuasive language
Language is one of the most valuable tools we have and should be used to convince your audience to take the next step. Sensory language that appeals to your audience’s emotions and senses is effective, and be sure to include a compelling call-to-action.
Keep it simple
Copy should be easy to understand – no matter what your audience already knows about your product or industry. Avoid using jargon, technical terms or complex sentences that may be confusing and keep sentences short, using lists, bullet points and subheadings to improve readability.
What information do you need for a copywriting project?
Whether you decide to do it yourself or hire a professional, copywriting projects require certain information that will allow the writer to do their job. This includes:
- Business and product information: Provide details about the product or service the copy is related to or promoting. This includes any unique selling points, key features and benefits.
- Objective and goals: Highlight your objectives and the goals of the project. For instance, do you want to increase sales, generate leads or create brand awareness? Knowing this helps the copywriter create copy that’s aligned with the project’s objectives.
- Tone and style: Ensure whoever is writing the copy has a clear idea of the tone and style (e.g. formal, informal, informative, entertaining, persuasive, etc) to ensure the end results meet your expectations and align with your brand’s voice.
- Audience: The copywriter needs to know the target audience, including basic demographics and other relevant information to ensure the content resonates with them. For instance, Facebook ad copy will be different from that of a downloadable guide or email marketing campaign.
- Keywords and SEO: When it comes to SEO copywriting, ensure you provide the writer or agency with a list of relevant keywords to ensure the final product is optimised for search engines. Some agencies will offer this as part of their service package.
- Deadlines: Set clear deadlines to make sure work is completed on time, including any timelines for reviews and amends.
How do you create the right tone in a piece of copy?
The tone of your writing can have a significant impact on how your audience perceives your message and whether they are receptive to it or not. It’s important to know your audience and understand who you’re writing for. This way, you can create content that is aligned with the desired reader. For instance, Google Ads copy will have a more direct and persuasive tone than a white paper designed to educate the reader.
Additionally, you’ll need to define your brand’s voice to ensure its personality shines through and customers feel connected to it, whether it’s humorous, conversational or serious.
Another factor to consider is consistency. Ensure the writing style is the same throughout the piece but also aligns with any other web copy text on your website or other outlets.
What are the turnaround times for writing projects?
This all depends on the scope of the project involved, the complexity of the project and the timeline agreed upon with the agency. Generally, turnaround times for writing projects are determined by the word count, the level of research required and the urgency of the project.
For example, a short blog post or social media update may have a turnaround time of a few hours to a day, while a website copywriting project or white paper may require several days or even weeks.
It’s important to discuss your specific needs and deadlines with the agency upfront, so they can provide you with an accurate estimate of the turnaround time.
How do you select the best copywriting services for your business?
There are several key considerations when choosing the best digital copywriting agency to partner with.
- Determine what kind of copywriting you need: Do you require SEO content, product descriptions, conversion copywriting, ad copywriting or something else? Understanding your needs will help you narrow down your search to content writing services that specialise in those areas.
- Look for experience: When searching, focus on finding copywriting services that have experience in your industry or have worked with a large portfolio of clients across different sectors. This can be particularly important if you have a niche business that requires specialised knowledge or terminology, such as technical or scientific.
- Check their reviews: Analyse online reviews or testimonials from previous clients to see what their experiences were like. This can give you insight into the quality of their work, communication skills and ability to meet deadlines.
- Evaluate pricing: Compare pricing models from different services to ensure you’re getting a fair price for the services you need. Remember that higher prices do not always guarantee better quality, so be sure to take other factors into consideration as well.
So, is outsourcing content creation to an agency worth it?
Although hiring an in-house copywriter may seem like a more budget-friendly option for your business, it’s not always the case. Moreover, doing this means that you’re missing out on the skills, experience and insight an agency will be able to offer.
Outsourcing content to an agency with a team of professional copywriters and content strategy experts can provide numerous benefits to grow your online presence and convert more customers. Whether your project requires landing page copy, sales copy, email marketing copy or something else entirely, an agency can handle any task you throw at them.
Axonn’s professional copywriting services guarantee quality copy that aligns with your business objectives. Get in touch to find out more about how we can work together to help your brand stand out from the crowd.