The more I work on company websites, the more I realize why it’s foolish for you, the business owner, to write your web page content yourself.
Here are my reasons:
1. You haven’t the time. You’re running your business and you have constant decisions and interruptions. Effective web writing takes focused research, thought, and time. Unless you can block off hours of uninterrupted time, you aren’t going to write good copy … nor is a staffer who has any other duties.
2. You haven’t the interest. Face it. Wouldn’t you rather close a deal with a terrorist than pick up a pen? Even professional writers have a hard time sitting down and facing the blank screen. Why torture yourself?
3. You haven’t the copywriting training. Professional copywriters study, take courses, and keep up with trends. They know how to determine the target audience, assess the competition, choose the right “voice,” determine features, determine benefits, and write winningly.
4. You haven’t the SEO / web training. Professional web copywriters are trained in search engine optimization and other web best practices. They know how to keep visitors on your site longer. They know how to research and find powerful keywords, embed them in the copy, and embed them in various tags.
5. Your writing isn’t good enough. See #6 and #7.
6. You just don’t have the talent. You should have paid attention to your teachers and read more.
7. You have the talent, but — most important reason — you don’t write everyday. When I began commercial writing many years ago, my writing was very good. Yet as the years go by, my writing keeps getting better and better. That’s because I write everyday. And not just any kind of writing. Specifically, I write subtle-yet-persuasive copy that moves people to take an action, like picking up a phone, walking into a store, filling out a form, placing an order, etc.
Unless you have an outstanding web copywriter on your staff, and you give him or her significant ongoing training, and you don’t load him or her down with other tasks, you just don’t have the capability to write and develop outstanding content for your website.
So when your web developer phones you and says, “Where’s your content for your web pages?” don’t say, “I’ll write something up.” Find yourself a great web copywriter.
