Here are 6 questions you need to ask yourself about your business - NOW!
Most of the time, deciding whether or not you need (fill in the blank professional) offering (fill in the blank service) is easy.
Take your toilet for example. If a plumber were to knock on your door every day of the week and ask if you needed his services, you would say “no”.
Why? Because your toilet is flushing just fine. But, the minute your toilet becomes clogged, you will find yourself in a desperate search through your wallet for that one plumber’s business card.
The same can be said for most other services. When you aren’t saving enough money on your taxes, you find an accountant. When you are having trouble with your computer at work, you email the IT guy. When you want to sell your house, you call an estate agent.
Copywriting, on the other hand, is one of the few services where it is difficult to determine when you have a problem and when you need to hire outside help to solve said problem.
Having worked with dozens and dozens of brands on writing stronger captivating copy, I have decided to put together a few questions you can ask yourself to better determine when it’s the right time to hire a copywriter.
1. Do you have trouble explaining to people what you do?
You strike up a conversation with another professional at a networking event. She asks you what you do. Can you tell her what you do in 1–2 sentences? In addition, can you tell her in such a way that she will remember your name when she has a problem that your service(s) solve? Today, saying “I sell insurance” is no longer good enough.
A lot of people sell insurance… how are you different from everyone else selling insurance? A good copywriter can help you and your business define what you do in both a clear and concise way that is ultimately memorable to your prospective customer.
2. Do you find yourself often asking other people on your team, "Does this sound right?"
It’s easy to forget just how many words we send out on a daily basis at work. Think about it. Emails… Proposals… Marketing materials… If you notice that you or other people on your team are having difficulty communicating with your customers through the written word, hire a copywriter to teach both you and your team how to write effectively.
3. Are the emails you’re sending out driving sales?
Email marketing is called email marketing for a reason –– it’s the art and science of sending out emails that sell whatever you’re selling. If the emails you’re sending out aren’t giving your customer’s reasons to buy what you’re selling, then you could use a copywriter that is well versed in slinging email sales copy.
4. Does the bounce rate on your website look like the average life expectancy in the United Kingdom?
Today, it’s hard to get people to hang around your website for long. But, high bounce rates can be indicative of poor website copy (as well as design). An excellent bounce rate is 26% to 40%, and an average bounce rate is 41% to 55%. Anything in the 70% range or higher could mean–– scratch that –– does mean you have poor website copy. Good copywriting gives your website visitors reasons to stick around.
5. Are your landing pages not capturing emails?
75% of the people who visit your site will never return again –– this statistic shows why it is so important to have an exceptional landing page. Many internet marketers claim that you must have an offer like a free eBook to have any chance at collecting emails. However, I feel differently. I think good copywriting can be worth its weight in gold when it comes to landing pages. For example, this email landing page has worked exceptionally well for me – It has had a 37% conversion rate over the past 30 days.
6. Have your customers not been complimenting you on your brand’s personality?
Good copywriting is one part sales. One part brand-building. Good copywriting allows you to connect with your customers from afar –– something essential in today’s world where we are separated by screens. If your customer’s aren’t tweeting, commenting or emailing you about your brand’s personality… you might not have one. I know. I know. This might sound a bit petty. But, I have found good copywriting causes people to talk. Your customers are human. They like to receive emails that make them laugh, smile or feel moved in some sort of way. Good copywriting is important because it allows us to be more human in a world where we are becoming more robotic.
After reading this, you might be thinking to yourself… I need a copywriter. If that’s the case, please feel free to give me a shout at john@doingitdifferently.com If you’re shy and need some more time to decide, join my email list.