Copywriting is more than correct grammar and pretty words

1. You get what you pay for (You receive that for which you pay – if we’re being grammatically correct)

While higher prices don’t always correlate to higher quality, in the world of copywriting, content creation, and marketing and sales writing, they do. Consider the arithmetic: if you pay a writer $0.10 per word for your website content of roughly 500 words per page, 5 pages total, you’re paying a grand total of $250 for the project. Most copywriters produce between 250-450 words per hour—not including revisions. At this rate, your copywriter will spend between 6 and 10 hours producing the first draft copy, and an additional potential 3-5 hours editing and revising—without including time spent at a client’s office, on calls with the client, or researching for the client’s website (totaling an additional 4-16 hours, depending on the copywriter). At best, your copywriter earned $27.78 per hour (again, not including the time they spend with you, the client), but more reasonably, they earned less than $16.67 per hour. If you expand that, a copywriter will earn a high of $57,782.40 per year, and a low of $34,673.60 per year…

If your copywriter has a Bachelor’s degree (or comparable experience – not everyone needs a degree to be a great copywriter!), they’ll never pay their student loans off at these rates.

Low rates will gain inexperienced, undereducated, rushed copywriters. Look for copywriters who quote by the project, at higher per-word rates, or at an hourly rate (and an estimated number of hours for a project) to find the most qualified, effective copywriters. (Oh hey, we can help you there!)

2. You don’t ask your plumber to paint your house

Your plumber may be a lovely person and excellent at his job, but that doesn’t mean you should let him advise you on the best quality outdoor paint, let alone take a roller to your home. So why are you asking your Administrative Assistant or Marketing Coordinator to write your new website copy (or sales brochure, or sales presentation, or or or!)? Copywriters and professional writers are exactly that: professionals. You pay the plumber because he specializes in all things piping and plumbing, and you should hire a professional writer for your business content, writing, editing, and copywriting needs because that writer eats, sleeps, and breathes words.

3. Consistency matters

One of the most common pitfalls for businesses recycling copy (copy = written content for a website, marketing, sales materials, etc.) is missing outdated content. Copying and pasting content from one place to another is also problematic, as the content on your website serves a different purpose than the content in a sales pitch deck. A seasoned, professional copywriter or copyeditor knows to look for inconsistencies, as well as outdated information. Professionals will also ensure that key phrases (for SEO and SEM) are seamlessly and consistently integrated into your online content, while also utilizing those terms in print and offline collateral in a way that doesn’t feel forced.

4. Your competition is investing in copywriting

We aren’t making this up: According to MarketingProfs’ 2017 B2B Content Marketing Benchmarks, Budgets, and Trends, the most successful marketers dedicated at least 39% of their marketing budget to content, and the average marketer dedicates 29% of their marketing budget to content marketing[i]. Where do your numbers fall?

5. Content is king – and it’s staying on the throne for a long reign

You may have heard this before, but the numbers don’t lie: content marketing is the present and the future of effective B2C and B2B marketing. Marketing magazine predicts content marketing will be a $300 billion (yes, with a B!) industry by 2019. In fact, the U.S. led the world in content marketing spending in 2014, with a total content marketing revenue of $12.11 billion – and a then-growth rate of 12.2%[ii]. In 2017, 51% of B2B marketers (ie: companies) plan to increase their spending on content, content creation, and content marketing[iii].

Why? Because it works!

Despite the fact that content marketing is 62% less expensive (seriously!) than other types of marketing, it actually generates 3x more leads![iv] Businesses that utilize effective content marketing also convert leads at a rate of 6x higher than their competitors who don’t emphasize content marketing.

Need more reasons to invest in content marketing? Here are 85+ Statistics to make you really want to put resources into your content marketing program.

Want to learn more? BJG Consulting offers the content marketing trifecta for our clients:

1. Content Marketing Strategy & Plans
2. Consulting: Content Audits, Competitive Analysis, and Content Strategy Review
3. Content Creation, Copywriting, and Editing and Copyediting

Contact us now for a complimentary 30-minute phone consultation about your content, copywriting, and content marketing needs.

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Sources

[i] http://www.slideshare.net/mprofs/2017-b2b-content-marketing-benchmarks-budgets-and-trends

[ii] https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news-c/content-marketing-will-300-billion-industry-2019/

[iii] https://www.marketingmag.com.au/news-c/content-marketing-will-300-billion-industry-2019/

[iv] http://contentmarketinginstitute.com/2016/08/content-marketing-stats/