7 Reasons Why You Shouldn’t Write Your Own Website Copy
Nathan Burns, Copywriter
June 5, 2019 · 3 min read
As a writer, I’ve had the opportunity to work on video scripts, banner ads, print ads, you name it. Out of them all,
I’ve seen some of the most hard-hitting marketing results from my website redesign projects.
A user-centric website redesign project can make a meaningful impact on any business. If it’s done right, the website
will communicate who they are, what they do, and why they do it.
Brands often take an ax to copywriting in an effort to reduce the scope of their redesign project. If you’ve thought
of doing the same with yours — don’t.
Maybe I’m biased. But maybe I just want to see your brand crush its goals. Here’s why your website needs some extra
lovin’ from your agency’s copywriter.
1. You’ll get fresh perspectives.
Your team probably knows your products or services better than just about anyone. Every nut, bolt, pricing level, and
feature. What they might not know is how to use copy to strike a chord with your audience.
When your agency’s creative team immerses themselves in your current website and marketing content, they get to see
your brand with a fresh set of eyes. You’ll have a copywriter and designer working together to understand your
brand. Along the way, they’ll be collaborating and brainstorming new ways to tell your story.
2. You won’t actually save any money by doing it yourself.
Ok, I lied. You will save money in the short term by having a smaller scope of work with your agency — but
there’s an opportunity cost involved. A site with content that’s been crafted by your agency’s copywriter will
convert more users and drive better results for your brand.
3. Writers understand your voice and tone.
Voice and tone are different for every brand. Having a writer that understands the nuances of your voice and tone
makes all the difference in your new website’s copy. A good copywriter will know when to be punchy and when to back
off. They’ll know exactly how your brand should speak to your audience. From headlines to technical body copy,
you’ll notice the difference immediately.
4. The copy will be more user-friendly.
Copywriters work hand-in-hand with designers throughout the process of redesigning websites. They hand-sketch
wireframes, jot headline ideas on whiteboards and send inspiration back and forth. When brands handle their own copy
or repurpose their old copy, that layer of collaboration is gone.
Without creative collaboration in your agency’s team, the copy and design get created in silos. This makes it tough
to get copy and design to work well together. In the end, this creates a less-than-ideal user experience.
5. The redesign process will go more smoothly.
When copy and design happen independently of each other, things can get weird in a hurry. Redesigning a website
requires coordination on everything from character counts to button copy and everything in between. Copy changes
also happen on-the-fly in response to design changes and vice-versa. That communication is difficult to manage when
copy isn’t written in-house. In the end, the loss in efficiency can make your redesign project a hot mess.
6. Your agency will know your business better.
Many brands don’t just want their agency to build their website — they want to create a partnership for other
marketing efforts. If that’s the case, you’ll want your agency to have a copywriter that really understands your
brand’s voice, tone, and value propositions. That knowledge can impact your paid search content, your display ads,
your social media content, and beyond.
7. It’s less stressful on your team.
Aside from collaborative struggles, many brand-side marketers haven’t been through the process of organizing and
creating content for an entire website. It requires a set of content organization tools to design a website. Your
agency’s writer will know these tools and how to leverage them to help organize and manage your content.
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