A lukewarm take that I share every once in a while is that not everyone needs to work with a website copywriter. I believe that every business can benefit from teaming up with a strategic, conversion-focused copywriter at some point in their journey. But, if you’re a brand new online service provider or creative entrepreneur that doesn’t have a solidified business model, services, or plan… you’re only going to waste your money on website copy. It’s much better to DIY it for now and focus on getting your footing in your industry, then circle back to the investment later down the line.

But there’s a pretty clear point in everyone’s business where they hit a wall in terms of their conversions, their motivations, their sales, and the caliber of their customer… and that’s when it’s time to start investing in strategic brand building and brand messaging. A website copywriter is calling your name when your business plateaus before it’s even really taken off. 

In order to team up successfully with a website copywriter, your business needs a few things:

• Viability – proof and a plan to be around for the long term and show signs of year over year growth potential. Remember, even the best copywriting in the world can’t save a failing business model. Sorry, Charlie.
• Even an inkling of a voice and a vibe – you don’t have to put hours into crafting your own brand strategy and voice because, to be honest, your website copywriter will most likely come in and restructure it anyways. But your brand needs to have at least the baby steps of a personality that’s worth paying attention to.
• Values – your brand has to stand for something. As simple as that. And no, before you go crazy, you don’t have to dedicate your entire social media management business to eradicating food insecurity in your community (though you can, I guess). You just have to have values that you can stand behind and represent every single day.

If you’re an online service provider that has had website copy on the mind lately, it’s a great idea to do a little research and make sure you’re making an intentional, informed investment into your brand. An investment into conversion copywriting at the wrong time is a waste of money and time for literally everyone involved. Of course, the best course of action is to actually jump into your favorite copywriter’s inbox (mine is open, BTW) and ask them specifically if they think that it’s time for you to invest in custom crafted website copy. But, here are a few things to help you out in the meantime:

When to work with a website copywriter for your creative business:

You’ve got leads coming in, but you find yourself fielding the same questions, providing the same information, and generally sounding like a broken record in your instagram DMs.

When you don’t give potential clients and customers somewhere to visit to gather information, self-select whether a service or product is right for them, and filter through any potential questions… you better be prepared to spend A LOT of time fielding the same q’s, providing the same information, and basically becoming a broken record that only repeats baseline information about your business.

Without a place to go to answer all of the surface level questions, the conversations that you have with potential clients and customers are going to be completely baseline and boring as f*ck. You’ll never be able to get to the good stuff if you have to explain the tedium. And even though that’s not the key benefit of a website, it’s definitely an ancillary benefit that you’re gonna fall in love with.

You’re low on time, all the time.

Again, with your website not being there to provide the information that someone needs to make a confident, informed investment into your business… you’re going to be wasting a lot of your own time on conversations that could just as easily be answered by a “services” page and FAQ section.

Not only that, but a business without a strategically built and written website has to spend significantly more time on lead generation and building trust with their audience. I will go so far as to make the baseless claim that a website cuts down on lead times by at least 15%… which adds up really quickly, especially for solo entrepreneurs and online service providers.

Finally, if you’re pushing 40+ hour workweeks and constantly feel like you’re one bad day away from taking a grippy sock vacation… you need a website to start handling some of that workload for you. No, it can’t answer your emails and schedule your content for you (although, the future is coming fast, so we’ll see). But, with strong conversion copy on your side, your website can easily become your entire sales team.

You feel twisted up in all the details.

This is a problem that I face inside my own business pretty frequently. I can’t see things unbiasedly, so I find myself constantly getting “twisted up” in all of the details. Especially when I’m launching a new service or offer, or simply entering a new era of business. It can be a struggle to understand the right next move when you’re parsing out the finer details of your own business strategy.

A copywriter is not just a person who can write some pretty words for your website (among other platforms). We are skilled digital marketers and strategists that help you take a completely unbiased, customer-centric look at your business. This is crucial to growing, scaling, and being able to iron out any kinks in your sales pipeline.

You don’t know how to speak about yourself and your offers.

I spend a lot of time with my clients pushing them to not be afraid to brag about their abilities and accomplishments on their website. I get that it can feel a little… cringey, at first. But the truth is, this is the one place on the internet where you have the world’s full permission to brag your little face off.

You won an award? Milk it.

That one client loved you? Make sure everyone hears about it.

You just got featured on a podcast? Share it for the world to see.

If you don’t know how to leverage those accomplishments and abilities, then it’s time to bring a copywriter on board to write your website copy. 

One of the most important things that good copy does is parse out and succinctly explain the UNIQUE VALUE of a person and an offer. The understanding of this unique value comes from time spent talking to the client, market and competitor research, message mining, and understanding what inspires audiences to buy. Those unique value statements–about your brand and about your signature offer, are worth their weight in gold. They’re literally what kickstarts the inquiry process on your website.

Find a website copywriter that can showcase your business in its best light.

Honestly, those four points are just scratching the surface of why someone might seek out a copywriter to help take their business to that next level. Sometimes, people are looking for polish and finesse. Sometimes they’re totally capable of writing their copy on their own (in theory) but don’t have the time. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of “I can’t write and I don’t want to learn how.”

It doesn’t matter what ignites your need for a strategic copywriter to take over writing your website for you. What matters is that you’re ready, in many ways, to commit to your growth, start focusing intention and attention on scaling and refining your business, and start acting like a true CEO of a creative business.

When you’re feeling the itch for something bigger, it’s time to invest in your website copy. And if you’re looking for a creative, conversion-focused copywriter to write “this sounds like me, but better” copy for your business… you know where to find me.