The Real Value of Bespoke Copywriting
Buying off-the-shelf products may cost you less upfront but they’ll cost you a whole lot more in the long-run.
We all love to bag a bargain. Whether for our business or our own wardrobe it’s great to get something for less than we think it’s worth.
That’s why those ready-made, cheap content products can look pretty tempting as you search for an affordable copywriter .
But there’s a problem with those off-the-shelf offers:
Affordability is not just about how much you spend today, it’s about how much value an investment will bring back to you in the long-run.
What seems like a bargain today may, over time, turn out to be an expensive mistake.
Today, I want to make the case for bespoke copywriting services.
These are services from quality copywriters who listen to your concerns, study your audience and understand your goals so that they can deliver original, effective and measurable outcomes.
Let’s jump in and discover why caring about your copy is all about thinking long-term.
Find the perfect fit and stand-out
Let’s deal with a fundamental why? straightaway.
As this article points out:
“The biggest differentiating factor for bespoke is the collaboration between client and designer and an enjoyment of the process.”
Writing from the perspective of the original bespoke trade — tailoring — the author celebrates the value of working this way, reflecting the clear, personal benefits it brings to her clients.
Contrast the experience of going to a tailor or heading down to Primark to grab a cut-price bargain.
Sure, the Primark gear is fine, but it hardly makes you stand out. In fact, it makes you look like everyone else (that’s kind of the point of it, right?).
Don’t let your copy look like everyone else’s. That’s a real waste of money.
Get tailor-made copy: a process that may take a little more time but will produce uniquely positive results that can’t be copied with off-the-shelf products.
Let’s Get to Know Each Other
Now, let’s talk about time.
Chatting away on Skype or over coffee (ehem, cocktails?) with a copywriter, designer or creative may appear like a waste of time. I mean, shouldn’t they be getting down to work and, oh I don’t know, start writing?
In short, no. Jumping to create the copy too soon will mean it’ll just read like everyone else’s (and we’re getting why that’s a bad thing, right?).
Without a good brief, the copy can’t be written for you because the copywriter doesn’t know who you are and what makes you a unique offer. We need to discover your USP, not just have you tell us what you think it is.
Creating great copy is all about collaboration. It has to involve you if it’s going to work for you and a long brief is the first step in this process.
A long brief helps me to get under the skin of your desires and goals. It helps me develop the copy that you actually need and identify how I’ll focus and use the research I’m doing (see below) in a way that will genuinely benefit you.
In my experience, a thorough briefing process invariably improves the likelihood of creating:
• uniquely appealing copy,
• copy that truly reflects you and your business,
• copy that your audience loves, trusts and responds to, and
- copy that you feel connected to and proud of, because you played an active role in its creation.
There’s always more to learn
Running alongside that long brief should be a deep-delving into research. You may be an expert in your field, but a copywriter is your personal expert researcher.
Research allows a copywriter like me to learn about the wider context of your work, why your customers should be excited and how to deliver your message in words they are primed to respond to.
Research allows me to arrive with specific information to help guide the brief and the creation of the final copy. It allows me to cut through general strategies to find the one that would be right for you.
As this copywriter points out, the briefing and research phase of any project is around half (actually, mine is normally closer to 60%). It continues throughout, because if there’s something out there that can make copy even a tiny bit more effective, it’s worth finding and applying.
And do you know what makes this even more effective? Long-term working relationships. It leads to consistency of messaging and voice across all your content, as well as an asset who’s always on the lookout for great angles for articles and innovative marketing copy choices.
Look, I’m not made of money
I’ll assume you’re on a budget. Hey, let’s face it, we’re all on a budget. And it’s probably tighter than we wish it was.
You’ve got a business to run and each thing you do has got to pull its weight (and more if possible!) I understand that when you’re staring at your balance sheet, taking a bespoke option can seem like a costly risk.
That’s certainly an argument made in the IT industry, who tend to back away from the word ‘bespoke’ as quickly as it can. But the concerns it raises over bespoke services, as neatly outlined in this article, are all things that can be easily mitigated when it comes to copywriting.
Take the ambiguity argument the article makes: with a clear, long brief, clear, achievable timelines and clear, open communication, such confusions will have no place to arise.
Or the argument that you’re outlaying more money for something you don’t know will work. Fair point.
But that’s why a good copywriter will always offer modes of measuring the effectiveness of their copy, so that you can see for yourself the ROI and results of your investment.
Spending less now is not a way to get better value. It’s just a way of ensuring that you’ll need to spend more later to put the inevitable hack job right.
Best to avoid that and invest in reliable quality from the outset.
Become known for who you are
I hope this article has helped you to see the real value in choosing a bespoke copywriting service.
If you remember nothing else, remember this:
Choosing a service that is made for you and doesn’t just make you a repeat of every other business is a crucial way of establishing your business as unique and desirable.
And that’s surely what every business wants.
