Engaging professionals makes sense

One of these does not fit in. Please guess which one:

1. Need printing done – call a printer
2. Need your accounts reviewed – call an auditor
3. Need computer help – call an IT specialist
4. Need quality copy written – do it yourself

If you feel that one, two or three don’t fit in, you may be right. But you must be thinking of something that’s far too deep for me.

Obviously, there are no prizes for guessing, the answer I am looking for is number 4.

And why people do this never ceases to amaze me. After all, writing is a craft, just like carpentry.

Marketing people, and business people generally, are constantly involved in scores of different activities. They have little chance to improve their writing. Whereas the full-time writer, just like the full-time carpenter, is enhancing his or her craft every day.

Take websites, for example. People spend thousands of dollars on website design and then write the copy themselves.

Yet isn’t the message conveyed through words? Good design supports the message, of course. And I am all for excellent design.

But it’s the copy that provides the message. People come to your site looking for information. Contained in the copy.

By doing the writing themselves, managers very often sell their company short. And worse, they damage their brand. Here are a few horrible examples of copy that has come unstuck:
> This week I take a look at one viewers site and what they can do to make it rank better for their key phrases.
> If your only now thinking about tax, your late.
> With enhanced productivity during the downturn our efficient and flexible processes show a convergence towards performance indicators that are heading north.
All of these (presumably) went through the approval process. Yet, to everyone’s embarrassment, they slipped through. And in the rush of day-to-day activities, it can happen. (Corrected versions appear below)

I am not for a moment suggesting you should call for a copywriter every time you need to communicate anything. But when it is an important client letter, brochure, website, report or other article, the investment will pay for itself many times over.

If you want a particular response, it’s worth paying a professional to give yourself the best possible chance of success.

And now for the corrected versions (which I am sure, if you have read this far, you will be well aware of):
Ø This week I take a look at one viewer’s site and what needs to be done to make it rank better for key phrases.
Ø If you’re only now thinking about tax, you’re late.
Ø This could mean anything! It’s a sentence some politicians might get away with, but it has no place in a business communication.