“Enough about you. Let’s talk about ME.”
Why Hire a Professional Marketing Copywriter?
Here are some common symptoms of bad copywriting:
- Your sales letters don’t convert
- Your brochures aren’t generating phone calls
- No one stays on your web page long enough to buy anything
The good news is, it’s not your fault, and you’re certainly not alone.
You see, it’s just human nature to talk about ourselves. If bad marketing copy were your neighbor at a block party, it would be Bob, that insurance salesman two doors down who doesn’t have an “off” button or a concept of personal space.
You’re just standing there, minding your own business. Pulling on your Coors, waiting in the grill line for a bratwurst, you’ve made the mistake of making eye contact with Bob. Now Bob has attached himself to you, all barnacle-like, and he’s droning on about Term Life. Again. Like he always does, anytime, anywhere. He’s that guy who gets up in your face, and talks endlessly about himself (sometimes, in the third person…making it even creepier.) Me, me, me. I, I, I. It’s all about Bob.
Sigh. And you just wanted to enjoy your beer and brats in peace.
What’s in it for me?
But it’s not just Bob. Each of us—no matter how kind, how loving, how Mother-Theresa-like—is a selfish, self-absorbed, self-centered so-and-so who lives in our own “Me-Centered” Universe. Whether we consciously know it or not, each of us is out for Number One. We all want to know, “What’s in it for me?”
So, if you’re not a professional marketing copywriter, your natural inclination is to write about what’s important to you…how it benefits you…and what’s in it for you. (And, truth be told, a lot of “real” marketing copywriters do the same thing.)
If you’re writing homemade marketing copy—as an entrepreneur or wearer of many hats—you may discover that the words you use most often are “we,” “us,” “our,” and “I” or the name of your company (Just like Bob at the block party.)
Here’s the #1 problem with homemade marketing copy: When you’re trying to persuade your reader to take action, it’s not about you. It’s never about you.
It’s about your reader. Your prospect. Your audience.
It’s about their hopes, their fears, their pain, their dreams.
It’s about walking a mile in their moccasins.
No matter how lovely a person you are, they don’t care about you. They don’t care if you recycle, volunteer to build roads in Tibet, adopt homeless Pomeranians, or eat vegan. They only care about one thing: “What can you do for ME?”
How I Can Help Improve Your Copy
- You can hire me to write your copy for you. (Here are the kind of copywriting results you can look forward to.)
- I can come in an teach you and/or your whole team or department how to write better copy in a customized on-site copywriting workshop.
- I can coach you you one-on-one, coaching you through a specific project (or just giving your copy a once-over before your client sees it.)