It’s 2023 and “Marketing” has a lot more dimensions to it than when I started in the industry back in 2005. Back then I wrote blogs, did some SEO, sent email blasts to purchased data, and carried out daily fax marketing campaigns (yup…fax). Now, digital marketing also includes PPC, content marketing, and good old social media. We also still have the tried and tested offline marketing like print and events. With so much going on, it’s common to have specialists within marketing teams, or outsource certain skills including graphics, videos, or even PPC. But should marketing teams have a copywriter?
Content Writing vs Copywriting
Before I get too far ahead of myself, the purists will be sharpening their pitchforks and dusting off their torches as I, once again, lump all marketing writing under the heading of ‘copywriting’. Technically, content writing is when you are writing copy to educate or raise awareness about a topic, and copywriting is solely about converting a person to take an action.
Here’s the thing, when I got my qualification in copywriting, it was all called the same thing…copywriting. So that’s the term I use. Fight me.
Can’t everyone be a copywriter?
Every one of the marketing activities listed above requires some element of copywriting. So much so that Brendon Burchard on his Marketing training podcast said that all entrepreneurs should be copywriters themselves, not outsource it because it was so vital to marketing a business. That relies on his premise that copywriting is a teachable skill – and of course it is! Everything can be taught…but talent helps too. I can go to singing classes and learn the mechanics of singing, but it doesn’t mean anyone wants to hear me as I belt out Metallica while walking the dog. So yes, anyone can be taught to write good copy…whether that works for you just depends how good you need it to be.
Do I need a copywriter in-house or should I outsource?
Oh, I’m about to sit in a horribly uncomfortable position on a fence right now and say “it depends”. It’s the same as making a decision about hiring an internal IT team or continuing to outsource. Once you get to a certain level of content production, it can make sense to bring it in-house.
So what content would a copywriter be producing in-house each day? Things like blogs, landing pages, adverts, website copy, sales emails, newsletters, brochures and other print collateral. If your team is producing content like this on a daily basis, then it’s time to write up that job advert. If it’s more like weekly or monthly, then find yourself a professional copywriter whom you get on well with, and book out a few hours of their time each week instead.
Did that answer your question? No? OK, well how about we set up a call and you can pick my brains? Tell me what you are producing each week, or the big project you are currently working on, and I’ll tell you the cost of using me – then you can do the maths and make an informed decision.
