The Wrong Reasons to hire a website copywriter

When do you actually need a website copywriter? When would a different type of expert be the better fit?

If you’re confused about this, you are in very good company. I suspect that even many copywriters and marketers do not have a clear, easy answer.

The problem is this: both marketing and the subset of copywriting are confusing lands of overlapping and related-but-different areas of expertise with fancy names.

Brand strategist. Marketing agency. SEO content writer. Brand voice specialist. Website copywriter. Messaging consultant. Marketing strategist. Ghostwriter. Website design studio. SEO agency.

I mean…

It’s not easy to parse out.

I know this because I often take sales calls with folks who, based on their intake answers, I’m pretty sure are trying to solve the Wrong Problem by hiring me.

But, I want to talk to them, understand their big picture, and personally refer them to the right person. Aka, I want to right their ship (they’re currently pointing East when they need to be heading North).

So let me right your ship, too, right now.

Here are the Wrong Reasons to hire a website copywriter ↓

• More clients needed ASAP!
  
  • The right solution is to identify the underlying problem and then solve for it (sales? positioning? visibility? product-market fit?).
    
  • Suppose you’ve tried to determine what’s wrong and can’t figure it out. In that case, I think a business coach or program could be something to explore — and I’d probably look for someone who coaches your type of service provider or agency (not “every business model/field”).
    
• Trying to break into a new market!
  
  • The right solution is to talk to that market (pitch, post content, reach out for informational interviews and referrals; anything that gets you, personally, having conversations with your new ideal clients).

• Not sure what makes us different!
  
  • The right solution is to work with a consultant who helps people with this (aka brand strategist/positioning expert), like Megan Vaughan or Melissa Perkins.

• Want to be found in AI search!
  
  • The right solution is to work with an AI search specialist like Meg Clarke. (Copywriting may be part of the solution, but it will never be the whole thing, and anyone who promises AI search results based on copy tweaks alone is not your friend.)
    
• Don’t care about messaging but want to be found on Google!
  
  • The right solution is to work with an SEO consultant or agency like Julia Bocchese or Findable Digital. (Again, copywriting may be part of the solution, but it will never be the whole thing. And certainly if you’re happy with your copy and just want to improve rankings, an SEO consultant is a much better fit than a copywriter, even an SEO copywriter.)

How you know you’re Not Ready to work with a website copywriter (aka, your problem is upstream) ↓

• You can’t name your ideal clients, offers, or differentiation right now. Imperfect/rambly answers are okay. Blank stares, “I’ve never thought about that” or “honestly I work with everyone” answers, on the other hand…
  
  • What to do now instead: Give yourself time to figure it out on your own, or if you’re stuck, find a business coach or consultant who works with people at this level (see my advice above).

• You’re within the first year or two of business. Most Year 1 founders end up pivoting their business early on, rendering any messaging investment quickly irrelevant.
  
  • What to do now instead: Trial messaging to see what lands and drives business, and what type of said business is profitable and enjoyable, keeping any investments super lean.
    
• You are feeling a lot of resistance to the idea of someone else writing for you. Copywriting is one thing you, deep down, don’t want to let go of. At least, not right now. That’s very okay.
  
  • What to do now instead: Keep doing your own copy, but make it convert better with regular expert feedback (in memberships like Cassie Paton’s The Draft House or Branda Villacob’s The Copy Huddle).
    
• You’re in the early stages of planning out your new website, and you aren’t ready to go all in on any investments, or you feel overwhelmed by the idea of overhauling your messy site.
  
  • What to do now instead: Buy clarity, not DFY services yet. Like my Website Blueprint Intensive offer.

However, if your problem is this —

1. Your website needs to catch up to what you do now and reflect your premium positioning…
   
2. So you can actually use it in your sales and marketing to answer the question “why you” before prospects hit your calendar or DMs…
   
3. For excited, “just a few logistical questions but I know I want to work with you” sales conversations where little convincing or education is required…
   
4. Plus, rock-solid confidence in your marketing anchor (your site) as you take bigger and bigger swings (speaking on stages, wooing major clients, investing in PR)

— Then yes, you need a website copywriter.

All to do now? Find the right website copywriter for you.

Xoxo, your favorite website freak,

Krista