When people ask what I do, I usually say copywriter to keep things simple—but a lot of my work falls into the branding category. After years of working independently with clients and as a contractor for various designers and agencies, I’ve noticed quite a bit of confusion over the role of a copywriter in the branding process.
I obviously have a strong opinion on when copy should come into play as a business works through branding, designs their website, and launches online and on social media. But I’ve been involved in literally after step of this entire process at some point or another, so I have a good grasp on what’s most effective.
Most of the time, I’m hired to come in after branding, during the website copywriting stage. I also work with a lot of small businesses who DIY their brands, so sometimes I come in when no branding direction has been established whatsoever, which can be tricky too.
Unsurprisingly, site copy is a very popular package. It’s pretty essential if your website is how you earn income! They have usually landed on a logo, chosen where to host their website, and have either hired a web designer to bring it to life or are filling it in as they go. At some point, their designer asks for the website content (so, copy and photos), so she can make sure the design incorporates those must have elements naturally.
Web Designers Prefer Copy Before They Begin
And that’s when the client is like, wait, what content? Thankfully, lots of web designers have been through it enough that they have their own network of copywriters to refer or partner with when the need arises. Sometimes the client goes for it, and other times, several hundred dollars or more for copy is too shocking an expense to process, having not considered it before. (Side note: this is actually a big reason Jenn and I built wallflower, because both copywriting (my domain) and web development (hers) are often overlooked in branding, then come as a big surprise expense which is not fun for you or us! We wanted to incorporate them both into our own strategy process in a way that flows better for both us and the business owner.)
The digital branding, web design and development, and site copywriting world is a bit convoluted in that not all web designers offer branding and vice versa. So by time I jump in, my first task is to see where they’re at.
Again, often copywriting is a bit of an afterthought in the entire process of launching a digital business. I totally understand—it’s not as flashy as a logo or colors, it isn’t something so specialized like coding that you can’t possibly DIY; in fact, it’s something we all know how to do, to some extent. And web designers all have copywriting in their portfolio, because duh, there’s copy on the sites, so it’s easy to kind of assume they take care of it. No hard feelings!
But just like coding is super intimidating to me, copywriting is a nightmare for some—they just have no idea how to go from vision to text. Or, they really, really want it to be good, and really, really don’t want to do it, knowing it’s time to hand off to a professional. Both valid points!
Brand Copy vs Website Copy
Okay, so why is all this background important? Brand copy (or “messaging”) and website copy are different. Site copy builds off of the branding, and usually falls more under the marketing umbrella than branding. So it’s logical to craft your brand copy first.
And let me tell you: the businesses who have considered copy during the branding process are 100% better set up to develop successful and on-brand site copy (as well as a tailored social media strategy).
Brand copy includes things like your core values, mission statement, bio, customer persona, and very importantly, your tone of voice. Your tone of voice is how you will speak to your audience, so you can imagine that having a plan for that laid out before you get to your website really helps!
Site copy CAN include these elements, if you want to post your mission statement publicly, for example, but whereas brand copy includes some internal business messaging, site copy is all about that external language.
I can jump in at any point and get a feel for your tone, but it takes a lot more digging if it hasn’t yet been established. Which is totally fine and I love to help, but if so much writing is involved in the branding process, why not start from the beginning?
Brand and website designers don’t generally “do” copy, though they may help establish tone keywords and a customer persona. It’s actually brand strategists that offer more help in the way of writing or crafting language, and that’s because they are defining who you are as a business—they’re laying the foundation rather than building house.
Copy Starts with Strategy
Traditionally, businesses come up with a business plan—a lengthy document that defines their why, their values, mission statement, plan for marketing, competition and so much else—this is similar to what brand strategists do for you. You may not need the copy in your business plan to be polished and tight, since it’s primarily for your own use (though, say you are applying for a loan, then it would really come in handy). But by having a copywriter help you craft your strategy, whether it’s someone like me who dabbles in both strategy and content or a brand strategist who partners with a copywriter, you’ll have a really solid plan for ALL of your business’ creative—copywriting, visuals, all of it—not just your logo and moodboard.
So, when should you hire a copywriter for your small business? Well, you absolutely should during your branding process, or even as early as writing up that business plan. That said, starting a business is expensive, you likely have to sacrifice some help in order to pay for help in areas. In that case, if you like writing and feel pretty confident in it, you can probably hold off until you get to the website and marketing strategy. But if there’s another area you feel more confident to take on yourself, perhaps you can squeeze in the investment of a writer.
I hope this little intro helps you learn when to hire a copywriter, complicated as it seems! Later we’ll talk more on the difference between branding copy and site copy, and other questions you may have about launching your website. Stay tuned!
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