Should You Write Your Own Copy?
You own a business. You have a product or service that you need to sell. Chances are that you need to have some copy written–whether it be for your website, a sales brochure, a press release, or just a good standard follow-up letter that you can use often with prospects.
In this economy, companies often wonder whether it is a good idea to write their own copy in-house. While in the short-term writing your own copy might save you the money that you would have paid to a professional writer, in the long-term I believe that writing your own copy is a mistake.
A few years ago, I penned this post titled, Ten Reasons Why You Should Hire a Professional Writer. Every one of those reasons that I listed then is still true today.
You see, the copy for your website, your sales brochure, or your sales letters are more than just tasks to be completed. They are a representation of your company. Often, those words are the very first impression of you that a potential client sees.
If your copy is professionally written, then your prospective clients will have a positive image of your business. However, if that copy is full of mistakes or looks sloppy, then that your prospects are left with a very negative impression.
In addition to creating a good first impression of your company, hiring a professional writer can also make sense from a time management standpoint. You see, it takes time to create good copy. A lot thought goes into putting the right words together.
If you’re busy running a business, then you already have many responsibilities. Having many responsibilities usually means you’re short on time. Adding copywriting tasks to a schedule packed with client meetings and management tasks is probably not the best use of your time.
Besides, in my experience when a company decides to create their own copy one of two things occurs:
- The copy is hastily slapped together and may be full of mistakes (see the discussion about your company’s image above)
- The creation of the copy gets put off until “a later date” when there is more time (a date which often never comes)
To sum it up–No. You should not write your own copy.
Fortunately, you don’t have to. There are many professional copywriters who can handle the task for you.
Do you write your own copy? Why
About the Author: I am a successful freelance writer with 20 years of copy writing experience. I am available for consulting, business writing, copy writing, editing, technical writing, and web content writing. In addition, I have written an ebook, 
Wendy Sullivan | Apr 6, 2010 | Reply
Laura,
About that “hastily slapped together thing”… I did some work for a company last year, rewriting their web copy. I did it all in Word, with highlighted “Notes to Draft” as to where images and such should be placed, and sent it off to the client who sent it to their web guy to code.
I went to the site after hearing from the client that it was up and running. Imagine my horror when all the notes to draft remained!
I swear, it doesn’t matter sometimes if if they outsource it or do it in-house!
Wendy
Laura Spencer | Apr 6, 2010 | Reply
Hi Wendy!
There are some clients that don’t understand the markup tools. I always try to explain them as clearly as I can and usually I send a non-marked up version as well so that they can get an idea of what it should look like.
Still, your experience is a reminder that even your best work may be executed poorly. I’m sorry that you had to go through that experience.
andrewsmith | Apr 21, 2010 | Reply
I just want to ask q question if we have to do own copy writing then thr r lots of things to be kept in mind. when writing any article we have lots of points but whn the same article given again then at that time whr should we get different ideas? as v hav put our own ideas in one article only?
Emily Binder | May 2, 2010 | Reply
Hi Laura,
I found your blog through a link on Bit Rebels. Thank you for the post- it is helpful and concise. I do freelance web design and we typically edit our clients’ copy minimally (grammar, spelling) but most clients do not opt to hire professional writers. Maybe some professionals feel adept enough to handle it themselves but I agree with you that copy is of the top two factors for first impressions on a web site. The other factor is the look of the site.
Cheers,
Emily
@emilybinder
Laura Spencer | May 3, 2010 | Reply
Thinks Emily!
I’ll have check out Bit Rebels again.
People tend to underestimate the value of good copy. However, the web is filled with beautifully designed, but poorly written sites. The copy DOES make a difference.
Mike | May 10, 2010 | Reply
Great post. I’ve worked on a few websites (as developer/designer) where the client assumed that I was just as good as a copy writer. I really try to emphasize the value in having a professional writer do the job.
($web-design != $copy-writing) == true
Laura Spencer | May 10, 2010 | Reply
Thanks Mike!
I know that some freelance designers team up with writers. This enables the client to do one-stop shopping (sort of). Maybe that is what your clients were looking for?
Ricardo Bueno | May 13, 2010 | Reply
I wrote my own about page and my own bio for my speaking kit (and you know what, to tell you the truth, I think it could use some work). It’s always been a fluid thing for me (my about content and bio)… Always changing. It seems to work fine I suppose, but I know it could use some work.
Laura Spencer | May 14, 2010 | Reply
Hi Ricardo Bueno–Recognizing that you have a problem is the first step of the solution (or so I’ve heard).
Best wishes to you!
Ralph Fleming | Jun 10, 2010 | Reply
Of course!!! I agree with @Ricardo Bueno because I did the same thing
And yeah it can always use some work and some change.
Thanks for the post
Laura Spencer | Jun 11, 2010 | Reply
Thanks Ralph!
If nothing else, getting a second set of eyes to look at it can help.