jesanoa.info

From the outside, the line between copywriter and marketing consultant can look a little blurry. Copywriters are sometimes asked to give marketing advice to their clients, and part of a marketing consultant’s job is articulating a company’s position and message. And within both industries, some “value-added” professionals operate under both umbrellas.

But they are different. And especially if you’re hiring one or the other for the first time, you need to know what to expect with each-and what each expects from you.

You Need a Copywriter If:

You need a specific product. Copywriters sell concrete deliverables: copy for a brochure, a website, a series of articles, and so on. You need a copywriter if you need something specific written. You may not know exactly what you need, and some copywriters may be willing to discuss your goals with you and make suggestions. But at the end of the day, you need to have a specific project in mind.

You know yourself and your competitors. In preparation for your work, copywriters will ask questions about your company. These questions help them figure out how to best present you to your customers. Common questions include:

o What is your trademark as a company?

o What do you do better than your competitors?

o What is your current position in your market?

o How do you currently market yourself?

o What tone and image are you looking to convey?

If you don’t know the answers to these questions, a copywriter will have difficulty figuring out the best angle to take when presenting you to your customers.

You know your customers. One of the first questions any copywriter will ask you when starting a new project is “who’s your audience?” To write a successful marketing piece, you need to know your customers inside and out: what tone appeals to them, what they’re looking for in a product or service like yours, and what their hot-button issues are. A copywriter will need to know the following about your audience:

o What is the demographic you’re trying to appeal to? Describe your “typical customer.”

o What factors are important to your audience when choosing a product like yours?

o What problems do your customers have, and how do you solve their problems?

o What do your prospects need to know about your product?

o What is your audience’s “hot button”?

o What emotions do you want your audience to feel when reading this piece?

o Do you serve more than one demographic? How are they different?

Call A Consultant If:

You don’t know yourself. A copywriter will need to get a sense of your business and market to write a good piece. If you don’t know why a customer would choose your product or service over a competitor’s, you need more help than a typical copywriter can provide. You need to talk to a professional marketing consultant who can help you discover your own strengths and weaknesses and help you position yourself in the market.

You don’t know your audience. A copywriter will expect you to know your customers inside and out. Without this information, she’s writing blind. If you don’t know your customers’ demographics, likes and dislikes, problems and how you solve them, and the tone and image that will appeal most, you need a marketing consultant. These consultants can help you by crafting surveys and doing market research that will help you get to know your customers.

You need information-not a deliverable. If you need to know how to do something-not have a specific job done or piece written-you need a consultant. Marketing consultants can help you figure out who you are, who your customers are, and how to present yourself to them. They usually don’t write press releases or craft website content.

Marketing consultants offer valuable insight into your business. Copywriters can help you take that knowledge and make it into compelling copy. To make the most of your associations with copywriters and consultants, you need to know what they both do best-and when you need each.