Copywriter for Small Business – Enhance Your Marketing Efforts With the Right Help

You need to find a way to boost your business profits. Using the same old marketing tactics repeatedly doesn’t seem to have an effect. You need to take your small business to the next level, but breaking through your current business plateau feels impossible.

And it may not be possible.

At least not by yourself. This is a good sign you should be looking into finding help – the right kind of help. You need a copywriter.

At Maggie Writes Copy, we’ve helped many businesses break through growth plateaus when it didn’t feel possible. Today we’re going to talk about how we do it – and why a copywriter for small business may be your answer. 

Copywriting Defined – What It Actually Is

Not to be confused with copyright, copywriting is writing words that are designed to compel a reader to complete an action.¹ 

This makes it different from content writing which is mostly used to inform. You can see where the difference in writing objectives makes a big difference in the outcome for your company.

Hiring a copywriter vs a content writer can make a huge difference for your small business. Because at the end of the day, your goal is to get conversions – you know – the green stuff that helps your business stay afloat?

Let’s dig a little deeper into the benefits of using a copywriter for small business.

Why You Need a Copywriter

It may be easy to slap a bunch of words on your home page. Or to write up a quick email to your subscribers. But it’s less easy to do it in the most effective way possible.

That’s where a copywriter comes into play. There are a lot of different tactics copywriters weave into their copy that lead to the best outcome for your business.

Some of these are known as the techniques of persuasion:²

• Scarcity
• Reciprocity
• Social Proof
• Authority
• Consistency
• Liking
• Unity

These are some of the basic techniques copywriters use. There are plenty of other tactics copywriters use to get the most into their writing. So that you get the most out of your customers. 

Things like storytelling, emotional connection, dispelling objections, and highlighting benefits. Every copywriter is going to have a different style they use to connect you with your audience. 

A good copywriter will weave a lot of different techniques into their writing throughout your site and communications. Their goal is to connect with every person on your site and on your list.

They aren’t just filling a quota of words. 

This is why most good copywriters charge via product rather than word count. Good copywriters write until they convey the important information appropriately.

It’s also important for you to know that small business copywriters want you to succeed. Throwing a bunch of words on your website or into your emails isn’t their style. 

They craft the copy. Then they monitor it to see how it performs with your target audience.

Understanding metrics and adjusting copywriting strategy is as big a part of the copywriting journey as the initial writing.

You need a small business copywriter who is invested in your business success. 

But how does a copywriter fit into your marketing program?

Copy in Marketing

We could talk about why you need a copywriter all day. The truth is, it’s also important to know where copy should be used in your marketing strategy.

1. Web copy
2. Blog copy
3. Email copy
4. Ad copy
5. Product descriptions
6. Landing pages
7. Sales pages
8. Social media
9. Digital products
10. Physical newsletters

If there are words on a page that your audience will read, you should maximize your investment and use a copywriter.

This isn’t to say all these items should be focused on a sale. In fact, I highly recommend you don’t always use your call to action (CTA) for a sale.

How to Hire a Copywriter for Small Business

It can be overwhelming knowing how to hire a small business copywriter. It’s a specialized skill. It’s hard to know what good copy is if you don’t know how to write it yourself. And it’s hard to know what kind of copy will get results with your audience.

Here are a few tips to find a great small business copywriter:

1. Check out their reviews and testimonials.
2. Look for their portfolio on their website.
3. See if they have any case studies posted.
4. Read their blog posts to determine if they’re an authority in the copywriting space.
5. Have they worked with companies similar to yours?
6. Do they work with a copyeditor to ensure quality?
7. Do they have a link to book a free consultation?

Most of these things are going to be apparent when you look at their website. You can also ask several questions at your consultation to see if they’ll fit with your small business. 

Here are some good questions to ask a potential small business copywriter:

1. Have you heard of Search Engine Optimization (SEO)?
2. What steps do you build into your copywriting process to help my site show up on Google?
3. Are you comfortable writing in a specific tone to blend with my brand?
4. If it is for email marketing: Do you implement A/B testing into your strategies?
5. What excites you about my business?
6. Are you comfortable with me asking for edits of your work?

Any copywriter for small business you are looking to hire should be happy to give you the answers to these questions. They shouldn’t have to think too hard about them as they’re usually built into their copywriting process.

Copywriters provide lots of different services and lots of different ways to help your small business.

How Does Copywriting Work?

Understanding how your small business copywriter works is important. There are several different ways your copywriter can approach providing you with the copy. 

A lot of copywriters just deliver the copy. This means they write it in a Google doc and send it on to you for edits. Once you’re happy with the final product you’ll send it to your web developer or your email marketing manager to publish.

Some copywriters offer full-service copywriting. This means they write it and they publish it for you. This is fairly rare, as there are so many different website hosts and lots of different systems. 

You are more likely to encounter this service from a copywriter you have on retainer. As there will be a learning curve to your site.

One form of copy where this is a lot more common is with email copywriters. Many email copywriters offer full-service email marketing. This includes:

• Copywriting email flows and broadcasts
• Uploading and managing your Email Service Provider (ESP)
• Email design
• List building
• List segmentation
• List cleaning
• A/B testing

There are a few other aspects to email marketing. Because there aren’t a lot of ESP managers out there. It is often easier to hire an email copywriter who does it all well. There’s nothing worse than messing up your email flow.

Regardless of how your copywriter works, there is one thing you should make sure your copywriter does. Analyze your results – and adjust your marketing strategy.

Results Should Drive Your Small Business Copywriter

The best way to make your copy work for you is to learn what works and what doesn’t and adapt to your audience’s needs.

Whether your copywriter is analyzing with Google Analytics,³ Google Search Console,⁴ or through your ESP, you need to use real data to drive your marketing plan.

Building out a marketing funnel shouldn’t be done using a haphazard approach. You need a copywriter who is going to build your funnel based on the real data your audience is giving you.

This is why A/B testing is an important piece of your marketing funnel. A/B testing is when you compare two versions of the same thing and find out which your audience reacts to the best.

This could be:

• Three to four versions of a Facebook ad.
• Two versions of a Google ad.
• Sharing a blog on social media with two different posts featuring two different titles or images.
• Sending out an email with different subject lines and seeing which gets opened most.
• Using a button or a link in an email and seeing which your audience prefers to click.

There are a lot of different things you can A/B test as you build your marketing strategy.⁵ And every piece of information you learn helps you refine your past content and build your future content better.

A good small business copywriter knows this and will be committed to building your marketing strategy successfully.

If you’re concerned about finding a results driven copywriter, it could be a good idea to create an onboarding process that helps them succeed.⁶ Goal setting can be very powerful when you’re starting out with a new hire.

Because ultimately, if you hire the right copywriter for small businesses, they will connect with your business almost as much as you do. After all, your success proves their methods and copywriting techniques work.

A Small Business Copywriter Drives Results

Not only do results drive a good copywriter – a good copywriter actually learns how to drive results themselves. 

What brings site visitors

What builds your list

What converts

What brings repeat customers

Once you have enough data, it’s easy for a good copywriter to bring you success after success. Because your audience doesn’t change very much. Once your brand aligns with them, the sky is the limit for success.

Building your marketing strategy and learning what drives results doesn’t have to be hard. It’s important for you to have a thorough knowledge of marketing. But it’s also important to find the right people to support your small business.

If you want to learn more about: 

• Copywriting
• Marketing funnels
• Email marketing and list building
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• Small business tips

Join my email list. 

Today is the day to build your successful marketing strategy. Using results-driven methods that work. 

Or schedule a call to talk about hiring a copywriter for small business. One that drives results using results.

Resources:

¹ What is Copywriting – Jacob McMillan

² Dr Cialdini’s Principles of Persuasion – Influence at Work

³ Analytics – Google Analytics

⁴ Google searches – Google Search Console

⁵ A Refresher on AB Testing – Harvard Business Review

⁶ The Definitive Guide to Employee Onboarding 2023 – Contact Out