Techies Can’t Write;
Writers Can’t Tech
Don’t put your marketing eggs in one basket.
It could cost you more than money.
O.K. O.K. I know it's a gross generalization. But the thing is, generalizations like this exist because – for the most part – they’re true.
I have been writing marketing copy (ads, websites, blogs, brochures, white papers, catalogs and what-not) for a bit over thirty years. And in that time I have run into techies who can write. Twice. And I’m betting all my techie friends are reading this and thinking they have yet to find a writer who’s competent at technology.
Here’s where the rubber meets the road. In this age of websites, social media and digital marketing, almost every Tom, Dick and Harriett who design websites hold themselves out to be writers too. (“No worries, I can provide all the content along with all the design, artwork, functionality and SEO.”) Let’s have a show of hands out there from everyone who believes the entirety of that statement.
I didn’t think so.
Are you willing to trust your most important marketing tool to an over-confident, jack-of-all (website) trades? I will let you in on a little secret:
- I wrote or edited every word of my website, https://copywritingdone4u.com
- I paid Brian Flatgard to design and develop the site for me. To this day, when I want to change any functionality or design element…I call Brian.
- When I get a commission to write a website, the first question I ask is, "Who's your web designer?". Then we can work together and do the complete job.
Just a cautionary hint…before you hire those web developers who claim to be copywriters as well as all those other things…read two or three websites they developed, including their own. Maybe they’ll have be written wonderfully, defying all the odds…
…If not, call me.
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By Alan Tarr, The MoneyWords Copywriter
Author of The 7 Deadly Sins Of Marketing