Freelance Copywriting: The Importance of Voice

Many online businesses fail to see why they should pay for freelance copywriting, believing that it is an unnecessary cost. They try to write their own copy or scour the freelance writing sites in an attempt to find cheap labor. They don’t realize that this can actually harm business, potentially jeopardizing all the hard work they put into designing and promoting the site.

The problem is that too many organizations are prepared to spend a small fortune on web designers, SEO consultants, and photographers, yet don’t think too much about the content. Instead of treating content as the heart of the website, it somehow becomes relegated to a secondary function, a mere afterthought.

A well-laid out, easy-to-navigate website with good images will create an image of professionalism, like a well-maintained, tidy store. It can certainly catch the eye and entice people to explore further, but it will not encourage them to buy. The way to close the deal is with words, a tried and tested technique that has worked for a few millennia.

Incompetent Employees and the Empty Store

So, why do businesses forget this ancient technique as soon as they move online? Perhaps they become enamored with the whole multi-media/flash animations/Facebook thing: while these are great marketing methods, they cannot stand alone.

Think of it as populating a store with beautiful staff, complete with flashing white teeth, perfect tans, and designer shirts: this won’t work if they are completely devoid of personality. If a potential customer asks a question only to find that the employees aren’t particularly blessed with brains, they will go elsewhere. It is the same online: you need to use words to sell, ideally well-chosen words from somebody who is knowledgeable, engaging, and interesting.

Connecting With Words: The Gift of the Freelance Writer

This is one of the keys to good freelance copywriting, as an experienced professional writer knows how to connect with people. There are a few techniques for keeping readers interested, but the common thread uniting them all is the ‘writer’s voice.’ This is a fundamental principle that is very simple to understand yet very hard to practice.

Ideally, a writer’s language should resemble how they would sound if they were speaking to the person. Try reading this passage out aloud (as long as you are not in public), and it is pretty much how I sound in real life: a slightly pompous Englishman. In fact, many writers, when they read, actually hear a little voice in their head reciting the words aloud. That is why TYPING IN ALL CAPS is a bad thing, because it actually gives some of us a headache!

A good writer can not only write how they speak, but can adapt their voice; if they were writing to an audience of grizzled building contractors, they would use a completely different voice than if they were copywriting for a site frequented by gaming geeks. That is what a good copywriter can do – they can make your site a welcoming place, greeting customers with a little human warmth, explaining exactly what your business can do for them.

The Joy of Freelance Copywriting

Of course, that is only one part of the equation, because a good copywriter can also create content that attracts search engine bots as well as human readers. Your marketing department will love you if you hire a pro copywriter, because this will make their life much easier.

Anyway, that is the end of these musings – I hope that you didn’t get too lost in the rambling. As you are at the end of the page, I must have done something right, so here is the link to the main site where you are free to contact me for a no obligation discussion. Thanks for visiting and I hope to see you soon.

Image: “Raven Releasing the Sun”, by Todd Baker