If you think it's expensive to hire a professional to do the job, wait until you hire an amateur. So, you're busy creating or growing your business, and the time has come to get your website up and running. It's a labor of love – one that no-one is more passionate about than you. You're also trying to do so as economically as possible. It's understandable. Money isn't always easy to come by. You're therefore thinking about writing your website's content yourself. Why not, right? Perhaps you fancy yourself a pretty good writer. Surely you can do this. Well, before your fingers start hitting that keyboard, consider the following factors that make the case for investing in a professional copywriting service. Protecting Your InvestmentNo confectionary chef creates a delicious and intricate wedding cake, only to decorate it with mud. You've hired a savvy designer to give your website a professional look. An expert programmer is working digital magic. You recognize the need for an effective marketing strategy. Why go to all this trouble to create a website and draw attention to it, only to risk turning your audience away because of content that conveys mediocrity? You wouldn’t attempt surgery on yourself, repair your vehicle’s transmission, or fix your faulty computer hard drive. A specialist task requires the appropriate expertise. When you need marketing copy, get it done by an expert who's work reinforces the investment you've already made, rather than compromises it. Marketing may get people to your website, but professional copywriting will help you get the results you desire once they've found it. Strategic PositioningYes, it’s true that there are a fair number of people who have a knack for writing. However, developing effective marketing and promotional content goes way beyond sound grammar and spelling. It involves knowing how best to position your product or service in a way that showcases the inherent value and uniqueness of your business and brand. It's about having the skill to inspire and motivate your target audience to take action. This is the domain of professional copywriting. Healthy PerspectiveIf you're attempting to write your own website content, everything may seem like a priority for you. It's your baby, after all. You've created something, and you're keen to proudly show off every single part of it. Your audience, on the other hand, most likely doesn't care nearly as much about all of that. Your potential clientèle just want to know why they should part with their hard earned cash. An expert writer is disciplined and ruthlessly efficient toward their own work, cutting away any irrelevant or unimportant details, which facilitates your content really resonating with your audience. Additionally, it's easy to get so busy as a business owner that you lose perspective on what makes your product or service truly unique in the mind of your prospective customer. There's too much focus on the trees, and a balanced, objective view of the forest is lost, often along with your new business. A proficient writer will help you stay on point in communicating the key “big picture” concepts, and help you rise above your competition. Manipulating LanguageLanguage, when used prudently and efficiently, can be exciting, provocative and persuasive. It can also meander steadily yet purposefully through comprehensive thoughts and explanations, being no less effective. There are all kinds of strategies an expert writer can utilize to imbue words with the power to sell, persuade or inspire. The ability to take your target audience on an emotional journey through the use of varied sentence structures and word play is one of the strengths you benefit from in having a skilled writer in your corner. Logical PresentationYou know precisely what you offer, and how your business runs circles around your competitors, but using the written word to logically convey these concepts can easily feel like trying to create delicate artwork with a paint roller. A professional writer specializes in drawing out the salient points. All that's required of you is to rattle on at length about your product or service which you are so passionate about – something most of us have no problem with – and the copywriter will transform your thoughts into optimized content that flows sensibly. Brevity and OriginalityAre you able to recognize a copywriting angle that's been used to death? Even the most engaging concepts can easily lose their impact if they have been expressed too similarly too often. Finding a way to express even the most familiar ideas with a fresh and unique angle is the domain of the specialist writer. “If it’s worth saying, it’s worth saying twice”, correct? Not necessarily, and certainly not if your website visitor is pressed for time with a laundry list of their own tasks to tackle. A skilled copywriter ensures that you make each word count in the most impactful way, getting your point across with precision and clarity – something your busy customers will certainly appreciate. In our modern age of information overload, everyone is swamped with more content than they can possibly wade through. In this context, the economical use of language is a valuable asset, and an expert writer represents the kind of trusted broker in this area that your business can benefit from greatly. Final ThoughtsThat’s your name on your business website, and it's a window into the integrity, quality and professionalism that your brand represents. There's no room for compromise, and you want things done right, or not at all. It simply makes sense to invest in the skills of a writing professional who will agonize over every word, taking as much pride in the presentation of your business as you do. The pen (keyboard) is indeed mightier than the sword. It's wise to have it battle on your behalf.
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Building a Great Website - Should You Create it Yourself or Hire a Professional Web Developer?5/22/2017 Creating a great website takes skill, time, effort, and resources. One of your first decisions will be if you or an employee can build the website, or whether you should hire a professional web developer. Your choice will depend on your time, budget, skills, experience, and technology. Think about each of the following areas to help you make an informed decision. How much time do you have?As a business owner, time and money are your most precious resources, and you need to prioritize your schedule properly. Building and supporting a great website takes time, experimentation, testing, and tweaking. If you have the time, building a website can be a valuable learning experience. If you or an employee aren't able to commit enough time, think about hiring a professional. They have the skills and experience to complete the work quickly. Do you have the right expertise and experience?You need considerable skills to build an easy to use, fast website that works for your visitors. It's helpful to have expertise in:
If you or your employees don't have the skills and experience, consider hiring a web developer. They can provide the expertise you need to create a fast, scalable, and easy to use website. Do you understand the technology and tools you need?There are dozens of options when choosing how to build a website. If you want to build the website yourself, you can use an online website builder like Squarespace, Weebly, or Wix. If you need more functionality, WordPress is a good choice. WordPress has lots of community support, templates, and tutorials. More complex websites will need specialized programming to make the most of their functionality. Popular coding languages and tools include JavaScript, Drupal, PHP, Python, and Joomla. A good web developer will use their skills to create a powerful, functional, and useful website. Can you guarantee the quality of your website?With so much choice online, visitors will decide on the quality of your website very quickly. Understanding how they view your website will tell you if you need to hire a web developer with expertise in user experience. This includes:
A web developer can give you a second perspective. They use their experience and portfolio of previous work to create a website designed to meet the needs of your visitors. Do you have the budget to hire a developer?Your decision to use a professional developer will depend on your budget. Hiring a developer can be expensive, especially if your website uses some of the more advanced technologies. Typical rates for hiring a standard web developer are around $50 - $70 an hour. Advanced web developers with lots of experience and coding expertise can cost upwards of $100 an hour. If you do want to hire a professional web developer, here are some budget areas you'll want to clarify:
Asking these questions before you hire a web developer will help you avoid any nasty surprises. Can you create accurate requirements and specifications?If you do decide to hire a developer, it's vital to have clear, comprehensive requirements. You and the developer will have a set of common specifications you're working to. The best way to provide specifications is to create a proposal. The proposal should include:
Your decision on building a website yourself, or hiring a professional web developer will depend on your confidence, time, experience, skills, and budget. If you have limited money, plenty of time, enjoy learning, and just need a simple website, you can start creating a website now. If you have limited time, a budget for professional development, and need a more complex website, then hiring a professional web developer is the right decision. |
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