If you find yourself saying this…

If you are running a business or head up the marketing for your company, you may have heard yourself say this.

And if you do, some small alarm bells should be ringing.

The phrase you may have heard yourself saying is something like…

“I think I need some copy for a sales letter” or “We need copy for some emails”.

Now, don’t get me wrong.

It might very well have been the case that you did need copy for a sales letter or some emails.

But maybe that wasn’t what your marketing most needed.

Maybe there were other things required for a successful campaign – not just one piece of copy.

Maybe the strategy wasn’t the most likely to get the best results. (Maybe there wasn’t even a strategy behind the thinking that led to you saying “I need some copy”).

So, when somebody contacts me and asks “Gary, can you write one piece of copy” I will reply (if I have time available in my schedule) something like “Yes, I can and how does this fit in with your strategy and the outcomes you’re looking for?”

Because more and more of my work is not about just writing copy. It’s about providing the client with strategies, ideas, suggestions and other ways to make a campaign or longer-term marketing reap better results and rewards.

It could be advice about how to use video wisely.

It could be suggestions about how to run series of emails for a campaign.

It could be a critique of a sales page – the words used (or the words not used), the visuals, the flow of the copy, the elements included (or the ones left out) or  the tiniest tip about buttons.

Or a review of your current marketing.

It’s not enough in marketing these days to just do what you’ve always done. You need to look at your intended and ideal outcome(s) and work back. Find a strategy and then look at what you need, including the copy.

Some copywriters only write words (and if you pick a good one those words will probably be successful for you).

Others, like myself, can provide you with a bigger-picture service as well … consultancy, strategic thinking, coaching, mentoring and even training, for example.

That kind of service is one you want to consider BEFORE you start hearing yourself say things like “I need some copy for a sales letter”.

Heard any little alarm bells lately?

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