Top challenges small businesses say they face and how a copywriter can help.

When I was first learning about copywriting I thought “Oh, I know exactly what that is, but I didn’t know it had a name.”

Copy describes the words you see on billboards, in emails, on flyers, and across websites. 

It can be brief, long, sound salesy or not, be printed or digital, accompany design or stand alone. Copywriting is a diverse field that often goes unnoticed because it’s lumped in with advertising.

So even though copywriting by definition produces *just* words, its impact cannot be overstated.

Why?

Words construct meaning in the form of emotions, thoughts, and psychological associations.

And meaning drives action.

Asking the right questions

If I directly ask small business owners, “Have you thought about working with a copywriter?” I usually receive a stare that tells me I asked the wrong question.

Here are some better questions: How’s your marketing going? How are people discovering you? Are they becoming part of your community, or making a purchase? Do you want to increase your sales or attract new customers?

It’s crucial to frame questions, offers, or stories in a way people can understand and relate.

For my business, this means remembering that not everyone comes to the conversation with the lingo or context I’m using with other people in my field.

Which brings us to the heart of this post. 

You, as a small business owner, may be unfamiliar with how a copywriter can help your business. 

So here are 9 potential benefits of working with a professional writer who will craft your sales copy, blog posts, emails, social media captions, product descriptions, scripts, website pages…the list goes on. 

We’ll address some of the top challenges small businesses say they face and how a copywriter might help.

9 problems a copywriter can address for small business owners

When it comes to marketing their brand, business owners say they are struggling to:

1. Communicate the value of their products or services

2. Uncover their key differentiators and use them to stand out from the competition

3. Understand their audience and how to talk to target customers

4. Develop a strong position in a crowded market

5. Convert website visitors to customers

6. Write a unique tagline that persuades people to care

7. Establish a recognizable voice and keep it consistent across channels

8. Have confidence in their brand messaging, copy, and professionalism

9. Operate with a long-term strategy to optimize results

1. Communicate your value

TL;DR: A trained copywriter will eye the market, listen to what you and your audience say about your brand, and crystallize that information into an authentic, digestible, and standout message. 

As a business owner, you know your offer inside and out. It’s what you live and breathe. But communicating your value? Most people struggle to do this effectively.

The goal of copywriting is to explain value clearly and keep it interesting. To do so, a copywriter considers who’s on the other end of the line.

Let’s walk through an example.

You’re a hairdresser who specializes in extensions.

Why are you a great choice for this service? Your potential customer probably isn’t looking for a comprehensive ingredient breakdown right off the bat. But they might want to know that you source from the highest quality manufacturer. In fact, your partnership with a high-quality, sustainable producer might be your unique selling point (see reason #2).

A copywriter is going to hone in on the details of your what, why, and how, and extract how that poses value to specific customers. And they’re not going to feel squeamish about promoting you.

They can skillfully showcase your value by empathizing with the struggles of your audience and thoughtfully presenting your solution.

Copywriters can also communicate your value in unexpected ways. For example, an About page is a great place to sell. And not just by shouting your victories from the rooftops.

Besides knowing how to communicate your value, they can help you stand out.

2. Uncover key differentiators

The famous USP, or unique selling proposition. It’s why what you do is one-of-a-kind. It’s why someone should choose you.

A good copywriter will work to implement your USP if it’s already established. If not, they’ll work with you to discover and communicate it.

A quick exercise to get the wheels turning for anyone who hasn’t already nailed this step →

Think back to when started your business, and ask yourself why. Why did you do it? Exploring that career transition or blood-sweat-and-tears invention will help you get to the heart of your business.

Sure, you probably had some personal, practical reasons like geography, income, or lifestyle logistics. But this is your business. You have a history with and connection to the product or service you’re marketing.

And maybe at first your answer doesn’t sound unique. Your story may be similar to other people’s. But consider the context, the whole picture of how you got to where you are. What’s an unusual part of your path or background? A unique skill or idea or style you bring? What’s your #1 priority or goal?

Knowing what makes you different will not only help you stand out. It will keep you focused on your message.

This is Apple’s mission statement: “bringing the best user experience to customers through innovative hardware, software, and services.”

Apple delivers. 

Sure, hardly anyone knows Apple’s mission statement. But millions of people experience the result of it every day.

If Apple didn’t act in alignment with their mission, they wouldn’t be Apple. If they suddenly started selling a product akin to the “dumb” phone — inexpensive and simple alternatives to meet the demand of a new minimalist market — they would risk their well-established brand recognition and trust. They would have forgotten their north star of innovation.

So here’s another question to consider.

What’s the thing that would make you not you?

3. Understand your audience

It’s not revolutionary, but it’s essential. And people make the same mistake over and over again.

They don’t take the time to consider their audience at every touchpoint.

In the beginning stages of brand development, it’s common to create customer personas and research your target audience.

But it’s not a one-and-done process. Whenever you engage in advertising, even if it’s writing your contact page (which is a key opportunity to encourage conversion), consider your audience and their needs in that moment.

The more specific your communication is to their state (adding items to their cart and nearing a purchase, reading your brand story after perusing your website, just discovering your social media profile, etc.), the better. 

Back to the hairdresser example. 

If a potential customer encounters your website and subscribes to your email list to gain access to your ultimate care guide for extensions post-application, they might be a great candidate to receive emails with discounts for extension upkeep.

A copywriter will consider where people are when they engage and how to meet them where they are. What’s valuable, what resonates, what do they need?

In so doing, they can help you build a stronger connection with customers.

This is why I believe in a service-oriented approach and incorporating psychological principles as a copywriter. I’m always considering what will best serve people, and how to meet them in their current or desired state.

4. Solidify your position

Once you have a secure direction for your brand – a deep understanding of your USP, audience, and value – how do you solidify your position?

This is a challenge that comes in waves.

First, it’s good to accept that your business will naturally evolve. But it’s problematic if every few months you’re changing direction, redesigning your image or trajectory.

Consistency matters.

How does a copywriter help you solidify your position? Here’s where I emphasize the craft of copywriting.

Writers craft with character, plot, and setting in mind.

To put it more concretely, a copywriter can help your brand solidify its position by incorporating a cohesive narrative across all your materials. That may be generating topics that relate to each other, writing articles that align with your brand’s character and voice, or choosing when and how to incorporate a call to action based on the customer’s engagement so far.

Rather than scatter pretty phrases here and there, a good writer grounds concepts in purpose. Every email sequence, web page, and video script relates back to your brand position.

5. Convert visitors

Conversion happens when someone does what you want them to. Sign up. Download. Purchase. 

Low conversion can be a symptom of ineffective marketing. The problem needs to be diagnosed. It may be that your materials are unconvincing, confusing, or unrelatable.

Conversion is the stage when people are considering your offer and the best possible outcome is alignment.

Real talk: most people don’t carefully analyze their purchases. 

Instead, they react. Sometimes from a place of desire, sometimes fear.

Maybe a hairdresser’s website says something like this: “Purchase top-notch hair extensions from a family-owned business”

That’s nice, but it’s not the bottom line of what the customer wants.

Here’s where a copywriter can help — by identifying a potential customer’s Desired Future State. And convincing them they can get there.

“A beautiful but low-maintenance hairstyle”

Better.

“Long, voluminous hair you don’t have to think about”

Now that’s a desired state.

6. Taglines, oh my

An effective tagline is human. It touches on a need, desire, or feeling.

Copywriters drill down and extract the core, relatable message of your brand.

“Just do it.”

→ The desire to be active, the feeling of accomplishment. 

“I’m lovin it.”

→ The craving for tasty food, the need to satisfy hunger. 

“Think different.” 

→ The desire to be unique, the feeling of empowerment.

Taglines should evoke feelings. In the examples above someone may feel empowered, motivated, or comforted. As a result, a desire or a fear is stoked and the product becomes associated with it.

7. Develop your brand voice

Strong brands have personality, character, and identity. They also have a recognizable voice.

To be effective, it’s important that your brand voice reflects who your audience is. Sarcasm can be a really effective tool, but it doesn’t work in every setting. Nor is it an appropriate characteristic for every brand.

Establishing early on the sound of your brand’s voice will be instrumental in growing an engaged audience and keeping your methods and materials aligned.

However, even small teams may struggle to execute projects that align with their company’s brand.

That’s where a structured and clear set of brand voice guidelines come into play.

A copywriter may not know the ins and outs of your company. But they are skilled at cutting the fluff and extracting the essence, understanding the point of view of your customer, and consolidating loads of information into poignant, short, written-like-you-talk messages.

Backed with a clear, strong set of guidelines that captures this essence, small businesses are equipped to continue creating and writing for years with a voice their audience comes to know and love.

8. Instill confidence in your brand

It’s a nebulous goal, but thankfully there are a few well-documented, concrete steps you can take.

The first step is one you’ve already done: Develop a consistent, recognizable voice and a unique position that highlights your offer.

The second is to explore creative opportunities to connect on a deeper level with your audience and build rapport. Here are some examples of how:

1. Provide memorable, positive experiences

2. Personalize

3. Use social proof

4. Be transparent

A good copywriter will have insight into the effectiveness of various strategies for your particular business, and creative ways to make your moves unique.

9. Act on your long-term strategy

To formulate a plan, you can reverse engineer your goals. Look at where you want to be, and break down the steps it’ll take to get there.

Copywriters deal with a broad spectrum of challenges and a wide range of scope. But no matter the brief, they’ll want to understand the big picture too.

So how can they help? A copywriter experienced with brand messaging and strategy will ask the right questions to understand your business goals and how those relate to each project’s goals.

But best of all, they’ll help check things off your list.

Moving toward big goals means taking lots, and lots, and lots…of little steps. Like blog posts. Like emails.

Adding a teammate might help bring those big dreams to life.

Before we wrap up, I want to address the block many small business owners face when deciding whether or not to invite a third party to join their precious operation.

Can you trust a freelance copywriter?

With all the clamor these days to build the perfect brand or the most successful business, there’s a strong push to hustle and check every available marketing box.

Trust is, and should be, difficult to earn.

A stranger’s offer to do something for you can be enticing in a is-this-too-good-to-be-true way, or repelling in a who-do-you-think-you-are way.

I’ve been on both sides of this situation. I know exactly how it feels to receive that pitch and what it’s like to deliver it.

So, ask yourself:

1. What is most important to my business at this point? (most effective, sustainable, feasible, budget-worthy, etc.)

2. Who is best suited to solve this problem for me?

With that grounding mindset, you can then field the requests, offers, or advice and not get distracted or pressured into doing something you’re not comfortable with.

As a creative partner, my goal is to help.

Operating out of that philosophy, my interest is your success. And, not always perfectly but in good faith, I strive to understand my client’s needs so that I can fulfill them.

Cheers to another day, month, and year of thoughtful business.