©iStock.com/hotboiled
You’re stuck! You’ve a brochure to write, but you don’t know what to say.
Is this you?
You know the message you would like to communicate to your clients, but when you sit down to actually write that message you just can’t get the right words out.
Have you ever had the frustrating experience of not being able to find the right words?
You want your writing to express your message clearly, but somehow your written draft falls just short of saying what you really want it to say.
If you’ve ever struggled with writing your own business documents, then you know exactly what I am talking about.
You should also know this – if you’ve ever struggled with writing, you are not alone. When it comes to putting their thoughts on paper, many successful people have trouble.
The truth is that your trouble with writing is probably not really your fault. There are many valid reasons that cause people struggle to put their thoughts into words. Here are a few of them:
- Busy — People are busier than ever before, but good writing takes time. You may have the skill to write great copy for you business, but do really you’ve the time? In many cases the answer to that question is probably “no.”
- Training — You are an expert at what you do, but writing is just not your strongest skill (and that’s okay). Most people have just one or two areas where they excel. Those areas of strength are different for every person and for some, those strengths don’t include writing.
- Language — Your business requires you to write in a language other than your native tongue. If you need to communicate in English for your business even though English is not your native language, your writing task becomes doubly hard.
Fortunately, there is an easy to instantly improve the quality of your business communications. Hire someone who specializes in writing.
This tip is so simple that many people miss it, but it only makes sense (and it frees you up to do other tasks that are better suited to your skills).
Delegating your writing tasks makes a lot of sense if you think about it. You probably already delegate many tasks so that you can dedicate your time to what you are good at and really interests you.
For example, if your pipes burst would you grab a wrench and try to fix them yourself? Even if you are pretty handy with tools, you would probably call a plumber to fix the problem. You know that a good plumber can identify the problem and fix the leak in a fraction of the time that you would take if you handled it yourself. Because of his experience, the plumber’s work will probably be of higher quality too.
In some ways, writing is really not that much different from plumbing. Those of us who write all the time can produce clear, effective copy in less time than most non-writers. We can also suggest new ideas that will enhance your message and make it more likely to reach your intended audience. That’s because we have experience in writing and know what works and what doesn’t work.
Are you still unsure about hiring a professional writer? Here are ten more reasons why you should hire a professional writer.
Do you need a professional writer? Learn more about my writing services .
Have you switched from writing your own documents to using a professional writer? Share your experiences in the comments.
Are you a professional writer? What other benefits can you think of that a professional writer can contribute to a business?
(Disclosure: This post contains links to my services page.)
15 responses so far ↓
1 Juliet // Oct 29, 2009 at
Hi
Thought just crossed my mind: What’s your favorite kind of writing?
Juliet
2 Laura Spencer // Oct 29, 2009 at
Hi Juliet!
Wow – you’re asking me my favorite kind of writing? That’s a hard question – it’s kind of like asking a mouse to tell you its favorite type of cheese.
I enjoy writing training materials, but I also like creating marketing materials. Naturally, I enjoy the more creative endeavors like blog posts. One factor that makes me a little bit unique is that I also enjoy editing.
I hope that answered your question. 🙂
3 Juliet // Oct 31, 2009 at
Hi Laura
I like the mouse and cheese analogy 🙂
Yup, question answered. With that variety, you’ll never get bored 🙂
Juliet
4 Laura Spencer // Oct 31, 2009 at
Thanks Juliet!
It’s true, I am rarely bored.
5 Matt Keegan // Nov 3, 2009 at
Time certainly is tyranny! In this hyper speed culture, I tell my clients that good work takes time otherwise you’ll have to spend more time later on making certain that copy is corrected, amended, edited and more before it is presentable to their customers.
Still, if I can craft a worthy piece in less time than most people, I gain a tremendous amount of satisfaction from my effort.
6 Laura Spencer // Nov 3, 2009 at
Hi Matt!
I certainly agree with you that writing a good piece takes time.
A professional writer, however, can save a business owner a considerable amount of money because 1) they have time to dedicate to the writing project and aren’t just trying to squeeze it in during their breaks 2) they are generally practiced at writing and can produce a piece more quickly than a nonwriter.
Thanks for your feedback!
7 Jennifer // Dec 12, 2009 at
Thanks for the great article. I agree, hire someone to do the writing. It is hard to try to put your thoughts into words.
8 Arijit // Jan 6, 2010 at
I agree that many too face the same problem but yet they manage to write the articles coz hiring a professional writers needs Capital, which a small blogger cannot effort!!
9 Ackman // Jan 18, 2010 at
Yeah! Agree with that reasons that cause people struggle to put their thoughts into words. Me sometimes when I like to something but I can’t write because somethings bothering me.
10 Nimit Kashyap // Feb 2, 2010 at
Good post and i can completely relate to it.
11 Ralph Fleming // Jun 16, 2010 at
I guess this happens quiet a lot to anybody involved somehow to the writing activity. This will be the case, especially, if we are talking about writing for business purposes, to deliver a message to our prospect customers.
12 Laura Spencer // Jun 17, 2010 at
Hi Everyone,
Whenever possible, I think it’s to the company’s advantage to hire a professional writer.
The temptation is great to try to create copy in-house and “save money,” but if the in-house writer is inexperienced that money-saving tactic may backfire and cost the company money in missed sales.
13 Howy // Jul 31, 2010 at
I totally identify with what you described in the post. Sometimes I have deadlines to keep up with and I noticed that my writing skills decrease considerably when I don’t set aside enough time to do it properly. Maybe I am just a kind of guy who can’t work under pressure, maybe it just takes practice.
14 Laura Spencer // Aug 2, 2010 at
Howy–I don’t buy it when people say that pressure helps them write better. In my experience, there’s not much good about pressure. Also, good writing does indeed take practice.
15 Should You Write Your Own Copy? : WritingThoughts // Mar 19, 2011 at
[…] Of course, those who write their own copy will pay for it later when their copy isn’t everything that it should be (and their competitor’s copy is because they did hire a professional writer). It’s even likely that their website ended up saying something they really didn’t intend for it to say. […]