Recently we met a new client who was very interested, but at that point not quite convinced. The conversation went a bit like this:
Luis: “Why should I pay more money using a writing service when I have a perfectly good translation agency?”
TWP: “Well, your translation agency is probably competent, and your original copy may have been written by professional copy writers in your language, for your market culture, but the message and your brand personality may get lost during the journey from one language to the other.”
Luis: “How can that happen when the translation faithfully reproduces what I wanted to say?”
TWP: “Because a translation only ever does exactly what it says: it ‘translates’. If it is well done, it uses correct syntax, grammar and spelling. Translators don’t re-create, re-think, re-write – that’s not their job, they don’t get paid for that. Neither are translators trained to write competent, professional marketing copy.”
Luis: “What makes a professional copy writer so important? I have people in my company who speak (and write) excellent English – I even know some native English speakers who could do the job ...”
TWP: “A professional copy writer brings professional expertise to the job. Copy writers learn what they do – just as any professional – and then put that knowledge to good use on behalf of their clients’ marketing and corporate communication. Many people have a voice, but not everyone can sing opera; many people are native speakers which doesn’t make them writers. To use an extreme comparison: you wouldn’t use a plumber to do your dental work. Besides, using a professional writer allows you and your people to concentrate on the parts of your business to which you bring the most value. You are good at what you do because you spend your time doing your job, not because you spend your time writing about it.”
Luis: “But only I know exactly what I want to tell people about my products...”
TWP: “Tell your copy writer. The copy writer will then convert what you want to say into what the customer wants to know. Explaining why your products or services will be the perfect solution for your customers, transforming product features into benefits - that is what good marketing copy is all about.”
Luis: “What makes the WORD people different?”
TWP:
“Not only do we write good marketing collateral, articles for your newsletters, effective business writing in general, biographies for your press releases, ad copy, web sites and more ... we include consultancy. Marketing is much more than the text in ads or a brochure;
the WORD people are much more than just a copywriting
service.”
Luis: “Tomorrow we fly back to Berlin. How can we work together?”
TWP: “Thanks to the internet, the WORD people are only seconds away.”
Luis: “Who are the WORD people?”