Solo-entrepreneurs and small business owners hire me to write their business copy… web content, newsletters, emails, brochures, and ads, but before I put my fingers to the keys and write anything I do four things:

1. Ask clients what their objectives are.
2. Study their existing copy.
3. Research their competition.
4. Give them a questionnaire that helps them to define their target market more clearly.

The idea is not to just throw something together but to create copy that will sell either in the long run by building relationships or in the short run by getting them to press the order button.

But what I find more often than not, especially with small companies and solo-entrepreneurs is that the visual and design aspects of their site and other content marketing products, are not an accurate reflection of their brand or of their ideal customer. This is a problem.

I’ll show you what I mean. Imagine you are a woman looking for a website that specializes in helping women investors and you come across these sites:

Who’s Your Target?

This is a paid advertiser that came up when I googled “investing firms for women” and “Financial planning for women.”  It is clean and professional but too neutral and it doesn’t say anything about women in its content or design concept. When a potential client comes to your site you want them to feel like your speaking just to them; sales is walking the path of agreement with the buyer.

All Show and No Substance

This site is lovely.  It’s warm, professional, and is targeted well. The problem is that there isn’t enough content on this site.  It’s not engaging, there’s no call to action, and so is no better than a static billboard.  You should never leave a potential client wondering, “What do they want me to do?”

Almost on the Money

This site is targeted towards older female adults and they do a good job communicating what they’re about with their color scheme and their content.  There’s a call to action and plenty of content.  The site design is nothing to get excited about, but it doesn’t detract from the content or the marketing message either. Integrate Your Copy and Design You want your copy to achieve your sales objective but copy it has to work with the design to create continuity in the mind of the buyer.  If the design elements are off, then it detracts from the power of the copy. Large companies know this, at least in principle, and hire graphic-designers that specialize in making their sales letters and emails look great. But what if you’re a small business owner or solo-entrepreneur and you can’t afford both a graphic designer and a copywriter.  What should you do?  Well, I’ve got good news and bad news.

1. Bad News:You’re going to have to spend some money.   Consider your website a capital expense that will provide value year after year and invest in a professional designer, copywriter, and marketing consultant. Homemade websites look homemade should be avoided.
2. Good News: Save money with templates. The great news is that you can hire a designer that can customize templates for your website, newsletters, emails etc…  I like WordPress for websites and love Microsoft Publisher for brochures and business forms.  In fact for many of my clients I use templates for their copy with terrific cost saving results.

Krista Magidson is the owner of Boutique Marketing Group. Email Krista at [email protected]