When you offer professional services, your whole business is built on the fact that you are the expert your customers need.
And because you’ve spent years developing your skills, experience and qualifications, it’s natural for you to use the technical or industry-specific language you use every day.
The problem is that when you start to write customer-facing copy
- a website
- a capability statement
- a LinkedIn profile
it can sometimes sound like you’ve swallowed an engineering textbook or a foreign language dictionary.
That’s why you need a marketing copywriter to showcase what you do in a way that helps your clients understand why you’re the professional they need.
I take your complex or technical language and turn it into persuasive content. Without losing the accuracy, overloading your customers with jargon or downplaying your expertise.
Marketing copy that actually sounds like you!
Lots of my clients worry that marketing is, by definition, too ‘salesy’ and sometimes outright dishonest. And it’s true that some marketing is both those things.
I’m sure you’ve seen ads that claim to earn you $10,000 in a month if you only attend a one-off workshop for $990 (valued at over $4000!). But that’s not the kind of content I produce.
There’s nothing sleazy or salesy about being in business…as an ex-boss of mine once said,
Nobody gets paid until someone sells something.
And as a business copywriter, that’s my starting point.
Good marketing takes all of the essential technical language and complex ideas you use when talking to other experts in your field and turns it into language you would actually use if you met at a dinner party and they asked you what you do.
You wouldn’t say,
‘I provide client-side development director advice, innovation, analysis and delivery for use, development and subdivision of properties and portfolios’.
You’d probably say,
‘I help clients build sustainable large-scale residential and commercial developments’.
Your customers expect you to be the technical expert, in fact they’re hoping you’re the expert, but they don’t need you to prove it with jargon or technical concepts. What they want from you is content that shows you see them, understand them and have the solution they’re looking for.
Getting to that customer-friendly language is what business copywriters like me do.
Common projects
Copywriting for websites
- Sales pages, landing pages
- Case studies
- About pages/ Team bios
- Whole websites
Content marketing
- Emails
- Brochures
- E-books
- Journal articles
- Lead magnets
- Capability statements
Sound like something you need?
You know your business.
I know words.
Let’s make beautiful copy together.
Need some great copy?
Your industry. Your market. My expertise
- a celebrity chef
- an educational support worker
- fellow marketers…
- …and you?
Need help sharing your expertise?
How It Works
We start with a conversation about what you need…and to see if I’m a good fit for your project.
We develop a plan to get you there. Anywhere from ‘Done for you’ to ‘Done with you’ to ‘Plug into my expertise’.
You do the happy dance because you have shiny new content…or a plan to take you from ‘Meh’ to ‘Hell, yeah!’
How the process works
Whether you’ve found me via my LinkedIn activity or a past client recommendation, the first thing I do is get an idea of what you might need. Usually this starts with a response to your email or message. If I can help you, we then get on a call.
This call is obligation-free and all about getting to know what you need specifically from a marketing copywriter and whether we’re a good fit for each other.
1. Getting clear on specifics
The initial call is to talk through your ideas and goals. Based on that conversation, I prepare a proposal outlining what we discussed, your needs, how I suggest we tackle the project and an idea of what it might cost.
When you approve the proposal, we have a thorough project briefing where you outline the specifics of what you need written – a sales page, a blog post or an entire website – you pay a commencement invoice and your project is locked into my schedule.
Before any writing begins, you receive a written summary of the project brief to review so we’re both confident we’re on the same page.
The briefing is one of the most valuable parts of the process…and one of the most underrated. Most of my clients arrive knowing roughly what they want but haven’t yet had the chance to articulate it clearly, even to themselves. But that’s not a problem. It’s actually what these initial meetings are for.
My briefing questions are designed to draw out the things you know but haven’t said yet: what makes your business different, what your best clients have in common, what you wish more people understood about what you do, and so on. By the time we finish the briefing, you’ll often find you’ve said things about your own business that you’ve never quite managed to put into words before.
Here’s how one of my clients described it:
2. Writing and feedback
Once you approve the project brief, I get to work researching and writing. You’ll receive two drafts, with plenty of opportunity to comment, question and refine the copy so it sounds right for you.
This stage may take several weeks, and your project remains a priority while we work through revisions.
3. Final polish and sign-off
Success!
We all do the happy dance to celebrate a job well done.
Client Success Stories
FAQs
What is the difference between marketing copywriting and content writing?
Content writing is usually intended to inform, educate or entertain a reader. Copywriting is intended to engage, inform and persuade readers. For example, a blog post explaining how to sew a tote bag would be content writing, but if the post is focused on encouraging the reader to buy the fabric or pattern used to create the bag, that’s copywriting. Businesses need a balance of both and a skilled copywriter knows how to weave them together.
Do you specialise in technical industries?
While I work with all sorts of industries, I love working with clients in technical industries because I understand their methodical approach to tasks…and the importance of accuracy in their work. I grew up around medical and allied health people and gained a smattering of science-related knowledge through my science teaching degree, so science and technical matters don’t scare me. I also love to dig into what my clients know best and then write copy for them that their clients can understand and act on.
Do you interview subject-matter experts?
Can you clarify messaging as well as write copy?
Messaging is the story your business tells about itself…and it shapes everything from your website headlines to the way you describe what you do in a LinkedIn post. I like to think of it as what people say about you when you’re not in the room.
Before I write a single word of copy, I spend time getting to know how you currently show up in the market: what you say about yourself, how that compares to your competitors and whether it’s resonating with the right people. Over the years, I’ve written enough copy across enough industries to know that the best copy in the world won’t convert if the messaging is vague or doesn’t gel.
So, think of it as messaging lite. I’ll ask you the right questions, flag anything that seems unclear or inconsistent and make sure the copy I write is grounded in something true and distinctive about your business. If it turns out you need deeper strategic work on your positioning before we tackle the copy, I’ll tell you that too.
The goal is always the same: copy that sounds like you, speaks directly to the people you want to reach and gives them a reason to choose you.
Not sure? I can help!
If you’re still not sure or there’s something you’re looking for that’s not listed on these pages, drop me a line contact@mariealafaci.com.
Better still, let’s talk like real humans in an obligation-free 15-minute call. I’m always happy to help. And if I can’t help you, I probably know someone who can.
