Cuts, Cakes & Copywriters

Originally published in the Red River Buzz, June 2006

Poor Tré.

My wife and I recently decided to save a few bucks by investing $80 in a shaver and grooming our Pomapoo (Pomeranian/Poodle cross) at home. At $35 a cut, five cuts a year, we’d save $95 in the first year and $175 every year thereafter.

Talk about seemly sound logic gone south.

Grooming a dog well takes years of practice and expertise that we didn’t factor into the equation. After a two-hour marathon cutting session, Tré sulked away licking one paw shorn nearly to the skin and scratching long patches of curly white fur on the rest of his body. He looked like he’d been stricken with mange.

When I took him to a groomer, she chuckled. “I once took a class on how to make cakes,” she said. “I threw my first one away and decided to leave cake making to the professionals.”

It was the best, most concise reasoning for using a pro I’ve ever heard. It can be applied to almost anything, especially writing copy for advertising and marketing materials.

Here’s the thing: almost everyone can write. We do it every day in e-mails, notes to our family members, grocery lists. But writing compelling copy that sounds professional and sells? That’s when the years of practice and expertise come into play.

Sure, stringing a few words together is no big deal. But is it patchy in places? Thin or overgrown in others? Does it read like a do-it-yourselfer?

Same goes for design. With any number of programs on the market today, just about anyone could piece together a brochure or ad design. But will the audience take one look and chuck it in the garbage?

I know just enough about good design to be dangerous; anything I could do would definitely look like a home job. That’s why, when my clients need design, I call on one of several highly talented design collaborators; I bring in a professional.

In her article, “Ten Ways to Blow Your Advertising Campaign,” Apryl Duncan, a freelance copywriter, author and online career course instructor who's worked for multimillion-dollar national brands, puts it this way:

“Copywriters are specifically trained to write copy that sells. Graphic designers are trained to create eye-catching materials that make your company stand out. Taking a stab at it yourself may sound like a good idea but the selling message will suffer and your company will lose sales.”

Cuts, cakes or copy – doing it yourself will definitely save a buck today, but long term it’ll cost you.

Just ask Tré.