Why I hired a copywriter in the age of ChatGPT
The words on your website, your copy, can have a positive, a negative or a neutral affect on your business. Bad copy can lead to you being “blacklisted by Google” and it can leave your audience with more questions than they started with. Good copy helps you rank on Google while relating to your ideal client, hooking them emotionally, addressing their fears and objections- without sounding condescending- and converts them to bookings, all while sounding like yourself (and your brand)!
My old copy wasn’t necessarily bad. I’d even argue it was pretty good. But it wasn’t doing enough of the work.
When I mentioned to fellow photographer, Adam Gray, that I’d just hired a copywriter so my website would have a higher conversion rate, his immediate reply was “you know she’ll just use AI right?”.
He was wrong.
AI is improving rapidly, and sure it has a place. But at least for now, it could not replace what a professional copywriter can do. Here’s why:
1. ChatGPT is smart... But it has a way to go
Google has now clarified that they don’t penalise you for AI content, but they do penalise you for spreading incorrect information.
Using AI is amazing for brainstorming and finding new ideas. However, the information it grants isn’t (yet) 100% accurate. I tried writing some blog posts and most of the facts given were incorrect! By the time I fact-checked and fixed everything, I could have written the entire article myself!
2. A professional knows the right questions to ask for the best answers and can then use all that information to create the perfect website copy
Until I interviewed Mariah, I hadn’t given much thought to what would be involved in working with a copywriter. I hadn’t considered how they’d get to know my audience, my goals and my voice. During the interview, I realized that hiring a true expert would mean that I didn’t have to think about that. I just needed to trust in their process.
I still don’t know the process of other copywriters, I assume most do something similar to Mariah. What I do know is that her process is absolutely fabulous. Her questionnaire asks all the right type of questions so that she can do her job, and they’re asked in a way that makes it easy to answer.
She asked things like;
“Tell me your origin story! How was your brand/business born?”
“Are there any brands outside your industry which you admire, and why?”
“Share at least one of favorite testimonials/reviews left by a client.”
“When you’ve come to the end of a project, what do you want client #1 to ultimately walk away with? How do they feel? What do they have that is different than before they started working with you?”
It took me over an hour to complete the questionnaire, but by the end, I knew it was not only going to help Mariah create the new copy, it also gave me so much clarity in my business. I re-considered how I communicate with my clients, what I might wear to photoshoots, and most importantly of all, it became very apparent exactly who I want to work with (and who I don’t) and I’m literally shooting a new portfolio now because of that!
So you might wonder if I’ve completed this questionnaire myself... Why can’t I now write the content myself? Good question. And interestingly, before the questionnaire, I was totally confident that I could in theory do the copy myself. Okay it wouldn’t be as good.. But, 80-20 rule right?
Wrong.
Seeing all this information being passed along made me realise the skill needed to transform it into beautiful sentences, in the right order, that would take my ideal client from “Maybe we should get photos done” to “OMG this girl GETS ME and we have to book RIGHT NOW”.
Spoiler: I am confident my new copy does that! And I’m 100% sure I could not create anything even close to how good this is.
3. When you pay someone, you prioritise it
Writing good copy doesn’t just require great writing skills and a deep knowledge of buyer psychology- it also requires time. Updating my website copy had been on my to-do list since.. Well since I first created the website! It’s a task that doesn’t necessarily bring immediate results (although it sure can help!) and so it’s easy to push it down the list in favour of a task that gets bookings today.
I knew that I’d never have neither the skill or the will to actually update it myself so hiring an expert allowed me to just get it done.
In all honesty, I didn’t realise when I hired Mariah that I’d be so involved in the process and therefore, I needed to carve out time for it. But I’d paid so I prioritised, and once I got started, I was so excited that I was doing my “tasks” eagerly!
As a photographer, your website is often your storefront, so utilise it! Set yourself apart from your competition by sending them to something that’s much more than a pretty portfolio. Website design is pretty user-friendly these days thanks to Squarespace etc. Business cards are almost obsolete. Even your logo can be created in Canva. But if you have the budget, one thing that is worth investing in now more than ever is good copy- the words on your website.
I wish I’d done it for Bitsa Bernard, (yes, even though no one was Googling, it was still my “storefront” that I sent enquiries to). If nothing else, I know that good copy would have saved me so much time on phone consults and answering questions via email. But I am sure that it also would have increased my conversion rate from website visitor to enquiry, and potentially even helped increase my sales.
P.S. If you want to see the copy Mariah wrote for me, you’ll find it here: https://classicoportraits.com
In case you don’t know, since moving to Italy I’m not primarily photographing pets. The way I shoot requires me to be able to get to know my clients really well, and to guide them through the photoshoot because my pet photography has always in fact been “pets and their people photography”. That’s my specialty. Since I don’t speak Italian well, it’s impossible for me to guide local pet parents. Instead, my new business caters to English speaking tourists (as well as the occasional expat with their dog!).
Co- Author
Kirstie McConnell |
Founder
The Pet Photographers Club
When Kirstie launched her pet photography business in Australia in 2012, the genre was barely a thing. She spent the next years at the forefront of this niche, marketing not just her own business, but the concept of pet photography. Each year she photographed around 100 dogs, cats and horses per year to create wall art and albums for pet-parents.
Now based in Italy, she continues to offer pet photography to her clients back in Australia on return trips, but otherwise spends her energy helping other pet photographers build a business which will allow them to follow their dreams.
Internationally recognized as a leader in the industry, she hosts the podcast, workshops, courses and business events for The Pet Photographers Club which she co-founded.
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