Anyone can write, so why pay for words?

Why use a copywriter? Anyone can write, so why pay for words? It was Thomas Mann, the author of “Death in Venice”, who said: “A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” At first glance, this is nonsense. Obviously, it’s easy for a writer to write because they have the skill, the experience, the know-how, to do it. But, when you think about what Mann said a bit more, you begin to see what he means.

Anyone, in this day and age, can write. Anyone can get out a pen and put some words down on a piece of paper – or type them into a computer – and have them make sense.

The thing about writers is they don’t just do that.

When a client asks me to write something for them, I could easily bash out words that would do, words that would basically say the right things, but I can’t. I can’t help but bring to bear on every website, every brochure, every newsletter, every case study and every advert that I write, I can’t help but bring to bear 40 years of writing experience – man and boy – a lifetime of reading, appreciating, analysing, thinking about and writing words. To the extent that I actually find it difficult to bash out a quick email; I have to get every word just right; and then I have to polish it; and so on.

Because writing is my thing, I have to do it with everything that I have.

It is the same with other craftspeople. A skilled graphic designer cannot just sketch something out; a composer cannot just make do with the first tune they think of; a master cabinet maker cannot just cobble together a second-class piece of furniture.

So, that’s why a writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people. And that’s why, when something needs to be said really well, you really need a professional copywriter on the case!