no pressure

You saw a gap in the market and had a lightbulb moment. Idea sketched on the back of a beer coaster, you invested time and money developing the brand, including a voice. Maybe you worked with an agency or consultant. Did the workshops, blanketed walls with Post-its, and role-played your way through brand personality exercises. The word "bold" was mentioned, and someone else pushed back with "but not alienating." 

Eventually you landed on something that just seemed to stick (not because it was on a Post-it 🙂). It was formalised into a beautiful brand document. You were fizzing with energy.

Now, someone has to write the copy. And there’s a pretty good chance that’s you.

This is usually when things start to get tricky. In the UK, nearly 80% of small business owners and marketers report writing their own content. Most of them aren't writers. They're founders, product people or marketing professionals. Yes, they know their brand inside out. But after all the time, sweat and money that went into creating it, the way it’s expressed to customers probably won’t be written by a copywriter. 

I find that pretty mind blowing.

The craft of putting a brand into words — the right words, based on the right idea or insight, with the right rhythm, that sound like a real person — is challenging even for an experienced copywriter. Because writing to a voice is a skill. It's not the same skill as knowing what the voice should be. And it's not the same skill as being good at your actual job.

It’s a lot to ask of founders, marketing managers or whoever in the office is considered ‘good with words’.

Research shows that 68% of content marketers experience moderate to high stress in their roles day-to-day.

That's marketers, people for whom content is the job. For founders wearing every hat at once, 83% report high stress levels and three-quarters battle anxiety daily. 

Content creation rarely makes the list of things keeping them up at night. It's usually the last thing they get to, squeezed in after the things that feel more urgent. Which is pretty much everything else.

And yet, somehow, it has to get done. Consistently. On-brand. In a voice that took time and effort to develop.

Why retaining a copywriter makes sense

Bringing in a copywriter for a tone of voice project is one thing. Retaining one to build out that voice consistently over time is another. Most brands stop after the first bit.

A retained copywriter does way more than fill a content calendar. They become the guardian of the voice. The person who knows it well enough to write anything without winging it. A product description, an email flow and campaign headlines that all sound unmistakably like the same brand.

Getting a tone of voice right takes experience and craft. It deserves more than a document and a good-luck nod to the person whose job it just became. 

That’s what Tonecraft is here for, no stress.

Image credit: karola g @ pexels