Copywriting is essential for every business. While copywriting alone won’t determine your success, the lack of it can certainly spell your untimely demise. The problem for most is that while copywriting is a phrase most business professionals have heard, not everyone really knows what it means. So, let’s first define copywriting. I went to the source of all knowledge on the Internet, known by its common name of Wikipedia, and saw that the definition of writing is “written content transmitted through printed or online materials. Copy is content used primarily for advertising or marketing purposes. This type of written material is usually to persuade an individual or a group, as well as to increase brand awareness.”

Now that we know what copywriting is, we can list several of the ways it is used in business. We have information that appears on websites, sales brochures, career opportunity announcements, press releases, video scripts, senior employee speeches, and white papers that are sent out to inform others in the same industry about changes and innovations. All of these things are available services that a copywriter can offer.

But why shouldn’t the CEO write these things? Surely he or she knows a lot about the industry and he or she could write fantastic material about it, right? Well not really. First of all, knowledge of a subject does not automatically give you the ability to pass on that knowledge to others. Just because you understand a subject perfectly doesn’t mean you can help others do the same. But, even if our imaginary CEO can talk about it or even write about it, you should avoid using his time to do the writing. You see, copywriting is a time-consuming process. You need to create a basic structure of what he is going to write about, which can change depending on the type of medium he is writing on. Plus, he needs his work checked out by another set of eyes. Many times a bug will only be caught if someone else reviews it. So after taking the time to do all of this and do a final rewrite, will you finally have a piece that can be released to the public to generate the reaction you were looking for? That’s simply too much time for the most skilled and knowledgeable people in a company to spend on something that’s all too easy to find a professional to do for you.

The biggest reason a CEO or other high-level employee should avoid writing their own company copy is that they are too important to do so. For a company to be truly successful, it must ensure that each employee is doing what they excel at. Marketers must market, product creators must create, etc. A CEO’s job is to run an entire company. Whether it’s a few employees or a few thousand, they need to take responsibility and focus on just that to ensure the highest level of success. Plus, successful executives know the power of assigning tasks, so why not assign it to someone who is more qualified for the task than you are?

Big corporations have money to burn and they can easily pay top copywriters to write everything for them. But what about the small business owner? There are still great, affordable options on freelance sites where you can find the kind of writer you need and can do it on a budget. Don’t be afraid to try them. The small investment you make now can end up paying big dividends in the future. Not just from having your copy written by a professional, but from being able to spend your time doing things that grow your business the most. When done right, everyone wins in the end.