I once re-wired a light fitting. Me, being me, I wandered around my house for a while first and said ‘if a bloke can do it, I bloody well can.’ And they can, so I had a crack at it. I even switched the electricity off at the mains, which is pretty much where my electrical capability and knowledge starts and ends.
However, once I'd worked my magic, I turned it back on, BINGO! The light came on. Go. Me.
Before I go on… the back story – my faulty light was an auto light on a sensor. When working properly, I walked into the hallway and the light came on. Switched itself off maybe 60 seconds later. Brilliant.
When I first got them installed, I waved my arms around a bit like I was someone that could automatically summon light – a bit weird for someone in her forties - but that wore off eventually. And god, they were good, I absolutely loved them. I had them installed in my next house too, although in that house they nearly fried your retinas if you had to get up in the dark - maybe a little too bright. Anyway, I digress.
The fact is that these lights were fabulous. Time saving. Energy saving. No stumbling around in the dark for the light switch. Brilliant in the downstairs loo. Fabulous in the understairs cupboard. Perfection.
Except when they stopped working.
So, after chuntering for a bit, up I climb onto my trusty step ladder, armed with tools, a new fitting and some Sarah swagger. I had a look at the wires that came off the faulty unit, connected them to the new fitting in the same config, slotted it back into position, screwed it back in place. Job done.
Power back on, light came on. Sorted. Metaphorical pat on the back. Yay.
But those hall lights never went out ever again. As in, ever. So as a result, it cost me more money, because a) they burned electricity 24/7 and b) it took me ages to pull my finger out and get an expert in to fix the balls up.
This is 100% true, this story
So just because I can (I use the term loosely) rewire a light fitting, doesn’t mean that I should. Or that I’ll do it right. Or that I’ll get the result I want. Although in this case, I didn’t electrocute myself, or set the house on fire, so I definitely take that as a win overall.
And it’s the same when writing your website copy (How’s that for a segway?)
Yes, you know your business best. You’re the font of your business knowledge and you’re massively passionate about it (though please, I BEG of you, never, ever write that about yourself and your business, being passionate about what you do should be taken as a given, you don't need to write it, it's completely blurgghhh).
But please don’t do a Sarah and think you can do it yourself. Yes, you’ll have words on a page, but you probably won’t have words that’ll convert and that’s what you want for your website. That’s what you need.
And when you're thinking about work on your website, don’t think about cost, think about value. Yes, it might cost you £1000, £2000, £5000, depending on how much you want or need doing or how many pages there are… but what if that 1,2, or 5 turned into £50k or £80k or £100k because you had highly converting copy that was written properly and made people take action?
It would be worth it, wouldn’t it?
The thing about business owners – and I can say this with certainty as I did it myself when I owned my manufacturing business - is we tend to write about features rather than benefits…and about who we are, what we do and how our products or services have come about. But what we don’t do is write about the benefits of the product or service, the transformation that someone’s going to experience by using that product or service, and these two things are critical.
And I’ve said it before, but people don’t give a stuff that you started your business at the kitchen table and that you’ve got two kids, a Labrador and a guinea pig called Marvin.
Those things matter to you, not to them. What matters to them is them, and how their life is going to be better, easier or richer because of your product or service. And that’s what your copy needs to be about.
Not only that. When it comes to writing your own copy, it’s a job that keeps getting bumped down the list and it doesn’t get done because ‘more important’ things crop up and stuff happens that takes your attention away. But this, my friends, is costing you money.
So, when it comes to changing a light fitting, my advice is don't do a Sarah. Get someone in to do it, someone who knows what they’re doing and in a timely manner. Cutting corners won't save you money and it might bring the house crashing down.
Same goes for copywriting.
Just saying 😊
Yorumlar