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For Musicians and Artists: Why hire a writer?
(And how to do it.)

By Jerry Karp

Note: This article was adapted from a piece written for OnlineRock.com, a leading online portal for independent bands, and their fans, around the world. The piece was written specifically for musicians, but I believe it holds up for artists, designers, and even service-related businesses of all types and disciplines. – Jerry

You know your press material and your web site content are important tools. They help you connect with your audience, gain increased media exposure and land more prestigious and better paying gigs. But expenses are tight, you're an OK writer—or your cousin is—and the way you look at it, people only care about your music, not reading snazzy copy on your press releases or web pages. So what's the point of hiring someone to do your writing for you? And if you do decide to work with a professional, what should you look for?

Let's take a look at some of those questions. The answers might help you make some important decisions.

OK. Here's the first five million dollar question. How much better is a professional writer going to make your material than you could make it on your own? Remember that we're talking about how you, as a professional musician, communicate with other music industry and media professionals. So you have to weigh the immediate monetary cost of making that hire against the potential professional cost of sending a less than first-rate press kit or web site out into the world.

A professional copywriter, if he or she is any good, is someone who's experienced in the craft of developing and presenting ideas via the written word. That may sound high falutin', but it's what writing is really all about. It's not just pulling some slick words together. It's understanding the best ways to organize and present information, and then putting the best words together to make a connection with your audience. There's skill and craft to it, just like there's skill and craft to making great music and producing great CDs. Would you let someone produce your recording who didn't really understand the technical end of production but sort of knew what sounded good? Having a non-professional writer create your materials might get you the same kind of results.

Now consider what it would be like to work with a writer who is in the business of getting your message across clearly and effectively. Here’s what someone like that can give you:

  • Your vision—articulated clearly and accurately. What sets your music and your artistry apart? What makes you worth noticing and writing about? What's unique about your style, your sound and your inspiration? It's hard to imagine that someone else would be able to articulate these ideas more precisely than you can. But if music is your medium, not copywriting, someone who is adept at expressing ideas in writing may be able to describe your vision and your accomplishments clearly, and in ways that wouldn't occur to you. The key is to find a writer who knows the artistic process, loves music, and is willing to talk with you and really understand what you're all about.
  • Writing that speaks directly to your audience and gets them to act—to buy your CD, go to a show, check out your website. Your bios, releases and web pages are most effective when written in a style specifically suited to connect with the people who'll be reading them. That means using a voice they'll appreciate and including all the information they need (but not too much extra). It's not just "What do I want to say?" but also "What will be most useful and interesting to my audience?" A professional writer should have the experience to know how to create that voice and to know what does and doesn't belong in your material.
  • Materials organized in a way that makes it easy for readers to find what they want, and only what they want. Being an effective writer doesn't just mean knowing how to use the right words. It also means knowing the most effective way to organize the ideas you need to communicate. In what order should facts be presented? If someone stops reading one of your pieces halfway through, will he or she still learn the most important elements of your story? If a journalist is scanning for one crucial bit of information, will that info be easy to find? A professional writer will make sure your information is logically and clearly organized so your audience will easily understand your message and have easy access to the information they need.
  • Clear and accurate writing. In order for your written material to have the impact you need, every idea you express must be conveyed as clearly and effectively as possible. If your writing is confusing or your ideas poorly phrased, your audience will stop reading, and you lose. But smoothly expressed ideas that are easily understood will keep your audience on your side. A big part of this equation is the clarity of each sentence, including sentence structure, grammar and punctuation. Yes, all that boring stuff from English class. A writer is someone who can look at a sentence, know that the sentence is not quite working, understand why, and, most importantly, rewrite it with grace and style. Can you look at a sentence or a paragraph and know that your ideas have been written as clearly and powerfully as possible? A good copywriter can do just that.
  • Perspective. It's not always easy to write about yourself. Facts that your audience needs or wants to know may seem so obvious to you that you don't bother writing them down. Occasionally people get so wrapped up in a particular part of their story that they include every detail they know—sometimes way more than their audience needs to read. A good professional copywriter will provide the important combination of interest and objectivity to ensure that everything is in its place and gets the attention it deserves.
Overall, we're talking about style. Having your copy professionally written will help ensure that your material is engaging enough to be read all the way through and your message is compelling enough to be acted upon. If the writing is stiff, the syntax tortured, the information confusing or the vocabulary redundant or jargon-laden, your reader is going to become resentful or is simply going to give up. Remember that you are not doing your audience a favor by presenting your message, your audience is doing you a favor by reading it.

Professional writers make their livings by gathering the expertise to describe other people's lives, art, music or businesses in a manner that's clear, informative and enjoyable, so your audience will be happy to read what you have to say. Valuable press kits and other written material that can help promote your music come not just from writing the facts down correctly, but from presenting them in the strongest, most engaging manner possible.

Some things to look for when hiring a writer If you're taking the step of hiring a professional, you want to make sure you get the best writer for your project. Here are some rules of thumb:

  • Check out their experience. Obviously, you're not hiring anyone until you've seen their work. Check out portfolios. See if their style fits your music and your audience, or if they seem versatile enough to handle any style. Check to see if the writer is able to articulate everything that's unique about each client in a way that excites the reader. And of course, you want someone who's written about music, or at least about the arts.
  • Consider personality. You may be working with this person for a while. Look for a writer you think will be easy to work with. Be sure you're getting someone who understands that the bottom line is giving you what you need and delivering your message.
  • Ask about their process. How do they handle their projects? If all they want to do is look at the material you're already using and rewrite that, be wary. How do they know that everything you need to say is included in your old releases? Look for someone who will spend time with you, interviewing you and your band members in depth and finding about as much as possible about your inspirations and influences. Someone like that may think of things to say about you, and ways to say it, that you'd never have thought of yourself. That's a big part of what you're paying for.
  • Ask about rewrites. Most professional writers have some sort of a satisfaction guarantee. You shouldn't have to pay more for a round or two of rewrites, assuming you're not changing what you're asking for in the middle of the process.
  • How do they charge? There are many different opinions on this, but it often makes more sense to pay by the project rather than by the hour. That way, everyone's clear up front on what the costs are going to be. If the writer is going to be spending significant research and/or interviewing time, he or she will figure that into the fees.
  • Get a written agreement. Another way to be sure everyone's on the same page regarding the cost and scope of the project is to ask the writer for a written agreement outlining exactly the work that's going to be done, the timelines, and the fees that will be paid. This gives all concerned an efficient blueprint to work from.
Having your press kits/releases, web content and marketing material written professionally may be a one-time cost that pays off handsomely in the long run with additional work and enhanced media coverage.

Your press kit and online content help tell the world who you are, what your music is all about, and how you see yourself. A journalist thinking about interviewing you, a reviewer considering your CD, or a club manager with a date to fill takes a look at your current press material or your web site and sees . . . what? Can you afford to leave them with that impression? A well written press kit and web site will ensure that you're putting your best foot forward every time.

Jerry Karp is a freelance writer whose articles have recently appeared in Jazz Steps, San Francisco Reader, Auditoria, and WetFeet.com. Through his business, Rocket Words (www.rocketwords.com), Jerry helps musicians, artists and arts-related businesses attract new audiences with high-quality web content, press kits and marketing materials of all kinds.

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