Word Wizard, Dunedin

Have you heard the story of the Queen’s hat-maker, Norman Hartnell, who was once asked by a socialite to create a fascinator she could wear to Ascot?

The illustrious milliner created a masterpiece, weaving a metre of satin ribbon through her hair. The result was nothing short of breathtaking.

When presented with the bill – 100 guineas – the woman complained bitterly. As she saw it, only 30 minutes and a small amount of ribbon was involved.

Instead of arguing, Hartnell removed the ribbon, leaving her hair bare and handed it to her saying, “There, madam, that will be five shillings.”

This story illustrates several points.

First, you get what you pay for. If you want help from an expert, expect to pay for their many years of experience and depth of knowledge. If you want untried and unproven help, there are plenty of rookies who will gladly take your money.

Second, not everyone is a prima donna milliner who charges outrageous fees. At Word Wizard for instance, we believe in charging a fair price for our work. Not an outrageous price. One that small to medium companies can afford. And one that we quote or estimate in advance so there are no surprises.

Third, there’s a huge difference between a yard of ribbon and how it is used. As copywriters, we have just 26 letters, some numerals and a few punctuation marks in our toolbox. But that’s all it takes for us to create persuasive, sales-driven copy that gets results.

Some people think that paying by the word is a good idea. They forget that it’s harder to write short than it is to write long. Having said that, research shows that long copy is more effective than short. But the question is: when should you use long and when short?

Ah, that’s when experience comes in.

Here’s another area where experience is critical: knowing the correct format to use for the results you want to achieve.

For example, what’s the best way to write a web page? Is it the same as a blog?

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