Can You Really Write Your Own Website Copy? (Yes, Here's Why)

"Do you think I can really write my own website copy? I'm not a copywriter. What if it's bad?" I get why people ask this. There's an entire industry telling you that you need to hire a professional copywriter and that DIY copy always ends up sounding wrong. 

But here's what I actually believe: You can absolutely write your own website copy. The problem isn't that you can't write—it's that you don't have a system for getting it out of your head in a clear and strategic way.

In this episode, I'm breaking down why you're a great choice of person to write your copy, what makes DIY copy work, and what you don't need to be successful. This is a short episode about my group program Rewrite Your Site, which gives you the framework, checkpoints, and expert editing you need to write your own website copy without drowning in overwhelm or uncertainty.

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I hope you'll join me in Rewrite Your Site, an 8-week website copywriting program for small business owners, service providers, and creatives.

The program kicks off on 1/6/26 and goes through to the end of February, but if you join before 11/27/25, you get access to three huge bonuses AND you can join our pre-gaming party in December.

See all details and join us here: https://erinollila.com/rewrite-your-site/

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 EPISODE 172.
Read the show notes and view the full transcript here: Coming soon!

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Here's the info on your host, Erin Ollila
Erin Ollila believes in the power of words and how a message can inform – and even transform – its intended audience. She graduated from Fairfield University with an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, and went on to co-found Spry, an award-winning online literary journal.

When Erin’s not helping her clients understand their website data or improve their website copy, you can catch her hosting the Talk Copy to Me podcast and guesting on shows such as Profit is a Choice, Mindful Marketing, The Power in Purpose, and Business-First Creatives.

Stay in touch with Erin Ollila, SEO website copywriter:
• Learn more about my VIP intensive options or just book a strategy session to get started right away
• Visit Erin's website to learn more about her business, services, and products

Transcript

0:00

One question I've gotten from people who are interested in rewrite your site is, do you think I can really write my own website copy? I'm not a copywriter. What if it's bad? What if I don't sound like a mature business owner? Okay. I get why people are asking this. There is an entire industry telling you that you need to hire a professional copywriter, and that DIY copy always ends up sounding wrong. In fact, that messaging goes to say that you are going to mess it up if you try. But here's what I actually believe. You can absolutely write your own website copy, and today I'm gonna tell you why and what makes it possible inside of rewrite your site. So let's start with the most important thing, and that is, you know your business. Better than anyone else ever could. You know your clients, you know, with what they struggle before they find you, you know, with what they struggle during that lead to client phase. You know what they're worried about, what questions they ask, what makes them hesitate, you know how to help them and what changes for them when they work with you. You know the stories, the details, and the moments that matter to them. A copywriter can definitely interview you and capture most of that, and if the copywriter is really good at it, which they should be. Do not hire a copywriter who doesn't really get this aspect. Their job is to translate all of those things into words that make sense to you and words that really touch your future clients. Because what good copywriters do is interpret your business through their lens. But you don't need interpretation, right? Like when you write your own copy, there's no need for translation. You are the source, and that means your copy can be more authentic, more specific, and more accurate than anything that anyone else could write for you. The problem here isn't that you can't write. The problem is that you don't have a system for getting it out of your head in a clear and strategic way. You don't know where to start. You don't know what order to tackle things or even how to organize your thoughts so that they make sense to someone who has never heard of you before. Okay, well, that's what you need help with, not the writing itself, the structure and the strategy. Here's what makes this work inside. Rewrite your site first. You're gonna get a clear framework. Every week, I'll tell you exactly what to write, and in which order you're not staring at a blank page wondering where to start. You'll have prompts, templates, examples. You'll know what comes first, what comes next, and why it's done in that order. Second. There are checkpoints built into the process. This is huge. You are not writing in a vacuum. Keeping those fingers crossed and hoping that it's good every week you bring your copy and submit it, and I will edit it with you. And for you, I'll tell you what's working. What's not and how to fix it. So you are gonna get real time feedback from someone who actually does this professionally and has for well over a decade in the marketing world, and well over two decades, even though that makes me feel really old in the publishing world. So of course, yes, you are writing it, but guess what? I'm editing it. I'm helping you tighten it. Clarify it and make it stronger. So think of me as your strategic editor. You do the first draft because you know your business, and then I'll help you polish it. So it's actually effective for both search optimization and lead conversion. Okay, so third, the other thing I should point out is that you're actually doing this alongside a group of other people who are working on the same thing as you. Now, of course, your copy is going to be different, but you'll see their copy, they'll see yours, and you'll learn from each other. I should. Preface that is if you all come to office hours, you don't have to show anyone your copy. If it's something that's just private to you and you just want to submit questions or submit your writing via our like course submission form, but there's a lot you can learn from other people's processes or from what's working for, for them or what's not working. So when you come to office hours, you'll start to recognize, you know, what's clear and what's confusing. You can develop an eye for good copy from being part of the process, and then you can use those same skills to improve your own website Copy. By the end of eight weeks, you're not just walking away with a finished website though. That's the, that's the, that's the real gold. What you're walking away with though, is understanding how to write strategically. You're gonna be able to do this again and again, and. You need to, you will be writing emails for your business. You are writing social media, you are creating sales pages. All of that is going to be strengthened and easier in the future because you learned how to do it. You didn't just pay someone else to do it for you. So before I end, let's talk about what you don't need to be in order to be successful in writing your own website copy. You don't need to be a naturally gifted writer because this is not creative writing. It's not poetry. It's not fiction. And, and yeah, even if you have an about page, it's not creative nonfiction either. It is strategic business communications. If you can have a conversation about your business, I surely believe that you can write the copy about your business, and you also don't need to know all of the copywriting formulas and frameworks I will give you the ones that matter and show you how to apply them, but you are not taking this program to become a copywriter while you will. Strengthen that ability. You're taking the program to learn how these frameworks can help you rate for your business now and into the future. And you know, I really wanna point out that you do not need to get it perfect on the first try. That is what the feedback and editing are for. First. Drafts are supposed to be messy. If you allowed yourself to make mistakes and just get things out of your head and onto the page, you would be in a lot better place than you are now. Make a messy first draft, submit it. To me. That is totally normal and I want that to be the expectation. What you do need though, is a willingness to try, a willingness to receive feedback, and then a willingness to revise the work that you have done. That is it. If you can do those three things, you can absolutely write your own website copy. I. DIYing your website copy alone. I get, it's really hard. I am not going to pretend it's not. You get stuck. You don't know if what you wrote is any good and you spend a heck of a lot of time, second guessing yourself. But DIYing, your website copy with structure and expert feedback, I think that's completely different because you're still writing it. You're still the one who knows your business and your clients, but you're not doing it alone. You have a roadmap. You have checkpoints. You have someone who can say, this part's great. That part needs work, but let me show you how to fix it. And that's what rewrite your site, gives you the ability to write your own copy without drowning in overwhelm or uncertainty. So yes, you can write your own website copy. You don't need to be a professional copywriter, you just need the right structure and support. If you've been thinking that you want to write your own site, but you don't know if you can, this program is designed exactly for this. You can. And I'm gonna help you do it. Enrollment is open now through the end of the day on November 27th for early bird bonuses. The links to join us is in the show notes and pretty much anywhere you find me on social media. At this point in time, you are going to hear me talking about rewrite your site. I hope you join us. I'll be back tomorrow where we keep talking copy, specifically a short episode like this about what you can expect week by week in Rewrite your site.