Ever wonder how you decide when your project needs a professional touch? In this blog we’ll offer reasons to work with a writer.

“It’s too hard to find someone and get them up to speed. It’s not going to be seen by too many people anyway. It’s not in the budget.”

These are some common refrains when deciding whether to work with a writer. In some cases, handling the writing in-house is the right decision for the job. In others, a writer can help you knock it out of the park while preventing costly errors and revisions.

Here are the top 5 ways to determine if your project would be better off in the hands of a professional writer:

It’s a big project. Any project that’s going to live for a long time is worth its weight in writing. And, getting a writer on board will likely pay off for a project that’s going to extend over long deadlines and multiple iterations.

Many moving parts. You have lots of information coming together, perhaps involving multiple teams, products, deliverables and/or deadlines. In addition to creating professional content, a writer can also help keep the creative process organized across space and time. It’s one of our superpowers.

A lot of rules. The style guide was just updated, the product and marketing teams are at war, and everything must pass muster with brand and legal. Professional writers are practiced in working within guidelines while keeping the creative on point.

High-profile. Think about the end readership and distribution size. If you’re reaching out to the public or to specific consumers, business partners or any group to whom an impression matters, having a professional sheen is valuable and can prevent costly errors.

It matters. If the intended goal of the project is to sell something or communicate an important message, it’s always better bring in the big guns to help seal the deal.

Now we’d love to hear from you. How do you decide when you need a writer? Do you have an in-house horror story?