No matter how much you spend on electronic and print marketing, it won’t impress anyone if the copy isn’t squeaky clean.

Professional design, photography and production make great eye candy, but they’re empty calories without solution-driven, error-free content.

Customers pay attention to mistakes. And they care. Would you do business with a company whose website is poorly written and contains misspellings, or would you choose the firm whose website copy is compelling, concise and clean?

It’s not enough to offer outstanding products and service. You also have to earn customers’ respect and trust. Professional messaging is critical to gaining their confidence. You may not be doing this already, but your competitors are.

So why would a company choose to cut corners when it comes to copy? Read on for the four most common reasons and the misconceptions behind them.

1. Egos: The vice president of sales thinks no one can write like he does because he worked on his high school newspaper 25 years ago.

Misconception: It usually takes years for professional writers to hone their skills, and they stay fresh by writing all the time. Set egos aside and let an experienced copywriter handle your content.

2. Price: It costs too much to leave our prose to the pros.

Misconception: It’s more expensive to lose business because your copy looks like a fifth-grader wrote it than to pay a veteran.

3. Insider knowledge: No one understands our industry, so we have to provide the content.

Misconception: Experienced writers don’t have to be intimately familiar with a topic to craft killer content. Journalists write about new topics and industries all the time and do an outstanding job. Interviewing and writing skills trump all.

4. Value. No one cares about writing. They just want pretty pictures.

Misconception:  Good writing is engaging. If you don’t write well, you’ll have a hard time communicating with prospects and customers.

Writing is a direct reflection of the way a company does business. If you want to look professional and polished, and engage your prospects and customers, make sure your copy is outstanding. Your sales depend on it.