Who actually writes your newsletter? In most companies, the honest answer is: whoever has time. The junior marketer. The intern. Sometimes someone from Sales who “is actually pretty good at writing.” Rarely the person who has actually been trained to do it.
Marketing is a profession, not a side job
The objection is predictable: Do you really need formal training for this? Isn't common sense and a good feel for language enough? Experience suggests otherwise. Someone who has studied marketing and spent years writing across different styles, industries, and contexts can immediately recognize what's missing from a sentence, what's unnecessary, and which wording will actually persuade. This isn't a question of talent. It's a learned and practiced craft, and like any craft, good intentions are no substitute for training.
That's why this role shouldn't go to someone who simply moved into marketing from another field, or to someone doing marketing on the side because they happened to have capacity. Not out of professional snobbery, but because the consequences of bad copy are real: lost attention, lost trust, and lost revenue.
What this person actually needs
Value instead of empty words: Two MedTech examples
The difference between empty words and value language is difficult to explain in the abstract. It becomes clear when you compare the two.
| Empty words | Value language |
|---|---|
| “We're excited to introduce our innovative update.” | “20% less setup time in the OR. For you, that means more cases per day without additional staff.” |
| “Innovative technology for better patient care.” | “Fewer false alarms mean your nursing staff can respond faster to the alarms that actually matter.” |
Neither sentence on the left says much that anyone could challenge or remember. Both sentences on the right explain what concretely changes for the recipient. That's what makes value language different.
The psychology that pays off
Robert Cialdini's seven principles of persuasion (reciprocity, commitment and consistency, social proof, authority, liking, scarcity, and unity) aren't an academic footnote. They can make the difference between copy that merely informs and copy that persuades. Someone who understands these principles can apply them deliberately: a customer testimonial as social proof, a clear deadline as a scarcity signal, or a recognized certification as a signal of authority. Someone who doesn't is relying on instinct and chance.
“Copy that offends no one but persuades no one has failed its purpose, no matter how flawless it is.”
Why this isn't a formality
A newsletter, product copy, or landing page is the moment when a company speaks for itself, without a salesperson there to answer questions or immediately correct a misunderstanding. Leave that moment to someone who does marketing on the side, and you're leaving how the company presents itself to chance. Put it in the hands of someone who has studied, practiced, and understood the craft, and you give your message a real chance of getting through.
How to build value language from a product management perspective instead of getting stuck in feature language is covered in Why PMs lose customers in feature language. And why even the best briefing won't help if the newsletter process behind it is overengineered is covered in Are you overengineering your newsletter?
Sources: Cialdini (2021), Influence, New and Expanded: The Psychology of Persuasion.
Published July 2026