Trust me
As my dentist repaired some substandard work done by a previous dentist, we discussed the issue of trust. How one must trust that a dentist knows what he or she is doing. You hate to find out, three years on, that it was done wrong and now you have to pay to have it redone, and go through the annoyance (or agony, depending on how you feel about dental work) all over again.
Many professionals provide services that we, as consumers, can neither do ourselves nor truly judge, unless something goes wrong. Dentists, doctors, auto mechanics. So we have to trust the person, trust he is honest, trust that she knows what she’s doing.
Writers don’t have exactly the same problem with trust. Trust is still a very important component–writers write for clients, so copy should address the specific need and audience, and the relationship should be open and honest, in both directions. But with writing, clients can judge the work the moment you put it in their hands. They can tell if it’s too formal or not persuasive enough for their audience. And they can judge the work based on their own opinions, too.
It can be an interesting conversation when a writer and client have different opinions about the final product. But I’d much rather have my clients be able to judge my work immediately, and address the issue immediately, than to have someone find out three years from now that they are really disappointed with my work.