Etextera covers all types of texts in all sectors. The focus is on classic corporate publishing products and online texts. The client structure is particularly strong in the finance, consumer, health, service and technology sectors. However, the text agency not only offers text, but also project work - from concept to editing, translation, proofreading, graphics, printing and web design, the text agency offers everything. Sascha Hardegger, owner of Etextera, reveals what their recipe for success is and what the future should look like.
Mr. Hardegger, congratulations on the 5th anniversary of Etextera. Are you now through the most difficult phase?
As a company in a highly competitive market, we are challenged every day to do our best for our customers. Resting on your laurels can be fatal for a company. The most difficult thing at the beginning was coping with the huge fluctuations in orders: there were times when we could have worked day and night, followed by weeks when things were less busy. After five years, we are lucky enough to have a large customer base that regularly places orders and thus ensures a certain "base turnover".
Looking back, what do you continue to focus on, what should change?
We will continue to rely on our two pillars of success in the future: On well-trained female professionals with whom we can guarantee high (text) quality. I believe that quality combined with social commitment is Etextera's recipe for success. This social commitment also obliges us to pay our editors fair hourly wages. Right at the beginning, we were often ridiculed as a "housewife agency". We often heard the argument - or the prejudice - that women with children cannot meet deadlines. Today, I am pleased to say: In the five years since Etextera has been around, we haven't missed a single deadline. On the contrary: thanks to our home-office philosophy, an editor is free to decide when she writes an article. This can sometimes be in the evening when the children are asleep. We sometimes receive texts at one or two o'clock in the morning. So it sometimes happens that a customer places an order in the afternoon and finds the text in their mailbox early the next morning. I would therefore like to thank our editors, some of whom have been working for us for five years and deliver a top performance.
Many companies do their copywriting in-house. Why do your customers outsource it?
Customers often realize that writing texts takes an enormous amount of time. The famous blank page that has to be filled with text. Of course it costs money to outsource copywriting jobs. But if I am honest as a client and charge for the hours I spend writing a mailing, for example, it is often cheaper to outsource. I then also know that the text has been written by professionals and is appropriate for the target group and channel. Small and medium-sized SMEs in particular do not have the financial resources to hire their own copywriter. And not to forget: Like a professional design, professional texts contribute to a positive company image. Imagine a fiduciary office that advertises quality and trust and at the same time posts faulty texts on its website.
Etextera offers more than just text. The agency also manages projects. Are these mainly customer and company magazines?
Also. Today, our customers want to have a single point of contact for all communication services. So it often happens that we take on the overall project management. Be it for a company brochure, a CI/CD manual, a website and much more. From the kick-off with the customer, briefing and coordination of the editor, graphic designer or web designer, translator, proofreader and printer to obtaining quotations and managing project timing. Here, too, we have built up a network of partners over the years that we can rely on completely.
Which projects that Etextera has accompanied from idea to implementation stand out for you?
We were asked to redesign the CI/CD for the Lenzburg-based company "Diartis" in collaboration with an advertising agency and then implement it across all communication channels - from the website to the company folder and customer magazine. Originally, Diartis only wanted to have all the texts revised, from the product sheets to the customer magazine and the website. In addition, we have accompanied two very extensive imprints from A to Z for the ETH Board. In other words, we prepared the texts according to the concept and coordinated the graphics, translation, proofreading and printing.
How does Etextera use the possibilities of the digital world to connect information and processes, work and people?
A major advantage of Etextera is our home office philosophy. This guarantees us absolute flexibility, on the other hand we have no infrastructure costs. However, this requires a regular exchange with our editors and customers via the various communication channels. Here we use the same means of communication as in "normal" offices. If you often talk to a new customer in person or on the phone at the beginning of a collaboration, this is often only done via email or platforms such as Dropbox for data exchange afterwards.
What is Etextera giving itself for its anniversary?
We are going out for a small dinner with the team. We will also be giving presents to our customers over the next few days. After all, we owe our success to our customers, some of whom have been loyal to us since the company was founded. I don't take this for granted.
Interview: Ursina Maurer
