You know you need help with your business, but how exactly does this work? Let’s suppose you say
“Well, I need some help with my website”
Your website is your showroom. It’s always talking to potential customers, who will leave unless they understand you and your products.
A good copywriter can help your site work better. In marketing terms effective web copy can attract, inform and engage visitors so that they become customers.
So where do we start?
1. Your first contact
Get in touch! Drop me a line by email or give me a call to discuss what you need. Even if you are not sure exactly how I can help, we can probably work this out pretty fast. Better still if you can let me know:
- Your website address (especially for landing pages, web copy, blogs)
- Your objectives (e.g. to increase web traffic, sell a specific item, improve brand awareness), and
- Any deadlines.
With this sort of information I will be able to give you rough price and time estimates, plus an outline of what I can do for you.
2. Briefing
If you are used to employing copywriters you can jump straight to sending me your brief. Otherwise I will ask you for more information, either through a quick call or by completing a briefing form.
a) Your business
First, I need to understand your business:
- What do you offer customers (product/services/information)?
- What makes this special (your USP or unique selling proposition)?
- Who are your ideal customers?
- Who are your main competitors?
b) Your style
The best tone of voice or style for your website will depend on who you are trying to attract, and how you wish to be seen. So I also need to ask:
- Your business character (e.g. formal, business, casual, humourous)
- Whether your business has a style or branding guide
- What you like and don’t like (this can be really helpful!)
c) Your objective
Finally, I need a clear understanding of:
- What you want (web page advice, marketing copy, newsletter, blog article etc.)
- Which other people are involved in design and decisions
- When you need it.
3. The best copywriting
Now I can write the best copy for your specific needs.
It’s likely we will need some light redrafting once you have taken a look and given constructive feedback, so I allow for this in my time and cost estimates. If this is a big project I will often offer a trial section (for example, one page of a multi-page website) up front so that you can give me early feedback. That way we both gain confidence that you will receive the best copy.
4. Payment
We will have agreed when and how much I will invoice you. If this is regular work we might agree on a monthly invoice, or I may be charging for an approximate word count (for example a blog post of 2,000 words).
For new customers I will ask for part payment upfront, and if at any point it looks as though you might need to spend more than budgeted we will discuss this in advance so that there are never any surprises. My good name relies on your happiness, after all.
So that’s it: how to work with a copywriter in 4 easy steps.
Whether you need marketing copy, landing pages, blog articles, lengthy guides or any other type of copy, the process will be much the same. Now that you know how it works, go ahead and tell me about your project!