FAQ

Copywriting is part craft, part science, part technique, part art, with a bit of experience, natural talent, and psychology thrown in. Confused? Then I’ll stick to the more straightforward explanation I’ve used over the past 11+ years.

‘Copywriting is the optimum use of the written or spoken word to promote a product, business, person or idea. Carefully selecting, constructing and editing those words in a way that will persuade the reader or listener to take specific and measurable action.’

A copywriter produces copy (words) that’s used to persuade the reader to take the desired action; to advertise or to explain a product or service; to form some sort of contract; to bring information or news, or make the reader aware of a brand.

As you may have detected yourself, this is not always as straightforward as it may sound. Sometimes you might be able to hammer out a page of brochure copy the first time within just a couple of hours. At other times you can spend days agonizing over a single strapline.

Creativity doesn’t come on tap. It doesn’t drop off the end of a production line. It takes a professional to get consistently excellent results. Natural talent is a bonus, but there’s no substitute for the knowledge and judgment that comes with years of experience, a huge success, and the occasional catastrophe.

Whether a direct mail, brochure, website, advertisement, sales letter or any other form of communication with a customer, a stakeholder, a supplier, good copy should be straightforward without being dull, intelligent without being smug, and lively without being breathless. In fact, this should be the case with anyone who comes into contact with your business. 

Everyone thinks they can write, but there really is a difference between putting one word in front of another and writing compelling, entertaining, and engaging copy that gets to the point succinctly and achieves its intended goal.

Let me explain. It’s sort of like doing your own home decorating. It’s never really going to be as impressive as if you’d called in the professionals, but hey, it’ll do. But then, after a little while, you start to notice the little things that begin to bug you.

It’s the same deal with copywriting. You can write it yourself, but it will never be as good as if you’d hired a freelance copywriter. Spelling mistakes, wrong tenses, wrong tone – I’ve seen it all.

So, did you save yourself any time and hassle? Think of all that time you spent writing, re-writing and refining. What about all that potential business you’ve missed out on by having a sales letter, brochure, or website that’s not doing what it’s supposed to?

And if you’re wondering by now why you should work with me, here are just a few reasons.

Once you’ve decided to work with me, I’ll take you through the orienting process. To make sure that I gather all of the information I need, I’ll ask you to complete a short questionnaire.

This document contains questions about your company, its objectives and goals; your products or services; your customers, their motivations and pain points; the marketplace; and finally, the ever-important call to action. Your answers to these questions will give me the detailed information I need to find the “voice”. I’ll then do some research and if required, telephone interviews.

Complex projects may benefit significantly from an initial meeting, but the majority of work can be easily done by phone and email. I’ve worked with clients across the US, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Africa and the Far East very successfully without actually ever meeting them.

For a copy of my copywriting questionnaire, click here.

• corporate brochure copywriting
• promotional brochure copywriting
• company magazine copywriting
• strapline copywriting
• tagline copywriting
• slogan copywriting
• information pack content
• leaflet copywriting
• press release writing
• case study writing
• website content/web copywriting
• direct mail copywriting
• brand story copywriting
• business profile copywriting
• executive biography copywriting
• tone of voice guidelines
• social media content (facebook, twitter, google+, LinkedIn)
• white paper writing
• ebook content
• landing page content
• print advertising copywriting
• digital advertising copywriting
• catalog copywriting
• product description copywriting
• annual report copywriting
• business review copywriting
• business letter and email copywriting
• sales letter and email copywriting
• copy critique

AND MUCH MORE! 

Go to my other website for details: www.designwebpassion.com

During my career, I’ve written for a broad range of businesses across an equally diverse range of sectors and industries. And while I have better knowledge of some more than others, it’s not always necessary to have experience in a particular business arena. In fact, not doing so often proves to be an advantage.

My job will be to make sure that your customers can easily understand your business. I come to you with a knowledge of words, experience business, maybe even insight into your industry, with a fresh and objective perspective.

My rates are competitive. As a freelance writer, I work out of my home office, so overhead is minimal, and that is reflected in my prices.

The amount of time spent to write your copy is irrelevant. What is important to you is results, right?

If you pay a meager rate for your copy, but it doesn’t generate leads or sales for you the way you expected, you’ve essentially wasted your money. Wouldn’t you prefer to have paid a little more for copy that does the job and gives you a robust ROI?

The reason you are hiring a copywriter like me is not to save money. You’re actually paying me for the 11+ years of copywriting, and marketing experience I have that will ensure you’ll get high-quality, professional copy that achieves your specific objectives. I base my fees on the perceived value I provide, and not time.

In the long run, good copy doesn’t cost you money; it makes you money by efficiently selling your products or services.

Buying copy is sort of like buying a suit, a meal, or a car. You get what you pay for. You can undoubtedly go cheap and cheerful if you want, but you tend to reap what you sow. My prices are in the midrange, and my services offer a fair cost/benefit equation for many types of organizations.

My clients, without exception, feel they get excellent value for their money. In addition to great copy and first-rate service, they receive the benefits of my marketing expertise and business know-how.

Writing copy – and I mean proper copy and not the stuff sold for peanuts by copy mills and written by moonlighting journalists, failed poets, frustrated novelists and students – involves a mix of art, science, experience, insight, luck, and judgment. Talent is always a bonus.

I’m pretty candid about my rates and try hard to be fair. I work on the premise that crafting the right words together are worth a lot and should cost (relatively) little. Even with 11+ years’ broad experience, I prefer to keep my fees relatively low and terms as straightforward as possible.

Every piece of work is different, unique and original. So, for your benefit and mine, I prefer to charge on a project basis, giving you a fixed cost before a single word is written. This charge is based on my experience and assessment of the time it will take, the experience I bring to it, the advice and expertise I offer and the unique value I add.

This fee covers the cost of all my services from start to finish. This, unless otherwise agreed, will include consultation, research, planning, writing, evaluation, submission of a first draft, any reasonable revisions (assigned within ten working days) and frequent communication (telephone, email, SKYPE, postage).

My fee includes as many changes or modifications as is required (within reason) until you are fully satisfied with the finished version of the copy. On the infrequent occasions where a client has thought I missed the mark, we have parted amicably every time (almost).

Once I’ve had a chance to get some details about your project, I’ll put together a quote and email it to you within 24 hours. Depending on what the project involves, in some cases, I may be able to provide you with a ball-park figure right away, so you have a better idea of how much your project will cost and so you’ll be able to compare it with any other quotes you may have sourced.

Then, if you’re happy with my quote, I’ll need to find out more about your background, your service or product, your message and your audience. With 11+ years’ as a professional copywriter, there’s a good chance that I’ll have written about your market sector, interest area,  or at least something similar before, speeding up the learning curve and helping to save you money. Next, I’ll put together some initial draft content for you to approve or make changes. Finally, once you are satisfied with it, I’ll email you the finished final version.

But BE CAREFUL.

A cheap copy will end up costing you regarding search engine visibility, reputation, and sometimes even copyright. This type of content is almost invariably poorly written, full of spelling mistakes, bad grammar, and punctuation, and is often directly cut, copied and pasted from other sources. In the long term, they’ll put off both search engines and prospective customers.

If, however, you want well-researched, original and dynamic content, well-written, and are willing to pay the going rate for it, contact me.

Along with structure and design, the way in which a website is written is one of a series of critical factors which determines how it is ranked by search engines.

The chances are that you found my site because it was rated highly for the search term you entered. That’s because of the way it’s written (SEO optimization) and the words included in the content.

So while I can’t make any promises, I can certainly ensure that your content and SEO is enhanced to give you the very best chance of being ranked highly in search engines for terms that are considered relevant to your business or organization.

There’s really no definitive and authoritative answer. You should ask yourself a few questions to make sure they have the necessary skills and experience to carry out your project.

You should consider what copywriting experience they have and if they are affordable. Do they seem to understand your sector, your company and the type of the work you’re considering them to do? Do they actually listen to you and ask the right questions or just talk about themselves? And finally, ask to see examples of their work.

In truth, you can ask as many questions as you want to but it all comes down to instinct. Ask yourself: Do I like them? Could I work with them? And will their words do my company product or service justice?

Everyone can write to some extent, but there’s a difference between being able to put a word in front of another one and writing compelling, engaging copy that successfully captures the attention of a reader and motivates them to take the desired action.

That sort of success comes with years of experience, knowledge, and judgment.

It’s a little like doing your own decorating. It’s never going to be as impressive and coordinated as if you’d called a professional. But hey, it’ll do. Pretty soon, you start to notice some things that just aren’t right.

It’s the same with copywriting. You can write it yourself, but it will never be as good as it could be if you’d hired a freelance copywriter in the first place. Spelling mistakes, missing words, wrong tenses, fuzzy vocabulary – I’ve seen them all.

So, would you really save yourself time and money? Think of the time invested writing and re-writing. And what about all that potential business you’ve missed out on by having a website, sales letter, or brochure that didn’t do precisely what was intended.

If you want to be confident that your words engage with your customers, enhance your brand, and sell your products and services, then you really need to talk to an experienced professional copywriter or content writer.

And by professional, I mean someone who works with words all day and not one of those failed poets, frustrated novelists and strapped-for-cash students that churn out meaningless drivel through copy mills like Freelancer.

If you’re wondering why you should work with me in particular, here are just a few reasons. – link goes to “Are you lost for words?” with button: Let me help you.

If we accept that you’re not just asking so you can get some free copy; even if I were to throw together a few hundred words, it wouldn’t be representative of my work. I start each project with research and detailed interviews. Without these crucial parts of the process, you’ll end up with a half-baked load of copy which will definitely fail to impress any savvy reader.

Anyway, try asking a plumber to fix your toilet before you decide whether you like their work and want them to continue on the rest of the bathroom. Other professionals don’t provide free samples; they expect potential clients to evaluate them on their portfolio, experience, personality and professional reputation.

So while it might seem like a reasonable request, after 11+ years as a professional freelance copywriter, I’ve built up enough experience, a solid reputation, and a varied enough portfolio to give visitors a good idea of whether I can write or not.