Your copywriting FAQ answered.

Let’s clear up one thing from the start. I don’t have anything to do with the official registration of patents, intellectual property or brand logo usage rights. That’s copyrighting, not copywriting. So, what is copywriting? Some will tell you it’s an art. Some will say it’s a science. Others will tell you it’s a mix of both. My children tell me that I write words and push them about a bit. I prefer to think of copywriting as ‘the optimum use of the written or spoken word to promote a business, product, service, person or idea, and carefully selecting, constructing and editing those words in a way that will persuade the reader or listener to take a specific and measurable action.’

From engaging with your customers to enhancing your brand, a good copywriter will be able to understand your business and its objectives, distil your market and communicate with your audience in a way that compels them to take the desired action. As you may have already discovered, this is not always straightforward. Sometimes you can hammer out a page of brochure copy first time within a couple of hours. At other times you can spend days agonising over a single tagline. Creativity doesn’t come on tap or drop off the end of a production line. There’s no substitute for the knowledge and judgement that comes with years of experience, huge success and the odd catastrophe.

Everyone can write to some extent but there’s a difference between being able to put one word in front of another and being able to write engaging and compelling copy that gets to the point succinctly and achieves its goal. Let me explain. It’s a bit like doing your own decorating. It’s never going to be as impressive as if you’d called in the professionals. But hey, it’ll do. But soon you start to notice the poor cutting in and bits flaking off.

It’s much the same with copywriting. You could write it yourself but it will never be as good as it could be if you’d hired a professional copywriter. Spelling mistakes, wrong tenses, endless waffle – I’ve seen them all. So, in the end did you really save yourself any time and hassle? Think of the time you spent writing, re-writing and refining. And what about all that potential business you’ve missed out on by having a sales letter, brochure or website that isn’t doing what it’s supposed to?

The truth is, until I´ve spoken to you, I don’t know. It depends on what you want. Writing copy (and I mean proper copy and not the stuff sold for peanuts by copy mills like People Per Hour or Fiverr and written by moonlighting journalists, failed poets, frustrated novelists and students) involves a mix of art, science, experience, insight, judgement and the odd bit of luck. Talent is always a bonus.

I’m candid about my copywriting rates. I work on the premise that good words are worth much and should cost (relatively) little. Even with 30 years’ experience, I prefer to keep my fees relatively low, so I charge £30 per hour or £300 per day. I’m not the cheapest but certainly not the most expensive. I’m somewhere in the mid-range for UK copywriters.  For someone with my experience, you can easily pay upwards of £600 per day. Rest assured, by hiring me you won’t be subsidising plush offices, a swish car or a champagne lifestyle.

If I haven’t worked with you before then I will ask you to pay a 50% deposit before I start, with the balance payable on completion. If we’ve worked together before, I don’t ask for a deposit. Here is a copy of my full Terms.

At any one time I have at least three or four projects in progress but many of these are fluid so I’m often able to take on new work. However, if I’m particularly busy or I feel that an associate might be better suited, then I’m happy to recommend a number of other talented and experienced writers.

This depends on a number of things – the size and complexity of the project; how quickly you want it; what information you can supply and how quickly you can supply it; and my workload at the time. Ordinarily, I can turn around shorter pieces within 72 hours, while larger, more complicated projects may involve in-depth research or interviews and will take longer. I’ll always create your content as quickly as possible but will never compromise on quality or detail. A deadline will always be agreed with you during our initial discussions or at the briefing stage and before the creative process begins.

Haven’t we all? It’s a real pain in the arse isn’t it? He seemed a decent sort of bloke and his credentials spoke for themselves. I had no doubts he could do the job. He even had his own spanner. Mind you, it hasn’t stopped me calling out other plumbers at the first sign of a leak.

If you’re seeking the help of a freelance copywriter there is plenty of choice and thanks to Google they’re now all at your fingertips. Choosing a copywriter isn’t a decision to be taken lightly. Not if you’re about to trust them with your reputation, Like any other industry, they are good ones and bad ones. So how can you make sure that you choose the right copywriter? There’s no definitive and authoritative answer.

There are a few questions you should ask to ensure that they have the necessary skill and experience – I’ve discussed these in my blog post Essential Questions To Ask A Copywriter Before You Hire Them. If you’re looking for benchmarks to compare one copywriter with another, then you should consider what copywriting experience they have; are they affordable; and do they appear to understand your sector, your company and the nature of the work. Finally, ask to see some examples of similar work.

Free samples are for supermarkets. If you’re asking me to spend my time blindly throwing together something in a rush without a proper brief, the opportunity for information gathering and without pay, as a kind of application process that might lead to some paid work, then probably not. If we accept that you’re not just after some free copy, even if I was to cobble together a few hundred words, it wouldn’t be representative of my work. I begin each project with research and interviews, without which you’ll probably end up with a load of copy that’s wide of the mark.

Other professionals don’t provide free samples: they expect potential clients to evaluate them on their portfolio, experience, personality and professional reputation. I like to think that anyone looking for an experienced professional copywriter would do the same. So, while it might seem like a reasonable request, after 30 years as a professional freelance copywriter I like to think that I’ve built up enough experience, a solid reputation and a varied enough portfolio to give potential clients a good idea of whether I can write or not.

I haven’t. But then I’ve never paid to enter any competitions. I don’t do awards or self-indulgence – it’s overrated. Anyway, I object to paying a fortune for a crap dinner at a second-rate hotel and being judged in committee by consensus of what’s in fashion. By its nature originality can’t be fashionable as it’s yet to have the approval of a committee. So no, I don’t have a cabinet full of trophies. It’s the client’s job to stand in the spotlight and my job to put them there. As John Osbourne once said, “Writers don’t need love. All they require is money”.

To be honest, I don’t have one. When I’m writing for myself, I suppose I adopt a more conversational style with perhaps a satirical tone. But when it comes to writing for other people it’s not my job to have a style. I have to be versatile and adopt the style and tone that best suits the client and the objective of the communication. On any one day, I can assume many guises, depending on what I’m writing about, who I’m writing for and where the writing is going to be read.

I might do. I might not. Not that it really matters. As Cato once said, ‘Grasp the subject. The words will follow’. 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 of a business area. In fact, not doing so can often prove to be an advantage. My job will be to make sure that your customers can understand your business. I will come to you with a knowledge of words, experience of business and maybe an insight into your industry but most importantly with a fresh and objective perspective.

Quite simply because some words are worth more than others. So, I believe that words should be weighed and not counted. Sometimes I can hammer out a page of search engine optimised web copy within a couple of hours. At other times, I can spend days agonising over a single strapline. And that’s the difference between churning out meaningless drivel and writing something that gets results.

If you employed a builder, would you ask him if he charged by the brick? Their experience tells them that every project requires them to do something different with each brick. Paying by the word is a fail-safe way to get bloated, flabby copy, as the copywriter looks to pad out the word count with as much superfluous, redundant or unnecessary waffle as they can get away with.

At any one time, I usually have at least three or four projects in progress, but many of these are fluid, so I’m often able to take on new work.

While I’m never not doing something, I’m almost always available to take a call or answer an email. In an ideal world, I ask for two weeks’ notice before starting a new writing project. However, as most people who approach me say they needed it
yesterday, it’s got to go live tomorrow, or their life depends on it, I very rarely get the luxury of two weeks’ notice. If your job is relatively small, straightforward, or last-minute, I may be able to help.

It’s always worth asking, but please don’t be offended if I have to decline. If I am particularly busy, I may ask you to wait a short time while I complete other work, or I’m happy to point you towards another talented and experienced copywriter.

For urgent orders, I follow the industry-standard rush fee of an additional 25%.