FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

A number of questions that sometimes occur to new clients may be answered by the following Q and A.

“How is a project quoted?”

Typically copywriters can charge either hourly rates or flat fees. I prefer the latter, charging by the project, rather than the hour. This reduces the unknowns for you, the customer, by eliminating the possibility that overtime charges will inflate the final price.

Factors going into determining the cost of a project include the type of copy you need along with the amount of search engine optimization for writing projects, the complexity of a website for website projects, and the details involved in graphical presentations.

“What are the first steps?”

1. The first step is to complete a fee agreement and make a 50% deposit before work can begin. The remaining 50% is due one week after I’ve submitted the initial draft to you for review.

2. Copywriting Information Worksheet (CIW): To better understand the information I’ll need to get going on your project, this form fills in the details. It will help me understand what you need me to create so that we are on the same page from the beginning of the project.

Questions in the CIW include such things as “Who is your target market?”, “What is your offer”, “What are the main benefits of your product or service?”, and “What experience do you have in the fire industry?”

“What about revisions?”

Two sets of revisions are included with every project. They must be made within 30 days of your receipt of the copy, and shouldn’t involve a change in creative direction, scope, or format. Additional revisions will be charged at my hourly rate.

“How much work is needed from us?”

Many of my clients are almost completely ‘hands off’, especially once I have understood their key marketing messages and corporate style. In these cases, a copy briefing can be done by email. Depending on the job, I may need brochures, research data, and other information that provides me with the background on your product, service, or study to help my copywriting efforts.

“Isn’t it better to write it ourselves?”

The benefits of using a copywriter extend well beyond time savings for you. A fresh perspective on your business is valuable - a copywriter’s job is partly to see what your business is doing from a customer’s perspective. Very often, my job is to rewrite content so that it focuses on what customers want, not simply on what a business does. This is a sometimes subtle but crucial difference: your copy must answer the all-important customers’ question, “What’s in it for me?”