Words to the Wise

Copywriters can be like cops - never one around when you need one, and always one around when you don’t need one.

But let’s face it, a cop isn’t likely to write web content, blog posts and other fun stuff. So how do you keep a copywriter so happy that they drop everything to do YOUR work whenever YOU want?

Lesson 1 - Be accessible. Nothing says you don’t care about your project like taking five days to respond to an email about something project-related. I know there are exceptions, but there are also trends. A response to an email question within 24 hours shows you’re serious about your project and can keep your copywriter on-track. If the question is vital and you don’t respond, it’s possible that the copywriter will do work on another project until their question is answered and ‘lose steam’ when it comes to your project.

Lesson 2 - Be human. Yes, the copywriter knows you’re the client and you have the final say about the project, but throwing your weight around for the sake of showing your importance will lead to you finding another copywriter. Most of the copywriters I know would rather take less money than deal with a client’s inflated ego.

Lesson 3 - Be upfront. I once had a project to write web copy for a real estate agent. I had completed the first draft of 10 site pages based on my client’s input and submitted them for review. It was at that point the client told me her husband hated everything I had written. If you’re not the only decision-maker on a project, let your copywriter know. It helps them plan and make decisions better and keeps the unexpected (and unwelcome) surprises to a minimum.

Lesson 4 - Be honest. There are copywriters out there, myself included, who truly want to see you succeed and want their copy to be a part of that success. If you don’t like a word, a sentence, a paragraph or a page…say something. There are few things more deflating than writing pages of copy, only to find a month later that someone has re-written the copy because the client didn’t like it but didn’t say anything.

Lesson 5. Be ready. A very wise man in the PR field once said “Prior preparedness prevents piss-poor performance.” He also said “Prior agreements prevent future disagreements.” Take those to heart. Hammer out even a small agreement so that you and your copywriter have basic parameters and guidance in the unlikely event of a disagreement. Simple things like payment schedules, deadlines, what the copywriter’s fees cover and the like can keep a small problem from ruining a project.

Lesson 6. Be rich. Ok, I’m only half kidding about this one. But the reality is that I have clients who take 90 days or more to pay for my copywriting work. I also have clients who take 90 SECONDS to pay. Guess which client is more likely to get worked into a copywriter’s schedule when they need something and the copywriter is really busy? You know it - the one who pays fastest. That doesn’t mean a copywriter won’t bend over backward for a client who takes 90 days to pay - a copywriter will do anything for the right client.

So there you have it. And trust me when I tell you that copywriters want to keep the good clients for a long, long time. A good copywriter-client relationship goes both ways.

Jason Pedley is a professional SEO content writer based near Raleigh, North Carolina. Contact Jason today for your next marketing project - mail@jasonpedley.com or (860) 886-3455.

In my early copywriting and public relations days, I was lucky to have some good bosses. Go and look at my resume, and you’ll see the companies I’ve worked for who gave me good bosses. They’re the ones who gave me the freedom to be creative and offer new, big ideas.

I was also lucky to have some really, REALLY bad bosses. Those you won’t find on my resume. I’m not just talking about people who didn’t understand creative work or who were just trying to put their mark on everything I did, I’m talking about some true knobs of epic proportions. Bosses who offered clients crappy work day-in and day-out. Bosses who said one thing and really meant another. Bosses who berated you in front of clients because your ideas were not what they thought the client wanted to hear.

They know who they are. They read this blog. Welcome back, by the way.

What, me? Smug, you say? Never. Actually, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank these less-than-desireable leaders for teaching me how NOT to do business. During my time at these companies, I sat in meetings where my bosses would NEVER offer new and big ideas. Nothing fresh, nothing outrageous, nothing out of the box. Everything they did lacked courage and creativity. It oozed of complacency and the status quo.

As for me, I just sat back taking notes in those meetings. Notes about what NOT to do, how NOT to act, and how NOT to ever, EVER be like these people, ever.

All the jobs I’ve hated, I’ve learned from. Successful people will tell you that learning happens more when you fail, than when you succeed. While, in hindsight, I wouldn’t call working for Knobs, Inc. et al a failure, in the beginning of these jobs, I was certain I was a failure by going against the company grain, offering fresh ideas, and not settling for the obvious solutions. The truth is, I was learning some of the greatest business lessons of my life.

My lesson today for you is to always fail forward. That means that every time you feel like you’re failing, look for the lesson. It’s there. All the time. When you’ve found it, you’ve advanced. At one ad agency back in Connecticut, I was to come up with some ‘fresh’ radio spots for a client. So that’s what I did. The result - five spots my boss HATED. He wouldn’t even show them to the client. He swore at me, threatened me and then threw my spots in the trash.

Was that a failure? Maybe at the time. Today, those five spots have brought me more freelance copywriting work than I could have ever imagined at the time.

I failed forward. You will too.

Creative briefs can be long and intricate, and they often take up precious time that could be spent actually creating something. However, there is a place in this world for the creative brief as it does help agencies (and freelancers like myself) better understand the task(s) at hand.

The creative brief typically involves questions. Lots and lots of questions. Now, I don’t always use a creative brief. If I believe that a client and I are on the same page about the scope and goals of the project, then I forge ahead. But when I think a creative brief will clear up some questions and help both me and the client better understand objectives, these are some of the questions I ask:

1. Who are we trying to reach? If you’re a real estate agent, are you trying to reach people selling their homes? Or are you trying to reach people in the Raleigh, NC area who are selling a home worth between $300,000 and $900,000 and has been on the market over 120 days?

2. What’s your objective? Is your objective to simply reach them? Or is your objective to send them to a special landing page on your website that gives them a unique offer and information that is tailored to their situation?

3. What are the obstacles? Does your audience have a belief that precludes them from thinking your product or service is for them? Are you one of a dozen companies sending similar offers?

4. What’s in it for your prospect? Will you solve a problem? Will you save them money? Will you MAKE them money? Will you save them from embarassment?

5. What feeling or personality will your communication take on? Will you be the voice of authority? Will you speak to your prospects’ emotions? Will you be out-and-out human?

6. Is the timing right? Some messages are more effective at certain times of the year. Do your prospects need your service right now? If you send them a message now, will they forget about you when they truly do need you? Can your message be used in more than one medium? For example - can you turn your blog posts into articles that can be distributed via the Internet?

7. How does this project fit in with your overall brand? Will this be one piece of the marketing mix? Are there other agencies working on other parts? For example, if I’m writing web copy, I like to be in touch with the web designer to see how my copy will be laid out in the page.

8. Are there any creative mandatrories? Is there a phrase or paragraph that must be used? An image? A logo?

This is just the start. Often, these questions lead to more answers. Fortunately for me, more questions lead to more answers and a better product in the end.

A very famous hockey player from my hometown said those words. He took a LOT of shots, and he made the vast majority of them. His words also translate well off the ice - in business and life in general.

Take today for example.  I received my monthly wireless bill and for the third straight month, it is filled with errors. A bogus early termination fee was the main culprit. Now, last month’s bill was ten times worse and took me about an hour to correct over the phone with my provider. At the end of last month’s call, the customer service person asked if there was anything else she could do to help. Instantly, I jumped at the opportunity and said “Yes, there is. You can credit me $50 for the time and agony I’ve gone through to get this resolved.” Her response? “No problem. I’ll do that as a one-time credit.”

Lesson: You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.

Fast forward to this month. Another bill with errors in it. Albeit fewer errors, the amount still ran into the hundreds of dollars. My main complaint of the day was that every time I have errors on my bill, they are expensive. $100, $150 even $300 errors. And my provider’s system, software, whatever it is, won’t allow them to adjust taxes. The taxes MUST be paid on the ENTIRE incorrect amount and then be credited back to me the following month.

Stupid, I know.

So when we got my problem resolved and today’s customer service rep asked if there was anything else she could do, I didn’t hesitate. “I want credit for the time it’s taken me to solve these problems with my cell phone bill.” Initially, I was offered $15, which is still something. But then I took a gamble and said “I’m giving you a loan for $20 this month in the form of taxes, how ’bout we make it that amount.” Done.

I’ve had enough credit from Veriz….errr my cell phone provider to equal two free months of service.

Today’s lesson: “You Miss 100% of the Shots You Don’t Take.”

Today’s sub-lesson: “Everything is negotiable.”

This is a good lesson for aspiring copywriters, or ANYBODY in business for that matter.