Pricing

‘It’s only words. We all speak English and my spelling’s not too bad.’

Everyone thinks they can write but there’s a difference between being able to put one word in front of another and being able to write compelling, engaging, interesting 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 then 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 freelance 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’s not doing what it’s supposed to?

I never presume that what went before was best. Nor do I reinvent the wheel for the sake of it. So I invest a high percentage of my time at the briefing and research stage, where answers to questions such as who, what, why, when and how can make all the difference. The more information and material you’re able to provide the better the end result will be. Background information about your company and/or your product or service, examples of your previous advertising and relevant promotional material.

If you also have any thoughts with regards tone of voice, style of writing, proposed structure, mandatory inclusions, topics to be avoided, – basically, everything you can think of which might be of use to me when planning and writing. I will ask you to complete an in-depth briefing document with searching questions. Your answers to these questions will provide most of the information I’m looking for.

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.

Let me compare it to housebuilding. If you employed a builder to build a house, would you ask him if he charges by the brick? You’d be lucky to get away with quizzical look and a blunt reply. Builders don’t charge by the brick because 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. Pay someone by the word and in order to pad out the word count without much thought they’ll add as much superfluous, redundant or unnecessary waffle as they can get away with.

In terms of hours spent, I don’t want you to end up paying more if a good idea takes a little longer to emerge than I’d anticipated. And so that I don’t lose out if it doesn’t.

Yes, of course it would be. And let’s face it, how hard can it be? It’s only words and I’m sure that your spelling isn’t too bad. But before you pick up a pen or start merrily tapping away, let me curb your enthusiasm.

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 compelling, engaging copy that captures the attention of a reader and motivates them to take a desired action.

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

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 then 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 freelance copywriter. Missing words, spelling mistakes, wrong tenses, nonsensical waffle – I’ve seen them all.

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

If you want to ensure that your words enhance your brand, engage with your customers and sell your products and services, then you need to talk to an experienced professional copywriter.

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 Copify.

Absolutely, 100 per cent. Once the work is complete and payment has been received in full, all rights for the copy I’ve written revert to you.