I’ve often argued with my clients. Not because I’m petty, or vindictive, or because I’m used to getting my way. I argue because I want to give my clients the best possible work.
If a client is paying you to write for them, you have an obligation to give them the best you’ve got. If that means a line or an angle the client has supplied doesn’t work, you need to tell them why — and be able to suggest better alternatives.
Not all clients take direction. As Tom Albrighton notes, no matter how much experience you have, as …
When getting to understand a client’s business, I always ask them about their USP (unique selling point). In short, I ask them the same question a potential customer will ask: “why you?”
Sometimes, particularly if their business plan isn’t fully formed, the client won’t know. So I help by saying it’s often one of two things: “are you the best, or are you the cheapest?”
The two types of consumer
There are two types of consumers in the world. There are those who want to minimize their cost no matter what. Then there are those who want to get the …
You can’t hurry love. But as a copywriter, can you rush creativity? Is it possible to have too many ideas? Or is more always more?
- Is it better to go to the client with just one idea?
- Is it better to go to the client with two or three of the best?
- …or does your client want to pick and choose from a hundred different options?
The answer depends on the client — and on how well you can read them.
Some clients want to be told what to do. They’re paying you, the expert, to tell them what will …
The joy of being a freelance copywriter is that you can work, pretty much, from anywhere. From home, from a hotdesk, from a beach in Goa, if you really want. With an 11″ Macbook Air and an occasional wireless connection you could probably write trekking through the Himalayas, if you really wanted. But I’m in London. One of the most expensive, most crowded, and oldest cities in the world. And I don’t mean old in a good way. I mean old as in, our antiquated public transport network makes even the simplest of journeys an absolute nightmare — sometimes getting …
There are a lot of copywriting brief templates out there. Personally, I don’t rate any of them. Most of them focus on facts, figures, times, schedules, costs. Most clients will naturally include this information in their initial contact with their copywriter anyway. And most technical information is as easy to find as a quick google search.
Unfortunately, this information isn’t enough to help your copywriter do a good job. It’s only enough to help them do a generic job. If you want truly personal copy, you’re going to have to be prepared to get personal.
Can’t meet your client in …
This week I got together with Spencer Lavery, the genius behind the design of this site, to update my portfolio. After almost three years, it was time to take another look at how I was presenting my work. And I noticed something. I actually preferred some of the work I was doing a couple of years ago to the work I’m doing now.
How long does good work take?
When I first started freelancing, I’d frequently have time to spend two or even three days on a project I’d quoted a day’s work on. After all, I needed …
I’ve spoken before about how much I rate Tom Albrighton’s work as a copywriter. I’m also a fan of Ben Locker, in Colchester (Glad you’re not in London, Ben!). What have these two guys got in common? They’re both big fans of the “father of modern advertising,” David Ogilvy. So much so, in fact, that Ben recently produced a long-copy print ad in Ogilvy’s style as an experiment, testing whether or not long copy works. Well, I’ve decided to put my money where my mouth is, too.
Who the hell is David Ogilvy?
Well, first things first, let’s be …
Has a song ever made you feel sad? Lonely? Depressed? Of course it has. But has a song ever made you feel sorry for someone else? You tell me.
I’m a big Scott Walker fan. Scott’s a cult singer who started out as a 60s pop crooner who gradually evolved into an experimental noisemaker by way of the dark, lyrical lounge music of Jacques Brel. Imagine if Frank Sinatra got a gig in Vegas and went from playing crowd pleasers to crooning deep numbers about call girls, death and torture, before finally just deciding to pummel a side of meat …
Though they say you should never give your competitors the oxygen of publicity, I have to admit I’m quite fond of Tom Albrighton’s copywriting blog. While his site’s a little cluttered for my tastes (I’m sure he’d say mine is too brash), I’ll give him this. The man knows how to write. But luckily for us both, we’re not in direct competition. You see, I market myself as a “creative” copywriter. Tom, on the other hand, is proud to be uncreative. Let’s look at what that means:
With a publishing background, I’m much more suited to larger projects …
So, I snapped. After valiantly trying to tough it out working from home with two highly-strung girls and their overactive cat, I moved into a new office today. And I can safely say I’ve done more work this afternoon than I have in the last three weeks put together. There’s less furballs, too.
I know what you’re thinking. You get up in the morning. London’s all grey and awful. You’ve got to get up before it’s even light and trudge twenty minutes in the rain to catch a bus to catch a tube and stand around geting pushed around just …