Avoid These Mistakes When Working With A Copywriter

Any copywriter will tell you – some clients are a joy and others are a headache – or possibly acid indigestion.
The difference between them lies partly in their attitude, but most of us learn quickly to “fire” clients who are arrogant or rude. If you don’t have to deal with an unpleasant person, why would you?
But even clients who are polite and pleasant can be difficult. Here are some of the reasons why:
Their goals are unclear
They get side-tracked and don’t answer questions or supply background information in a timely fashion
They give incomplete answers
They give short, misleading answers
They delay in asking for revisions
Deciding what you want your new marketing copy to accomplish is paramount. If you don’t know, how can you possibly tell your copywriter?
So first decide if the copy is for lead generation, to create immediate sales, to reinforce your in-person presentations, to build trust with prospects, to convey information, or simply to maintain top of mind awareness with your past clients and sphere of influence.
Then decide on a call to action. What do you want those prospects to do after they read your materials?
Be clear when you give this information to your copywriter. And if your writer has given you a list of questions, answer them completely.
Send the background information right away.
Most writers will give you a deadline for submitting copy to you – but will tie that deadline to the date when your background information is received. For instance, your copy might be due within 3 weeks, but the 3 weeks don’t begin until you send the required documents.
Answer the questions in full. Your writer may not use all of the material in your copy, but will use it to “get into the zone” of your product or service. For instance, questions for a personal bio might ask about the customers you most enjoy serving. Your writer won’t use that to discriminate against the others, but to make your copy appeal most to the clients you like most.
Partially answered questions leave your writer hanging in the air – writing you back for clarification. So take time for complete answers.
Few clients deliberately mislead their writers, but it often happens when clients use too few words to say what they mean. The writer is left with trying to fill in the blanks, and can often be wrong. That leads to revisions that wouldn’t have been necessary had the client written 3 sentences instead of 3 words.
As for revisions… We know our clients are busy and may not be able to review copy the minute it arrives. But reviewing it and sending revision requests within 48 hours makes life much easier for your copywriter and results in better copy.
If you wait a week or two, your writer will have been busy working on other projects and yours will no longer be fresh in his or her mind. That means going back and spending time becoming immersed in the copy all over again. Most copywriters who use a contract will specify the number of days before copy will be deemed “accepted as is” and final payment will be due. But for best results, the sooner you respond, the better.