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If your clients are using a copywriter for the first time they might find it helpful to read through the following information. It explains a bit about the process of copywriting and may even prepare them for the barrage of questions their copywriter is sure to throw at them.

Don't talk about your fertilizer; tell me about my roses!

When you are trying to sell a product or service you can't just say, "my product is great, buy it". Instead, you need to find ways of persuading potential customers to act. And persuasion is the language of copywriters...

The real difficulty here is that not every person likes to be persuaded in the same way. Copywriters have to know who they are talking to and what will motivate them to buy before they can begin. So how do they do this?

Write on Target

Copywriters ask lots of questions! That's because they need to know their target market as intimately as the business they are writing for if they want to keep people reading and avoid annoying or offending anyone.

They might read through magazines the target audience reads; look at promotions that have succeeded or failed in the past and figure out why, or brainstorm with the client and designer to think up exciting new ways to engage and delight the customer.

Stand out from the crowd

But knowing about customers is not enough. If they want their writing to have an impact, copywriters also need to know what sets each business apart in the marketplace and what real benefits they are selling.

And that means research. Researching competitors. Looking at the product or service as if seeing it for the first time and finding that special something that cries out, "Sell me!" "Sell me!"

Writing is only a small part of the process

As you can see, none of what a copywriter does up to this point is the ACTUAL WRITING. Research and planning is about 50 % of the work involved.

That's because there is no point beginning to write until you really understand who you are writing to, the way they like to receive information as well as what you are writing about.

After all the research, the copywriter is now ready to create a rough working document (this is the writing part), before moving on to the task of refining.

Even Ruth says "Be Ruthless"

The refining (or editing) component involves choosing the clearest, tightest and easiest to understand language possible. It means being brutal with every word.

And just so there is no confusion here, copywriters like to keep it simple. That's because PEOPLE LIKE TO READ PLAIN ENGLISH. If you ask someone to spend time deciphering flowery language because you think it sounds impressive, chances are they will not read your document.

Rome wasn't built in a day

Ask anyone. It takes no time at all to write a ton of drivel. What takes time is communicating simply and effectively.

Realistically, it will take five to eight hours to write a tight, crisp, one-page letter and you can work upwards from there for larger documents. Just like design, if you shortcut the amount of time you spend on copywriting, it will show in the results.

Of course, if your client has extremely short time frames or a limited budget your copywriter can always put their editing hat on and give an existing document a bit of a spit and polish. And if you are working with no budget at all, never fear - just use the tips contained in my article 10 Easy tips to improve your copywriting right now.

If you want any further information about copywriting please feel free to contact me on the numbers below.

Ruth Clare

Ruth is a freelance copywriter and editor who helps to run a graphic design business with her partner Matt.

T: 03 9481 0077
M: 0409 891 381
E: ruth@monodesign.com.au
http://www.monodesign.com.au

"i have been approached to write some copy for the web. Could u give me an idea of what i should charge?"