So, you've decided to invest in your business and hire a copywriter! That's awesome! You're bottom line will thank you!
Now what happens?
1. The first step is to sit down with your new copywriter and talk. It doesn't matter if it's over coffee in a little café, or onscreen through Zoom.
The best work starts with clear insight. This is often called a "kick-off meeting" or "discovery call".
This meeting is to give them an idea of who you are and what your company does. They need to know your company's identity, and what you hope to accomplish with the project. Don't worry, they know the information they need and will show up with a list of questions.
Schedule lots of time for this. It's important to develop a clear understanding between you, after all ... they will be speaking FOR you, and your company. You want to ensure that they know your voice.
Be clear about what you want to achieve before you arrive. Think about it beforehand, then feel free to wax eloquent about your hopes and dreams. Talk about your vision of the future. Tell them your backstory. The more information you give them, the clearer your Brand voice will become ... to both of you.
***There are many industry terms used by copywriters that aren't commonly used elsewhere. Read on to find a list of terms and their meanings that will help you understand exactly what they are asking.
2. Generally, the copywriter will use the information received in the discovery call to make a Creative Brief. This is a clear summary of the project.
It will include:
the medium (digital or print),
any requirements you have (images, logos, size etc),
the brand voice ,
a brief tone guide.
I will explain those last two things later.
The copywriter should send you a copy of this Creative Brief for your approval. Read it over and make sure you agree with it before the project begins, and agree on a deadline.
***Make this date well before you need the project. This gives you time to look over the work and make any changes that you need to without a last-minute panic.
***If you are hiring a Graphic Designer to do the layout and graphics, include them in the call. They should also get a copy of the Creative Brief.
3. The Quote. Once you have agreed on what the project IS and what it will INCLUDE, the copywriter will present you with a quote. The Quote and Creative Brief together form an agreement or contract between you.
In some cases, the quote is based on an hourly rate, in some the quote will be for the project as a whole. The work doesn't start until you have agreed to the quote, but don't panic. You can request changes if the quote wasn't what you expected.
***If you decide part way through a project to add something to the project, the final bill reflect the changes. They may ask you to amend the original quote,. Or the bill will show the original amount as well as additional charges.
4. At this point, the copywriter and graphic designer (if there is one) will wander off hand-in-hand - figuratively - to get to work. You can relax and let them do what they do. When they finish the work, there is another meeting to discuss the "creative". This is an industry term for your project.
This meeting is usually called the Creative Review. They will present you with the creative, or creatives (if you asked for several versions), and you decide if you like it.
Does it do what you wanted? Does it represent your Brand? Step back and try to look at it as your audience will. Be polite, but also be honest with your copywriter about things you do and don't like about it.
It's not uncommon to edit and rewrite a project several times (hence the deadline tip). Discuss any changes that you need and set up another deadline.
Repeat Step 4 until you are pleased with the result.
5. The final bill. Copywriters each have their own methods of billing but this is how it usually works. Once you are happy with your creative and they have sent you the finished project, you will get an invoice. Unless you have made changes along the way (or the quote was by hourly rate), the invoice should match the original quote. It should show a breakdown of the costs, a total, any necessary taxes and the payment terms.
See? That wasn't so bad, right?
So let's go back and take a look at some of the terms that are commonly used by marketers and copywriters.
If they use a term you are unfamiliar with, don't be too embarrassed to ask. Clarity is the name of the game in copywriting. Questions are good. Just ask!
But what does that MEAN???
Commonly used Copywriting/Marketing Terms
Content- used to describe a body of writing
Copy- a body of writing intended to sell something or convince someone to take a specific action
Sketches- rough drawings on paper, sometimes includes text. used to give a rough idea of what a graphic or layout will look like
Graphic- an image or illustration
Layout- what a project looks like in a design program, the look of the copy and design together
Mock Up- a rough draft of a layout. Also sometimes used as a noun ("let's mock this up and see how it looks.")
FPO- stands for "For Placement Only". used in mock ups and rough drafts to give an idea of layout when the graphics aren't available. (usually in the form of a block of colour marked FPO where the graphic will eventually be)
Lorem ipsum or "greek"- if you see this in your creative, don't panic. This is the writer's version of FPO. The fake words fill in the space until the copy is ready so they can see how the layout works.
Creative- noun encompassing the copy and design. The work that is produced. Also used to describe the person who makes the work. (I know, it can be confusing)
Creative Brief- a summary of the requirements and details of a project
Creative Review- a meeting between the creatives and the clients to discuss the work that's been done and decide on necessary changes
B2B- short for "business to business", meaning a business that sells to other businesses (ex. a wholesaler or producer who sells to a retailer)
B2C- short for "business to client", meaning a business who sells directly to its consumers.
Copy Deck or Copy Doc- a word document that includes the words to be used in the project. usually separated into headline, subhead, body, CTA
CTA- short for Call To Action. This is the action you want the audience to take (ex. buy the shoes, subscribe to the newsletter, visit the website)
A/B test or Split Test- a test that pits two of the same thing against each other but with one element different (ex. a sales letter with two different headlines) each version is sent to half of the test audience to see which works better.
Multivarient test- like a split test but with more than one difference between versions. This type of test isn't as accurate.
Value Proposition- a one sentence statement of a products benefit to the consumer. Used internally to guide how a product is designed and marketed, or used externally to explain the benefit of the product to the consumer. (internal and external versions may be worded differently
USP- short for "Unique Selling Point/Proposition". the one thing that sets you (or your product) apart from your competition. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MUST UNDERSTAND YOUR USP TO SUCCESSFULLY SELL YOUR PRODUCT
Benefit- the problem your product or service solves for the consumer. most successful ads are "benefit-driven" meaning they sell your product by highlighting the way in which it benefits the consumer. closely connected to your USP and equally important.
Brand- a name, term, design, symbol or any other feature that identifies one seller's good or service as distinct from others.
Maybe you recognize this brand...
Brand Voice- the tone of any writing done for a particular brand. used to solidify the brand and keep it consistent and recognizable across mediums and markets. A brand voice is used to present a company's personality to the world. It is very specific, it identifies words and phrases that represent that personality, and those which should never be used in association with that brand.
Tone Guide- a document that thoroughly describes a company's brand voice. It will identify colour schemes, font styles, graphic styles, vocabulary, phrasing, even speech patterns so that all creative departments use a consistent brand voice in their marketing.
This image shows some of the most famous brands in history The tone guide for Ford would show a colour palette of "ford blue" and white, the iconic oval shape in several styles and the typeface used in all of their marketing and a list of words that they use to describe their products (dependable, affordable, and the most famous "tough")
Persona- a description of an imaginary person who typifies everything you know about a target demographic. used to help visualize your audience.
Brand Persona- a description of an imaginary person who typifies a company's brand. used to help visualize a company's brand voice
Concepting- a term used to describe the brainstorming and idea creating process between a copywriter and graphic designer.
Concepts- ideas that arise while Concepting
Typography- the art of arranging design type (what most people refer to as a "font" is actually a typeface) this includes choosing the type and style of the letters themselves
Whitespace- the blank areas around images and copy. used to focus the eye on the important items
Is that all?
I could type all day and still not get through all the terms used in the marketing industry. Personally, I think this enough to start with.
If you want to do a deep-dive into terminology, or you are looking for the definition of a specific term... click here for a full Glossary of Terms
I hope this helped you understand the basic process and you can go into your discovery call feeling prepared.
I also hope that discovery call is with me!
If you haven't yet chosen a Copywriter, click here to check out my portfolio or send me an email at vikijodetlor@gmail.com to discuss your project.
Toodles for now!
Viki Jo
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