Frequently Asked Questions
- What is your writing background?
- How do you approach an assignment?
- How do you obtain the information for your project outline?
- Will you write copy appropriate for my business type and specialty?
- How many edits do you typically provide?
- How specific should my instructions be for you to provide a proposal for the assignment?
- To what extent will you need help with search engine optimization?
- What types of research will you perform?
- Will your freelance copywriting services integrate easily with my business practices?
- Can you work independently?
- What are the different types of copy you provide?
- Do you provide marketing services?
- Under what conditions will you take on the marketing aspect of the copywriting assignment?
1. What is your writing background?
I have studied and written in various writing styles, as both an English teacher and paralegal. My creative projects have included librettos and lyrics, memoirs, and an unpublished book.
As a copywriter, I’ve written blogs and articles, email sequences, an interactive survey and quiz or two, website pages, landing pages for products, ads, advertorials, social media posts, slide show videos, and article curations.
In my online writing, I have applied basic principals of search engine optimization (SEO).
2. How do you approach an assignment?
I look for answers to the following three questions:
Firstly, what is special about the brand, and the company, product or service?
Secondly, what is the business goal of the assignment? I look for how the assignment fits within the framework of a sales funnel that might contain the following stages:
- creating awareness of a brand, product, or service
- turning browsing readers into leads
- converting leads to buyers
- nurturing buyers with support documents and related offers
- training staff members
Thirdly, who is the target lead or buyer?
Answering these three questions provides a basis for a second round of information gathering that will lead to an outline of the project, to be submitted prior to any actual writing of the copy.
3. How do you obtain the information for your project outline?
I ask that clients fill out a questionnaire (or answer questions in a telephone interview) so that all relevant data will be clear at the outset of the assignment.
After I obtain company and sales information, I will perform research to answer my remaining questions about the project.
4. Will you write copy appropriate for my business type and specialty?
Because I perform in-depth research, I can generally meet the goals of a copywriting assignment, regardless of the business specialty.
By identifying a staff review process within the business, I set up a safety valve, whereby I may receive guidance as to any wrong directions taken, or any mistakes of fact or writing tone or style.
An easy way to make sure specialized copy is exactly suited to a business’s needs is for the business representative to supply (or identify during a telephone interview) an outline.
In turn, I supply an outline of the copy to be provided, shortly after I receive the necessary information, before ever starting to write.
As an experienced researcher and editor, I will be able to fill in any knowledge gaps with research, identify the appropriate style or data needed for the project, and provide edited and formatted draft and final copy designed to strictly but congenially meet the business objective.
5. How many edits do you typically provide?
I anticipate that two edits will generally be sufficient. However, if the scope of the work is not increased, I will work with the business owner and staff until all concerned are completely satisfied that the copy will meet its copywriting goal.
However, because marketing efforts differ, I cannot guarantee the copy will meet a particular sales goal.
6. How specific should my instructions be for you to provide a proposal for the assignment?
Instructions may be as general as identifying the type of writing needed. This may be shorter copy, such as:
- banner ads, advertorials, email sequences and social media posts, blogs.
Or, it may be longer copy, such as:
- articles, website landing pages, white papers, and case studies.
Again, the business owner or staff person will want to be prepared to identify the sales or lead development goal of the copy.
7. To what extent will you need help with search engine optimization?
I provide the basic SEO structural elements for the copy I write. Keyword placement will be identified along with submission of the assignment.
However, the SEO keywords will normally be selected by your marketer, who will have performed a keyword search related to the designated subject of the copy to be written.
Of course, I can perform keyword research for the copy, if that is specified as part of the assignment.
Research for keywords and trends, relative to selection of subject matter, is a time-consuming marketing function. If I am asked to identify keywords and subject matter, a combination copywriting and marketing proposal would be presented.
8. What types of research will you perform?
Some assignments need little research. Others need more.
- Secondary Research: I typically perform secondary research. That consists of research through online and offline sources, for development of white papers, articles, and blogs.
- Primary Research: Where secondary research does not meet the assignment’s needs, I will perform primary research. That consists of interviews of the business owner or a staff member, or of experts in the industry.
In performing primary research, a visit to the business site may be desirable, but may be accomplished most efficiently (when needed) by provision of a photographic tour from the business archives.
If a case study is needed, I will prepare interview scripts, survey scripts, or questionnaires, as a preliminary step to carrying out interviews or a site visit.
It’s important to remember that primary research need not be complicated. It can be as simple as locating a few experts, obtaining their responses to a single question, and curating their responses.
9. Will your freelance copywriting services integrate easily with my business practices?
Once I have an outline of the copy approval process and schedule, I will meet deadlines to the best of my ability, and submit copy in a timely manner at each stage of the approval and editing process.
10. Can you work independently?
If you wish me to take on the entire project without conferencing with your staff, this will be possible if you can provide your business information requested in my questionnaire.
A schedule will be established for a longer project, so that it is submitted in stages, to insure that the writing style and content is in line with expectations.
11. What are the different types of copy you provide?
While most of my website copy has been for the business-to-consumer market, I am now specializing in business-to-business copywriting, with the content type being matched with the business goal.
For brand awareness:
- a series of blog posts for a website, or for a social media websites,
- advertising for display on websites and social media web pages,
- page creation for websites and social media,
- white papers.
For lead development:
- lead magnet creation, and landing page creation for the lead magnet,
- an email newsletter series,
For sales and customer retention:
- an email marketing promotional series,
- direct sales letters and video scripts,
- support and training material,
- case studies.
12. Do you provide marketing services?
If you wish me to take on marketing as well as copywriting services, you will need to provide me with your business plan and sales funnel.
Or, you may request my services in constructing the funnel. I will then work with you to construct copy that fits within each part of the funnel, to achieve your business objectives.
13. Under what conditions will you take on the marketing aspect of the copywriting assignment?
While I prefer to work mainly as a copywriter, I do have the skills to provide the above-mentioned more complete array of online copywriting/marketing business services.
However, I feel there there must be an advance commitment by the business to paid advertising, if marketing objectives are realistically to be reached, to make such a project scope worthwhile.
My availability to take on marketing tasks would be contingent on time available in my schedule.