Does this situation sound familiar? You hire a copywriter and for a few days you feel relieved because the project is finally under way. You receive the first draft but you’re overwhelmed and unimpressed. After struggling to articulate all the reasons the copy is just off the mark, you decide to set the project aside and come back to it later. Every time you see the copy deck sitting on your desk you think, “Oh darn, I have to address that— but I just can’t deal with it right now.” Eventually a week passes and you can’t put it off any longer. Since it’s been a while, you forgot exactly what you wanted in the first place. Nonetheless, you pick up the copy and attempt to explain to the writer why it just isn’t working. Within an hour you end up rewriting it yourself and you end up with something doable — after all— anything is better than trying to explain all this to a copywriter again.
So now the job is finally done. Everyone in the office has added their edits and it turned out pretty good in the end. The project was hard, the process was painful, but it’s over and we live to create another day.
The copywriter is 100% satisfied (proud even) and is asking you for more work. After all, it only took one round to get it right…right? You’re not satisfied, out of pocket and you now need a week off.
I’ve been a copywriter as well as hired copywriters for over 20 years. Many times I’ve found myself sifting through content or ideas that felt more like the result of a brainstorm than the complete, well-organized, and creative concepts and content I was expecting. Overall it was frustrating and costly.
It’s not too much to expect your copywriter to organize information in a way that is presentable and ultimately easy to digest. Whether you need web site copy, blog ideas or a deck of advertising concepts— it should be extremely easy to follow and absorb without long explanations. Further, the content should be on-target, on-brand and — ON TIME.
Those who provide clear direction should expect even more like original content geared toward engaging and inspiring action from your customers with a consistent voice that will embed your brand. Altogether, these attributes strengthen your sell-in presentations to other stakeholders and make your job tremendously easier.
This is what you should expect. This is what you should expect. This is copywriting at it’s finest so don’t settle for anything less.
Jamil Houston