FAQs

Ah! I knew you'd ask that one first - and what an excellent question it is. Wouldn't it be nice if there were a simple answer? But, of course, there isn't - and the answer won't surprise you.

The price of a copywriting job depends ... on how long the job will take to complete. Broadly speaking, there are three variables

• How much research will I have to do?
• How much background information can you provide?
• How many words do you need?

 Read in more detail here about how much copywriting costs.

The most important question of all!

A copywriter uses their knowledge of language and how people respond to it to 

• enhance your brand
• get you new clients - not just any clients, but the type you really want
• strengthen the relationship you have with your current clients

It sounds simple, doesn't it?
But there's far more to effective copywriting than many realise.
Almot everyone sudies English at school. Many enjoy these studies and achieve high grades. The trouble is, some of these high achievers believe that being 'good at English' and knowing about the rules of grammar and punctuation are all that copywriters need to know.

It don't come easy

From knowing the difference between the passive and active voice to knowing how to write words in a way that's commercially effective is a big leap.

A copywriter's creativity doesn’t come easy. It doesn’t happen on demand - at the click of a pair of inky fingers.

A copywriter might one day, with a thunderbolt of inspiration, come up with a killer strapline in a few seconds. The next day, it could take a half a day of agonising mental grind to achieve the same result.

As with any skill, copywriting knowledge and judgement is borne of years of learning and experience,  not to mention the occasional catastrophe!

You'll find out much more here about the life of a copywriter.

‘I don't need a copywriter. My wife's a real stickler for grammar and punctuation.’

Yes, it's true. Someone said this to me just a year or so ago.

Have you noticed? Everyone thinks they're a good driver. Well, almost everyone.
It's a bit the same with English. Everyone - OK, not everyone - but far too many people, think they can write well. But - there’s a hell of a difference between putting one word in front of another and writing in a way that's clear, concise and compelling. In other words, writing English that achieves what you want it to achieve.

'It'll do'

This is me when I have a go at DIY. It's also why I'm barred from doing it. My 'it'll do' is likely to lower the value of our house by at least 25%!

It’s the same with copywriting. Sure, you can have a go yourself but - and a touch of tough love coming up here - your copy will never be anywhere near as good as that which a professional copywriter will write for you.

Think how long it takes you to plan, write, and rewrite your own copy.
The chances are it will sound flat-footed, stiff and formal - about as engaging as a date with a blobfish with haliotosis.
So - in the end did you really save yourself any time and hassle?
How many extra clients would you have found with professionally written copy?

 More on why copywriting matters here.

Normally, two are enough - and that's what is stated in the Copywriter Pro Terms & Conditions. But - I'm a reasonable feller (on a good day). So, I've heard, are you. On that basis, I'm often happy to make further amendments until we get it right. What matters most of all is that you get the copy that you need.

Proofreading? All part of the service

As you'd expect, that's all included. Once you've approved the final draft,
I carry out a rigorous round of proofreading to eliminate any spelling or punctuation errors.
I use proofreading platforms, such as Grammarly. Read a review of various such tools here.
I also follow old-school techniques, such as reading aloud from a printed copy, starting with the final sentence, before reading the previous sentence, then the one before that etc.
It's time-consuming - but it works

Good question. I work with dozens of web designers and there's no consensus as to which should come first - the design or the content. It will certainly help to get an idea of the 'personality' of your business if I get to see the design before writing the copy. But I'll work whichever way suits you and your web designer.

OK - Copywriters can sometimes be really picky about this - though not this copywriter.

Strictly speaking, 'copy' is words. 'Content' is anything that appears on the website (or in the brochure) - words, images, links etc. For general purposes, the two terms are interchangeable.

I'm fortunate, in that generally, I'm pretty busy.
The good news is that, working as a solo-professional allows me to be flexible. I can amend my working days and hours to fit in with client work, yet still retain a healthy work/life balance.
However, if I don't think I can sensibly complete your project within your time-frame, I'll say so. I know several terrific copywriters who I'll be happy to recommend.

This is such a good question - one that I had to look up in order to find the answer!
It's simply that in the early days of journalism, all the articles and ads were of course written out in long hand before being transferred (or 'copied') to print. It's as simple as that. Nowadays, of course, copying (AKA plagiarism) is a no-no. Not only is it illegal and unethical to copy material that is someone else's intellectual property, but Google, with its ever-watchful eye, will be quick to spot what you've done. In no time, your page will be punished and down to the bottom of Google's results page you will go!

If you want to know if your own work has been copied anywhere, use Copyscape - a plagiarism checker that's easy to use. You just enter the URL of your page and, within seconds, you'll see if someone else has been making unfair use of your creative genius.