CONTACT AND COMMUNICATION POLICIES
As we work together, it is essential that we have fast and easy communication. During our project, I am available Monday through Friday, from 12 to 2 pm (Eastern Time). By far the best way to reach me is by phone at (614) 276-1200.
DISCUSSING THE PROJECT AND QUESTIONNAIRE
To get started with a potential project, I will send you a complete Discovery Questionnaire or Creative Brief. This will help both of us clearly define the scope of the project and ensure maximum results.
I will send you a link to the Questionnaire or Creative Brief via email in MS Word and/or PDF format. Please return it to me as quickly as possible — most clients return the Creative Brief between 1 and 3 business days.
After I receive the Discovery Questionnaire, I review and study your answers, plus any other applicable initial research needed. From there, I will outline a short Project Roadmap. This will save you time and help you see that I fully understand the project. It will also be the basis for our Launch Call.
3 to 10 days after I receive the Discovery answers, we will schedule a 20-minute Launch Call. During this call, we will discuss the Project Roadmap. I will listen to any additional directions and insights you have on the project.
Your Investment for me to work with you on this Discovery Process or Creative Brief is $500. 50% ($250) is due to begin the Discovery Process. The balance is due after I deliver the Project Roadmap and I will invoice you for the remaining balance. Click Creative Brief to invest in the Creative Brief process. Following the Project Roadmap call and delivery of the Project Roadmap, I will draft and send you an Agreement for additional copywriting services. If your legal team has an Agreement, we can use that.
INVESTMENT AND GETTING STARTED
The Agreement will contain all the specifics on what exactly I will deliver, including project deadlines. It will also list your investment for the project and terms of payment.
(Note: I require 50% of the project total to begin.)
Once we have both signed the Agreement, I will begin working on your copy as agreed.
RESEARCH
My research process is very comprehensive. I begin with a complete review of your website and any other materials you send me. From there, I will research the market, including your competitors. In some cases, I will ask to visit with your customer service team, past clients/customers, and different department heads.
As needed, I will reach out to you for additional details, product samples, and other resources.
You can be confident that I’ll quickly and effectively understand your product, your voice, and your customer’s core purchase drivers.
COLLABORATION
As we work on this project together, communication is critical. Some clients are very busy and prefer to hand off the project to me and review the first draft, with the minimal discussion in between. Others like dealing with me on an almost daily basis and be involved at just about every step of the way.
Which are you?
Please send me an email and let me know how often you’d like to communicate and what the best way is to reach out to you (i.e., email, phone, social media, text, etc. …).
One other point … I require that you assign me a single point of contact on your team. I will communicate directly with that person, and they will deal with your other team members as needed to obtain information and approvals.
Finally, I encourage you to become familiar with Google Docs. I do all of my writing with this word processing tool. It allows us to track changes, comment, and collaborate in real time. It can be shared with various team members, and the working document is always the current document – no need to worry about sending wrong files or things getting lost.
REVIEW
Typically, you’ll receive the first draft in 10 to 14 business days, depending on the project size and scope.
When you get the first draft, please review it carefully. Also, have any applicable team members examine it. The most important thing at this stage of the game is making sure that the tone, message, and offer are right. We’ll fine-tune during the second draft … and the third draft, as needed.
REVISIONS
After you review the initial draft, it is likely that you’ll want some things changed. Please note those changes using the comment feature inside of Google Docs. You can also suggest changes using the Edit Mode feature, which I’ll turn on when I share it with you.
I will review all your suggested changes within 24 hours of you submitting them to me. I will make my adjustments within 2 to 4 business days, depending on the breadth and complexity of your suggested changes.
In all cases, I recognize that these are your customers and will defer to you as much as possible.
Sometimes, there are cases where clients make suggestions that I know will not work and will hurt profits. In those cases, you can expect me to be direct in my feedback. When clients insist on changes that I feel will not work, I always recommend a simple A/B split test. Let the market vote.
ADDITIONAL REVIEWS
After the first round of changes, there may be some additional fine-tuning needed. You can be confident that I’ll gladly work with you until you are delighted with the copy. In most cases, clients will find that one review is volley enough. When more is needed, it is usually just one or two, and the process goes quickly. Typically, we can get to a final copy within 1 to 3 business days.
FINAL APPROVAL
Once all revisions are done, I will submit a final draft to you. At this point, you approve the copy by sending me an email stating that everything is ready for distribution.
Once I receive this final approval from you, I will invoice you for the remaining 50% of the project investment. The invoice is due upon receipt. I will make every effort to be prompt in responding to your requests and assume that, as a professional, you will do the same with my invoices.
In most cases, the final copy is sent to a designer for formatting. I strongly encourage you to send me a PDF of the final version. I will double check that any graphical elements added by your design team enhance the copy and make it more effective.
If I see something that is distracting and may hurt your response rates, I’ll be direct in letting you know. If requested, I’m happy to work with your design team to make any changes needed to make the end version as effective as possible.
TRANSITION TO NEW PROJECTS
Once the project is done, I provide all clients with a complimentary follow-up consultation. We spend a few minutes on the phone and discuss what went well and where improvements can be made.
We review the Discovery Questionnaire and discuss additional ways to uncover new profits. Where appropriate, we map out a new project to ensure that you continue to have an excellent copy that meets your goals and grows your business.