Copywriting

The title of this blog is “How to give your copywriter feedback” – although perhaps it should be “How to give your copywriter feedback that is so constructive and inspiring, they’ll immediately rush off and start typing furiously*.”

It’s worth noting that the need for multiple revisions can often be negated by ensuring you’ve given your agency/copywriters a good brief. 

Having worked with agencies for a good while now, I’m all too familiar with more nebulous feedback like “The client doesn’t like this.”  The conversation usually goes like this:

AGENCY: The client doesn’t like this.

ME: No problem, I’ll amend it.  Did they say what they didn’t like specifically?

AGENCY: No.

ME: Did they recommend something they’d like to see instead?

AGENCY: No.

ME: Do you know if it was the tone of voice, the content, the particular wording or something else entirely they didn’t like?

AGENCY: No.

So how can we avoid this scenario and the ensuing head-scratching and guesswork?  Here are my five tips on how to give your copywriter great feedback – even if you don’t like the work?

Be clear
Your copywriter is highly unlikely** to break down into tears if you say you don’t like their copy.  If something’s not working for you, be clear about it – but also be clear about what you’d like to see instead.  It’s not enough to say you simply don’t like it – but being constructive about what you think could improve it will ensure everyone is on the same page.

Explain why
It makes a world of difference when a copywriter knows why they can’t do something.  Keeping an open dialogue fosters mutual trust and respect – so you can both do your jobs in synch, rather than simply issuing a command without an explanation.  Of course, there’s no obligation to do this, but, as a copywriter, I can confirm it makes a world of difference to know why something needs to be written a certain way or why we can’t use certain wording.  It can also help ensure consistency.  For example, if I know the client can’t use the word “starfish” in the copy, I can make sure it isn’t present in any of the copy I write.  

A little praise goes a long way
If you do like something, a small comment in a Word document goes a long way to making your copywriter’s day.***  It also ensures you’ll get more of what you like in the future.  Plus, your writer has likely worked very hard.  It’s nice to acknowledge that.

Keep the goal in mind
Maybe the copy doesn’t speak to you personally – but are you the ideal client?  It’s fine to have personal preferences, but it’s good to keep the goal in mind – and to ensure your feedback is in line with the overall strategy.  

Give written and verbal feedback
Now, I appreciate when you’re flat out at work this isn’t always possible.  And it may also depend on your copywriter’s preferred way to receive feedback.  I like both – I think a meeting works very well in tandem with written feedback.  But, if my clients are pushed for time, I far prefer to receive written feedback.  Whether that’s comments in a Word document or an email full of suggested amends or just some scribbled suggestions on a piece of paper, I digest comments far better if they’re written down – and can then action them.  This is different for everyone, of course, as we all communicate in different ways.  But ensuring you deliver feedback in a way your copywriter can understand is essential.  

Hopefully that was somewhat helpful – whether you’re got feedback to deliver now or in the future.

And, if you’re an agency looking for freelance copy support, feel free to send me an interesting message.  

* probably.  Possibly not.  They may have other things to do, like make a cup of tea, before they start typing furiously.  

** probably.  There might be some misty-eyed sniffling if they were particularly proud of their work.

*** probably.  It almost definitely will make mine.  There might even be some whooping and cheering.

**UPDATED!**

In spite of a wet and wintery start to 2023, spring isn’t far away and the days are getting a bit longer!

My 2023 opening hours are 9-5 from Monday to Friday.  I will occasionally take on work for agencies in the evening or at weekends, but this is charged at time and a half and must be agreed beforehand.  

I’m currently booked up until the end of May, although this could extend suddenly – so it’s wise to send me a message well in advance if your agency is looking for copywriting help. I will also be unavailable from 1 September to 13 September. 

I’m particularly keen to help agencies that need social copywriting, so if you’re looking for social media posts and stories with impact, send me a message.

What can I do for you?
I must have crafted several thousands of emails for my agency clients for CRM journeys, product reveals, newsletters and more.  I’ve written emails for NatWest, the Royal Bank of Scotland, Samsung, Microsoft and Lexus – you can see some examples here.  But, that’s not all.  Here’s a list of services I offer:

• Email marketing campaign copy
• Social media copy
• Web content
• Case studies
• UX copy
• Articles and PDFs
• Press releases
• Blog posts
• Product descriptions
• Straplines and taglines
• Proofreading and editing
• Tone of voice guidelines
• Billboard adverts
• Magazine adverts
• Banners
• Direct mail
• Brochures 
• Scripts
• Packaging copy
• Editorial content

Looking for a service that’s not on the list?  Send me a message – if I can’t help, chances are I know someone who can.

It seems to me freelancing is a bit like Marmite.  You’ll either love it or hate it.  

For the purposes of this blog, I’m not going to say which one I feel, but I will lay out some pros and cons that I’ve noticed after two years of freelance copywriting and several years of freelance journalism.  

Maybe you’ve been working in an agency for a while and are thinking about going freelance.  Or maybe you’re taking the first steps and want to hear what you might expect.  These are just my personal opinions and your experience may be completely different. 

Pros

Freedom
Most people cite the freedom to set your own hours and work in your own way as their favourite aspect of freelancing.  Unfortunately, this one doesn’t really apply to me as I work with agencies during normal working hours. 

Variety
It’s interesting to be able to tackle a range of different projects and subjects for a wide variety of clients – from global agencies to small businesses!  Keeping my brain engaged means my writing will be better.  This is also a good way of being able to build a diverse portfolio relatively quickly, should you want to tee up future opportunities.

Choice
You have the power to choose who you work for and the work you take on.  This is wonderful, especially if you start a project with a client you don’t get on with.  While still being professional and fulfilling your obligations, you’re able to politely but firmly turn down other opportunities with that client.  

Less meetings (hopefully)
As an employed copywriter, you’ll likely be expected to attend a number of meetings, such as morning stand up, briefings, catch-up calls, team building exercises and more.  I find meetings quite exhausting and after a full day of meetings, my brain isn’t as good at coming up with creative copy as it would be if I was left relatively to my own devices.  As a freelancer, I don’t need to attend many meetings other than a briefing and, sometimes, if I’m very familiar with the tone of voice and subject, I don’t even need a briefing.  If you’re someone who loves meetings and is quite gregarious, this may not be a pro for you.  

Cons

Admin
I absolutely hate handling my own admin, accounts, promotion and all the things that come with running my own business.  I like to show up, work hard and then go home without having to worry about looming tax bills or getting the word out that I exist.  Even though I have an amazing accountant, I still hate all the admin – which, in my view, gets in the way of me doing what I enjoy.  It’s a necessary evil, however, and important to ensure it’s done correctly.

Lack of security
I know it should be the opposite.  After all, an employer could, at any time, let an employee go.  But being employed gives me, at the very least, the illusion of job security in a way that freelancing doesn’t.  

Feast or famine
The quiet times, even if it’s just for a day or a week, really get me down.  I fall into a trap of thinking the work has dried up forever and nobody will ever hire me again.  Foolish, but it happens every time.  Similar to the point above, even if this does happen when I’m employed, I don’t have the same fear.  

You still have to go to the office
Even though the idea of freelancing conjures up the image of someone on a sunkissed beach with a laptop on their tanned knees, working from absolutely anywhere in the world, I’ve found most of the freelance copywriting jobs I see require you to go to the office for at least two days a week.  This makes me very sad as I miss out on jobs I would otherwise love, simply because I’m nowhere near London.  And I’m not even on a sunkissed beach.  I have been very fortunate, however, to find amazing clients who don’t mind that they’ll probably never see me in person.  

Are you thinking about freelancing?  I’d love to hear all about your plans.

Here are my 2023 rates.

What do I charge?

Currently, when I take on new clients, my day rate for working with agencies is £400.  On evenings, weekends and Scottish/UK holidays, I charge time and a half extra.

I am also able to split this into half days at half the price.  If we run a bit over, any extra hours are charged at my hourly rate of £50.

A standard working day is eight hours from 9am until 5pm.

My rates are pretty fixed, but if you’re a charity or non-profit organisation, I encourage you to get in touch as I would love to help if I can.

Even if I can’t, I may be able to recommend another writer, so it’s always worth dropping me a line.

How do I ask for payment?

Usually, once the work is done or, if I do regular work for you and it’s the end of the week, I’ll pop you over an invoice.  I include all my bank details and my payment terms, which are strictly 30 days.  After 30 days, interest and debt recovery costs are chargeable in accordance with The Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998 as amended and supplemented by Late Payment of Commercial Debts Regulations 2002.

If your agency wishes, I will also fill out a timesheet so you can see exactly when I worked and what took up my time.  I’ve used loads of systems for this, ranging from complicated to perfectly simple, so I’ll work with your agency’s protocol and how you prefer me to chronicle the hours worked.

I’m a sole-trader and happy to consider payment through an umbrella company, as long as all fees are covered.

Do I charge travel time and mileage?

Yes, travel time is charged at my usual day rate and mileage is charged at 45p per mile.  Equally, I’m happy to look into options such as trains and planes, but living on an island makes travelling by car a little bit easier.  

I believe having transparent pricing will make things simpler – you’ll know straightaway whether I’m within budget or not.  

Want to have a chat about what I can do for your agency?  Fill in the contact form or email me directly at [email protected].

What about non-agency work?

I limit the non-agency work I take on, but assuming I had the capacity to work with an individual or small business owner, I would aim to charge by the project.  This comes with a totally different structure and process.  

I would first hear about your project and decide if it’s something I could help out.  I will give you an initial quote, valid for 28 days.  If you decide you want to go ahead, I would then send you a contract outlining my terms and conditions.  50% of the total cost would be payable upfront – before any work takes place.  Included in the price are up to two rounds of edits, and I’d bill for the final amount after you’ve signed off.

It’s very rare, however, that I take on work like this as my main focus is freelancing for agencies.

I hope that’s shed some light on my copywriting rates and saves a little of your time!

If you’ve worked in an agency for many years, perhaps part of your role may well be writing briefs for copywriters and designers.  

Here’s my perspective on what makes a good written brief.  This is based on my experience working with multiple agencies and doesn’t apply so much to individual clients, as I supply my own brief for them to fill in. 

What should be included?
It helps to lay all the information in front of your creatives straightaway.  A good brief would include:

• Project name and job number
• Specs needed for designers and copywriters – including character counts, especially for social copy
• The point of the brief and what the outcome should achieve, as well as any objectives
• Relevant information about the organisations or businesses involved
• How success will be measured
• The target audience
• The deliverables – and any information about those deliverables.  For example, if the brief is to create three emails, it can be very helpful to lay out what’s involved in an email: subject line and pre-header options, hero headline options, hero body copy, CTA options – and the same for the other modules.  As a copywriter, I map out what needs written first, so then it’s just a case of going back and populating my document.  
• Dates and deadlines
• Wireframes 
• Any keywords for SEO
• Examples of previous similar copy.  This is especially useful in highlighting the tone of voice to use.
• Tone of voice guidance
• Anything else you think is relevant

As a copywriter, it’s incredibly useful to have all this information written down to refer back to when I’m writing.  

How should it be written?
A good brief is concise (not easy, given the list of things that needs to be included!) and clear.  

I’m a big advocate for bullet points – they force the writer to be concise and lay everything out in a few simple lines.  I find it much easier to process and understand lists if they’re written this way.  

Isn’t all this a bit of a faff?
It certainly takes time to put together all this information in a clear, concise way.  But it’s worth it.  Collating all the information will save you time in the long-run – and your copywriter will be eternally grateful.  

Over to you…
What do you think makes a good brief?  Let me know.

Love working in a busy agency – but don’t love being hunched over your desk past five o’clock, struggling to come up with copy in time for the deadline?

I can solve your problem.

I’m Roz, a freelance senior copywriter, specialising in writing copy for creative digital marketing agencies.  Since 2020, I’ve helped agencies provide their clients with powerful UX, B2B and B2C copy.  Let me do the same for your agency – and you’ll be able to leave the office in time for dinner!

Why hire a freelance copywriter for your agency?

I’m here when you need me. Off the payroll when you don’t.  Working with me means you’ll benefit from a decade of professional writing experience, with my recent work used by Microsoft, Specsavers, Lexus, Samsung and the United Nations for COP26.

How long do I take to write copy?

This is a very interesting question because I’ve never had anyone to compare my writing speed with.  I have a sneaky suspicion I’m pretty fast (mainly because a lot of people comment that I get the work back to them very quickly).  Once I get an idea of the work involved, I’ll be able to estimate how long it will take me.

If I finish the job quicker than estimated, I’ll always tell you.  That way you can either give me another job or get a pleasant surprise when your bill is less than expected.  You might be thinking: “I don’t believe you, Roz, why would you do that when you could just twiddle your thumbs for a bit and earn more money?”  

Good question.  First of all, I never actually twiddle my thumbs.  Secondly, I’d rather build a good relationship with every agency I work with – and, for me, that starts with being honest and reliable.  Thirdly, I genuinely enjoy my job.  I’d rather get on and do it.

What can I do for you?

• Email marketing campaign copy
• Social media copy
• Web content
• Case studies
• UX copy
• Articles and PDFs
• Press releases
• Blog posts
• Product descriptions
• Straplines and taglines
• Proofreading and editing
• Tone of voice guidelines
• Billboard adverts
• Magazine adverts
• Banners
• Direct mail
• Brochures 
• Scripts
• Editorial content

If you’re looking for a service that’s not listed, it might be worth sending me a message anyway.  Chances are, if I can’t help, I know someone who can.

What have I done for others?

Since November 2020, I’ve been permalancing with an amazing global agency called Wunderman Thompson.  I’ve had the chance to work on copy for big names, such as Microsoft, Virgin Red, Toyota, Samsung, Unilever, Lexus and Specsavers, covering a wide variety of projects.  

Other London-based agencies also bring me in, as and when they need me, to proofread and edit their pitches and presentations – having an extra pair of eyes really helps make sure everything is perfect.

I’ve also worked with WPP agency, The&Partnership, to help out on their NatWest, Coutts, Royal Bank of Scotland and Ulster Bank account, which saw me create anything from direct mails, emails, social posts to window displays and informational posters.

Although I’m not restricted to one particular niche, I’ve written for and love sectors such as:

• Automobiles/cars
• Aquaculture
• Food and drink
• Tech
• Fashion 
• Hospitality 

I also have a huge soft spot for companies that are trying to make a positive impact on the world, especially charities and not-for-profit organisations.  

How much do I charge?

I’ve written a detailed blog outlining my rates for working with agencies here.

The person behind the pen

I’m one of those irritating people who always knew what they wanted to do. When I was nine, I started a university course and studied for my BA in Creative Writing along with my schoolwork.  At seventeen, a chance meeting in a coffee shop led to work experience for a newspaper company – and I achieved my dream of becoming a journalist.  In 2020, I merged my journalistic skills as an interviewer and creative abilities as a storyteller to create my very own copywriting business, specialising in working with agencies that need freelance support.  These days, you’ll find me (and my black and white cat, Rascal) at my desk doing exactly what I love.

How do you book me?

You can either book me through YunoJuno or simply send me an email to set things in motion.  

Let’s create copy that gets results!

Ever thought of bringing a freelance copywriter on board to help your agency out?

There are multiple reasons why hiring freelance talent can help you get the job done to both your and your clients’ satisfaction.  Here’s why:

Here when you need me – off the payroll when you don’t

You pay for my time, as and when you need it.  If I get the job done sooner than expected, I’ll let you know.  Whether you need me for a half-day, a whole day or a couple of hours, I’ll get the job done in a way that suits your timeframe.

Location is no longer a limitation

Hiring freelance talent means you have access to a worldwide pool of writers.  As a freelancer, they probably don’t need to come into your office – meaning you won’t miss out on talented writers just because they’re in a remote area.

It’s a Covid-safe option

Life is, thankfully, returning to a little bit of normality – but Covid hasn’t gone away.  By staying at my desk and working remotely, I help keep your team safe – and still get the job done!  

All well and good, you may be thinking, but how do you know I can deliver copy that gets results?

Plenty of experience

I’ve worked with some of the UK’s top creative agencies, including Wunderman Thompson UK, The Gate, The&Partnership and Identity.  Whether you need someone with the self-motivation to get the job done alone or someone to integrate with your team, I’ve the experience and ability to do both.

Rapports and relationships

Regular work with agencies means I’m able to integrate as an (almost!) part of the team.  I’m able to latch on quickly to nail the briefs, tone of voice and working methods – so you get someone who works well with your company, without the commitment of hiring someone full-time.

Here are just some of my services used by agencies all over the world.

Email marketing campaign copy

Email marketing is a powerful way to encourage your customers to take action, educate them or share some exciting news.  I’ve created email copy for brands such as Lexus, Microsoft, Everest Home Improvements and Samsung.  

Social media copy

On-brand posts for Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have proven a powerful way for brands to showcase their latest news and achievements.  I’ve worked with agencies to create social media copy that their clients have loved.

Web content

SEO copywriting is essential to help your website or that of your client to get the attention it deserves.  I’ve worked with SEO agency, Savvy SEO, to create SEO copy for three very different websites.  

Case studies

Case studies are an effective way to showcase what you’ve done, who you did it for and what results it had.  Case studies don’t have to be long and boring either – I recently worked with an agency to create a fun and funky case study in their playful tone of voice.

UX copy

UX copy or User Experience copy helps make the user experience easier, simpler and memorable (in a good way!)  I spent around a month creating UX copy for the client of an agency I work with – and learned a lot along the way.  

Articles and PDFs

Having a journalistic background is exceedingly helpful when it comes to creating articles and PDFs for my agency clients.  

Scripts

One of my recent projects involved creating a script from existing footage to form a short video.  I also scripted the trailer for the series.  

Press releases

After spending almost a decade as a journalist, I’ve been on the receiving end of many a press release – and I know how attention to detail can make the difference between your release being left unread in an inbox or making front-page news.  

Direct mail

Direct mail marketing is a tangible way to get information out of your office and into people’s hands. I’ve had the pleasure of creating luxury direct mail for Lexus. Done properly, it can be an effective marketing strategy.

Blog posts

Maybe you or your client already have SEO-friendly web content in place and just need regular blog posts to keep things fresh?

Product descriptions

A powerful product description can make your goods or services fly off the virtual shelf – or bore people into scrolling by and finding products elsewhere.  Let’s make sure it’s the former.

Straplines and taglines

Coming up with pithy phrases to sum up your organisation can be tricky.  Fortunately, I can say a lot in a few words.

Proofreading and editing

Agencies often get me in for a day to proofread and edit – it’s a perfect way to get a second pair of eyes to sense-check your copy.  

Anything else?

Looking for a service that I haven’t mentioned.  Send me a message anyway – chances are if I can’t help out, I know someone who can.

One of the biggest challenges new copywriters face is how to describe copywriting.  Well, not really.  But, when you tell people what you do, you’re usually met with blank stares or, worse, confident nods and then the conversation turns to copyrighting.  Which, of course, is something completely different. 

So, just for fun, here are a few alternative ways to describe copywriting.

Alphabet re-arranger
“I rearrange the letters of the alphabet and people pay me.”

Word tamer 
“I tame those pesky words so companies can use them to sell products.”

Master of syllables
“I master the syllables aesthetically for the purpose of selling.”

Word artist
“I paint pictures with words.”

Bard of advertising
“I come up with words to make people buy stuff.  I’m the bard of advertising.”

Ink scribbler
“I scribble with ink to make words.”

Imagination wizard
“I use my imagination to come up with concepts that lead to words that make people buy your products.  I’m a wizard at it.”

Wordsmith
“I’m a skilled wordsmith, using my power to help others.”

What would be your alternatives to the word “copywriting”?