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KNOW WHO YOU DEAL WITH
After formal studies at ECU, much to my surprise I didn't land the job of my dreams as content editor for Australia's ABC, SBS, or any other globally respected media outlet such as CNN or PBS. Instead, I found myself working for public and corporate libraries. Back then, in the 80s, public libraries were only just realising the potential of the internet to gather, collate and communicate information on a more significant scale. We were thrilled - confidently expecting our readers (and ourselves) to be the beneficiaries of Federal, State and Local largesse. Well, we sharpened our pencils while we waited, and waited. It was around this time that I learnt two important things: this was not the real world - and it was time for a change.
WHAT A VIRGIN!
"Copywriting? Someone around here can do that!"
Frankly, I wish I had a dollar for every time I've heard that over the last 12 years (or variations on the theme). The fact is that suitably qualified 'outsider' wants your business. They will do more to keep it perhaps than someone with a perception of 'tenure'! Some of the time, that 'someone' is the person I'm talking to - the same decision-maker who will spend hours at the keyboard instead of on the business, and a lot of time, frustration and money on recruitment, training and infrastructure costs. For a small to medium business owner, it probably feels frugal, but it's not. And 70 hour weeks? I admit, I've been there; but here we have:
Rule 3: Do What You Do
In 2005, I met the directors of a small coaching business in Perth. Both were genuine, dedicated and very engaging people - but they weren't able to translate those qualities to what they wrote. In short, they were not connecting with their audience. In fact, they had become so fixated on their own philosophy and approach that who their clients were (and what they wanted) had become secondary. Clearly, one of the first things they needed was an
honest and objective opinion...
Firstly, they were proofreading their own work. Too close to be objective, they were overlooking mistakes, their minds automatically filling in what ought to have been there. They couldn't see repetitions, inconsistencies, faulty logic and other problems. As a result, business proposals, advertising flyers, presentations... all of it, was so much wasted time and effort.
Since without clients there is no business, we conducted some basic pre-proposal intelligence gathering... short in-confidence phone interviews with key people. "What was the culture of their organisation? What did they want to achieve? What were the (perceived) obstacles?" The rewards for that were immense. At last, we knew our audience!
On the back of that, we revisited print mailouts, email marketing and website content - all of which was giving very little return on investment.
AND SO IT WENT ON...
Doing what you do, doing it well and leaving the rest in competent hands saves a lot of time, money and frustration. For this particular business, 2010 looks like being a good year... |
KNOW WHAT YOU WANT
pma's copywriting services cover text copy, direct mail pieces, website content, press releases, white papers, and other written material such as articles, short stories or books 'in progress'. As well, pma contributes ideas, images and layouts to print ads, catalogues, brochures, postcards, bulk e-mails, letters and other forms of business promotion such as Pptx presentations etc.
Copywriting itself is the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. The main purpose of course is to persuade the listener or reader to act - to buy a product, subscribe to (or dissuade from), a certain viewpoint...
OK! But like employing a mechanic to service your car, the devil is in the detail. What you pay for requires a little scrutiny. In my case, here's a brief outline:
PROOFREADING - literally, to read for errors
Today, the term "proofreading" is often used incorrectly to refer to copyediting,
although there is overlap between the two. Proofreading consists of reviewing any text and checking for formatting errors and 'typos'. Most word processors will also display formatting as visible characters which allow proofreaders to ensure that there are no multiple spaces, stray carriage returns and/or misplaced page breaks. Proofreading then, would seem to be well catered for - the average spell-checker well-equipped to pick up errors. There's just a couple of things we have to watch out for, like sentences that are spelt correctly, but actually mean something else...
"Your gnome life could be chaotic. Moments of quiet medication will help you throw the day"...
or the sentence that has accidentally something out... or repeated repeated a
word....
EDITING
Editing or more correctly, copy editing, typically entails correcting spelling and punctuation; correcting grammatical and semantic errors; ensuring the typescript adheres to acceptable standards; adding formatted headers, footers, headlines and so on. All these elements must be addressed before we prepare a proof copy. Copy editors also ensure the text flows well, that it makes sense, is fair and accurate, and that it will cause no legal problems for you. In many cases, a copy editor will be the only person other than the author to read an entire text before publication.
A copy editor may also abridge text, to reduce the length of the work, either to fit broadcast or publishing limits, or to improve the material. Where we have cut out part of the text it is sometimes necessary to rewrite uncut parts to account for missing details or plot.
Desktop Publishing
The spread of desktop publishing means that many copy editors perform design and layout work that was once left to production crews or graphic printers. As a result, design skills are now considered as important as writing ability.
Traits, skills and training
Besides an abiding interest in, and command of, language - copy editors need the diligence to spot factual errors, good critical-thinking skills to recognise inconsistencies, diplomatic skills to help them deal with clients, and a thick skin when diplomacy fails! They also need to set and adhere to real-world deadlines. Many copy editors have backgrounds in journalism, librarianship, or information research.
CREATIVE WRITING - to create original work
It stands to reason that creative writers must include all the above in their attempts to create an original piece of work. They must exercise self-discipline - knowing the difference between beautiful prose and worthless ramblings. In the business world, creative writing is often about selling - either a product or service, an image or a person. Therefore THE FIRST RULE of business writing is to know your audience and write for them exclusively. It may be possible to target multiple demographics in one document - "young children, teenagers, adults, business owners, possible contributors and the elderly" - but I doubt it. Certainly, the principle challenge is that our audience will move on before we have persuasively made our case.
It's ALL in the context. Knowing what writers can actually achieve is the first step toward ensuring you get what you pay for. KNOW WHAT TO PAY
This one's trickier to give you because there are so many variables, but here's the gist:
I prefer to give you a fixed quote upfront based on what you want done. Having said that, I've been doing this long enough to know that projects can and do change along the way. If this happens, we can discuss anything that you and I agree constitutes a significant change to the original brief, as we go. It is my job to keep you fully informed, all the way through the process - that way, there are no nasty surprises!
Does all that sound too open-ended for you?
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