{"id":68,"date":"2020-12-10T12:06:36","date_gmt":"2020-12-10T12:06:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/?page_id=68"},"modified":"2021-05-12T11:20:42","modified_gmt":"2021-05-12T11:20:42","slug":"copywriting-process","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/","title":{"rendered":"Copywriting: my process"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Home<\/a><\/span><\/p>\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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As a marketer, it’s easy to run into problems with a copywriting project if you don’t know exactly what you’re signing up to. That’s why I aim to communicate clearly with you about every copywriting project \u2013 following the same process each time. Here’s how it works.<\/strong><\/h4>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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You send your written brief<\/b><\/span><\/h2>
The single biggest cause of content confusion is a missing or unclear brief. So before beginning a content project, I seek to agree a written brief with you \u2013 to avoid problems later in the project.<\/div>
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I host a briefing form<\/a>\u00a0online, so you can send me detailed info as early as possible in the process.<\/div>
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If you prefer to give your brief over the phone, that’s fine, but unless the project is very simple,\u00a0 it may mean that I need to charge a fee for working up a written brief. I may also need to do this if a brief needs more work.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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We agree the deliverables<\/span><\/h2>
In response to your brief, I will usually send you an email or proposal to clarify project deliverables and terms.

<\/span>I always agree a quote for the job with clients, rather than a hourly or daily rate. For smaller projects, I will also agree with you a deadline for a first draft. This means you know exactly how much you’re paying \u2013 and when you’re getting your copy.\u00a0
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For some projects \u2013 typically long documents such as white papers \u2013 I may need to offer a content development service at this stage of the process. In this scenario, I will prepare a full synopsis or outline for you to agree before I start writing.<\/div>
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For longer projects, I will agree with you a target timetable for each content element, taking into account your business deadlines and my avaiability.<\/div>
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I offer all my copywriting on the basis of specific, plain-English copywriting terms, which I will share with you early on.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I research your project<\/span><\/h2>
Writing relevantly and engagingly requires research \u2013 and it’s this step which often separates good copywriters from the rest. My fee will allow for time spent researching your topic, spending time on the phone with you to understand your industry, and reading the documents you send.<\/div>
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Longer projects may include a specific discovery phase, marked in the timetable.<\/div>
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Either way, I’ll ask you to send any supporting documents you\u2019d like me to use, or the contact details of anyone you\u2019d like me to interview.<\/div>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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I send you a first draft<\/span><\/h2>

If everything has gone smoothly, I send your draft in Microsoft Word format, in time for your deadline.\u00a0<\/p>

This draft will include not only the body copy \u2013 but also other content elements (e.g. headlines, subheads and pullquotes), clearly marked for your design team.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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A clear path to sign-off<\/span><\/h2>

Revisions are an important part of the copywriting process \u2013 so I don’t set arbitrary limits on the number of revision rounds for your project.\u00a0<\/p>

That said, it’s important to stop content projects dragging on for a long time, so instead, I agree a deadline with you for the content revision process. Once this revision window ends, revisions are chargeable.<\/p>

For copywriting, I typically offer unlimited revisions for 15\u201330 days after you receive a first draft \u2013 though I’ll add time to this if I’m on holiday at the relevant time.\u00a0<\/p>

As a client, it’s essential for you to allot time during this ‘revision window’ to go through copy drafts. If you have a holiday planned, just let me know in advance and I’ll add time to your revision window.<\/p>

Copy-editing<\/a> is a little different, because often I will be making large numbers of edits in long, complex documents. So I typically offer copy-editing and proofreading on a ‘single pass’ basis. This means I will go through your document and edit or proof it as appropriate, tracking changes as I go \u2013 but once I send it back,\u00a0 revisions are up to you.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\tBrowse copywriting services<\/span>\n\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

My clear process helps avoid content jams and problems. Here\u2019s how<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nCopywriting process | Chris Alden, freelance copywriter<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As a freelance copywriter, I follow a clear copywriting process \u2013\u00a0helping you sell the benefits of your products.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Copywriting process | Chris Alden, freelance copywriter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"As a freelance copywriter, I follow a clear copywriting process \u2013\u00a0helping you sell the benefits of your products.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Chris Alden, freelance copywriter\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-12T11:20:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Estimated reading time\">\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"3 minutes\">\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Chris Alden | Copy + Content\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/\",\"sameAs\":[],\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#logo\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/CA-logo-a17.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/CA-logo-a17.png\",\"width\":420,\"height\":24,\"caption\":\"Chris Alden | Copy + Content\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#logo\"}},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Chris Alden, freelance copywriter\",\"description\":\"Freelance Copywriter, Chris ALDEN\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/?s={search_term_string}\",\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/#webpage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/\",\"name\":\"Copywriting process | Chris Alden, freelance copywriter\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2020-12-10T12:06:36+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-12T11:20:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"As a freelance copywriter, I follow a clear copywriting process \\u2013\\u00a0helping you sell the benefits of your products.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"item\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/\",\"name\":\"Home\"}},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"item\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/copywriting-process\/#webpage\"}}]}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/68\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.chrisalden.co.uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}