4.4.11

Copywriter: 40 smart questions for clients

While I had a boatload of "C" words in mind, the word for today is copywriter, courtesy of Copyblogger.

Originally, I had intended either "copyright infringement" or "color" -- and there was one other, but I forget. Unfortunately, the biggest C-phrase on the mind  today is,"crappy day," so I'm both cranky and cutting corners.

The good news is the following content saved the day as far as the A to Z  blog contest and otherwise worth considering.

The article, "40 Questions You Need to Ask Every Copywriting Client," offers valuable advice for many a freelancer who deals with clients.

Granted, a lot of it is written with a marketing or website copywriter in mind but several examples can be employed as is and/or can be tweaked to fit a freelance writer's needs.

What is most appealing about the advice is that there is a good balance between gaining and losing a potential client, one that minimizes the extremes of offering services for pennies on the dollar to losing a client from a refusal to negotiate ... or at least communicate.

Here is an example:

"40. If you’re considering turning me down based on price, could you let me know so I can consider rebidding? If you’re worried about whether you’ve bid too high and you really want this client, this question could keep you in the running."

I employed many of the strategies with clients who I created websites and marketing copy for. The questions regarding competition worked very well in defining the goals of the copy. Also I printed the questions out as well as kept an email version when face-to-face meetings were impractical. And obviously now these meetings are far less in demand than 5 plus years ago.

How many C-words did I use? I, uh, lost...count.


2 comments:

Langley Cornwell said...

And there you have it, an excellent C post. Very helpful info Donna, thanks. And sorry you are having a crappy day!

Unknown said...

Great information Donna. Thank you.