Freelance Copywriter

Everybody's got a little writing skill. But if you've got an idea for something you'd like to get published - an article or a book, perhaps - the question is, is your skill level enough? It's one thing to compose an email to your sister. It's a different matter entirely when it comes to sitting down and having the wherewithal to write a publishable piece of work. Here are five questions you should ask yourself before you decide to tackle that potential writing project:

Do I have the time?
I find that most people don't realize the time that's involved in writing something important. Even a relatively short article can take longer than people think. There's a process that takes place between the brain, where the ideas are, and the fingertips, which remain poised above the keyboard waiting for instructions. In a lot of cases, what goes on between these two points can render the original idea almost unrecognizable by the time it hits the screen. If you find yourself stopping repeatedly, saying things like, "Wait, that's not what I meant to say..." then you can assume you might be getting yourself into a very long affair.

Do I have the patience?
As any good writer will tell you, effective writing is actually mostly rewriting. When we write a sentence, or a paragraph, or a page, we've just started the writing process. We know that there's always a better way to write what we just wrote. And so we go back through the sentence or the paragraph or the page, and we clean it up, edit it, chop stuff out, add stuff, consider the word choices we've made, and make certain we've made the writing as clear as possible. It can be a painstaking process, but it's necessary.

How are my organizational skills?
Lots of people stop before they even get started, sitting with tons of great ideas in their heads, or on little scraps of notepaper, but without any real idea how to take those ideas and organize them, let alone transfer them to the written page. A good piece of writing needs to start with a strong outline. One needs to be able to produce an effective introduction; a body that flows in an understandable way, with each point being properly supported; and a decent conclusion that properly summarizes, encourages the reader to take some kind of action, or both. If you're not the organized type, you might want to enlist some help.

How are my spelling and grammar skills?
Do you know the difference between "there" and "their" and "they're"? Between "affect" and "effect"? Your spellchecker program doesn't. Do you know when to use "lie" and when to use "lay"? When to use "who" and when to use "whom"? Your spellchecker doesn't know the differences there either, although some grammar-checking programs will at least offer suggestions. Even still, it doesn't take too many wrong tenses or misplaced commas to throw a cloud over everything you've written, thus undoing any credibility you might have. If the work looks sloppy, it's not going to matter that you're an expert on the subject matter.

Can I afford a ghostwriter?
Hey, we're not cheap. Pricing ranges all over the board, from anywhere around $50 per page up to $250. As in most professions, you pretty much get what you pay for. But realize that asking a professional writer to set aside some time to compose a decent piece of work - several months or more for a book - isn't going to come without a price tag. If you decide it's worth it, just make sure you're hiring the right person and make sure all the terms of payment are spelled out in advance.

Writing is a skill like anything else. Some people want to trust it to professionals, just like they'd call a lawyer for legal help, or a plumber to fix their leaking pipes. Other people don't mind giving it a go themselves, and some have enough skill to pull it off. It's not a decision that should be made lightly. If the project is important enough, take a long, serious look at your own abilities and decide what the best route is for you.

If you're thinking of hiring a freelance copywriter to do some writing for you, whether it be help with your Web content, brochure text, a ghostwritten article, or whatever you need a professional hand with, you might find yourself confused by the sheer range of fees charged by copywriters. You can find hourly rates anywhere from $25 to $200, page rates anywhere from $50 per page to $250 per page, and project rates anywhere from $30 to review a single page of text to $30,000 to write your book for you.

Why such a wide range?

The short answer is that writing is a service, not a tangible good. Products like televisions, kitchen tables, and tires, for example, are all basically commodity items with consistent and predictable manufacturing and distributing costs that help determine price, along with supply and demand forces from a large, relatively efficient marketplace. Writing works a little differently. Each project has its own specific requirements that make it unique. A project to write a Web page, for example, might include time spent researching. Or it might involve a lot of time spent interviewing the client for information. Or maybe the client has already written the page and is only looking for editing help. In other words, it could take an hour, or it could take several days depending on the specific circumstances.

On top of that, writers have their own unique talents and skill-sets. A writer who has a lot of experience at writing for the Web might be able to charge less than a writer less-skilled because he or she will be more efficient at it. It might take the experienced writer half an hour to do something the other writer might labor over for two hours. On the other hand, the more experienced Web writer might be able to justify a higher rate because of that very experience. In the end, it's up to each writer to decide what he or she is worth for any particular project.

Sometimes a writer will also factor in whatever else they have going at the time. Hey, if you're sitting around with nothing going on, and in desperate need of the work, you'll have a tendency to work a little cheaper than if you've got more work than you can handle.

So what does all this mean for the person seeking a freelance writer? It means shop around diligently and don't be afraid to ask your potential writer a lot of questions. In general terms, you can normally be assured that, like most other services, you get what you pay for. If somebody's willing to work a lot cheaper than others, there's normally a good reason for that. Conversely, a more expensive writer is typically worth the extra dollars. But find out why. Is the writer especially experienced in the kind of writing you're seeking? Ask to see some samples of their work. And don't be afraid to ask for references. A decent writer who has been at his or her trade for any length of time, ought to have several clients you can call and talk to.

As for rates themselves, most decent writers will find out beforehand exactly what's involved in your project and quote a flat rate. Be wary of those who work strictly on an hourly basis. Hours can rack up, and this kind of an open-ended arrangement means you're never really sure (until the final invoice) just what your costs are.

And, as with any business arrangement, make sure to get it all in writing. A contract with a freelance writer ought to cover costs, terms of payment, and time-frames. It should be rather specific in detailing exactly what is expected of both parties. It should be clear as to how revisions are handled. Are they included, or are they extra? (A decent freelance writer will factor in the cost of revisions in his or her original quote.) And there should also be a clause explaining what happens in the event the project's scope increases in size from the original agreement.

Finally, regardless of rate, make sure the writer is somebody you can work with. You have to feel comfortable with the writer, and know that he or she has listened to you, will be attentive to you, and knows exactly what is expected.

It's almost a lost art. In this day and age, a splashy, attention-getting design is what people typically want in their product brochures. So much so that the wording often gets overlooked. But writing effective brochures, although indeed an art, needn't become a lost one.

The fact is, once the brochure gets the attention of somebody, there had better be some decent verbiage in it. Pictures are nice but, contrary to what you may have heard, are not worth a thousand words. A thousand words are worth a thousand words. And if they're the right ones, no picture will ever come close.

For the purposes of a brochure, you have to assume that your images will entice a "viewer" to want to become a "reader." That's the goal, after all. If you've done the graphic part correctly, then the words matter even more because you've successfully gotten the attention of somebody, somebody who is interested in what you're offering. But the interest will fade unless you can maintain it with effective text.

Remember the Goal of the Brochure
If the purpose of the brochure's design is to capture the attention of a prospective customer, then what's the purpose of the words? To get them to take action. What's the proper action? It might be to visit your Web site, it might be to get them to want to come into your store, it might be to get them to want to pick up the phone and call you. Whatever it is, you need to always keep the goal of the brochure in mind as you are writing it. Every word should in some way be written to help effect the action you want taken.

Often times people make the mistake of thinking the brochure's purpose is to sell the product. This is rarely the case, unless the product is an inexpensive retail item. For the most part, the purpose should be to whet the appetite of the prospective customer enough to where he or she is induced to take the aforementioned action. The sale is typically made over the phone, or on the Web site, or in your store. Don't use the brochure as a crutch, or as a substitute for good, old-fashioned selling. It's a stepping stone.

Create Some Curiosity
Along those same lines, don't make the mistake of putting absolutely everything about the product into the brochure. Sometimes a brochure's effectiveness is in what is left out. Give the reader of the brochure a reason to contact you. Leave a couple questions unanswered. A good brochure will generate some curiosity, leave a little to the imagination, and make the reader want to find out more.

Keep it Brief
In addition to giving all the product's secrets away, cramming too much information into a brochure can also have the effect of overwhelming the reader. It pains me, as a writer, to have to say this, but people don't take the time to read anymore. At least not thoroughly and completely. If there's too much to read, they might not even start. Design your brochure with a lot of empty space, make it clean and neat. Organize the text in small paragraphs. Use bullet points. Highlight especially important things for those people who will skim and not read.

Who's the Reader?
Finally, always keep in mind who the reader is. Try to put yourself into the shoes of your prospective customer and keep those things in mind that would be particularly important to him or her. Spend some time thinking about what motivates somebody to purchase what you are selling. Most times, purchases are made with some level of emotion involved. So try to generate some emotion. What wonderful things will happen to somebody who purchases your product or service? What terrible things will happen if they don't, or if they purchase the competitor's? Put it into words. Make the reader feel it.

By keeping the goal of the brochure in mind (the desired action you want the reader to take), writing the brochure in such a way so as to elicit great curiosity, keeping the text brief and to the point, and by employing empathy with your prospective customers, you can write an effective brochure. Remember, the words are every bit as important, if not more so, than the design.

If you're thinking of outsourcing a writing project - Web content, brochure text, an article, or whatever your writing needs may be - you may have some questions at to just how to go about choosing the right copywriter. There's no shortage of writers, certainly. By doing a simple Internet search, polling friends and business acquaintances, or just flipping through the Yellow Pages, you can probably put together a decent list in pretty short order. There is, however, a shortage of particularly effective writers, and an even greater shortage of writers who are just right for your specific needs. So how to narrow the list to the right writer? Use what I call the "Three R's": References, Response, Rates.

References
Any writer you're considering hiring ought to be experienced enough to have some testimonials he or she can share with you. Don't be shy about asking for references. And try to get a reference from somebody who did a similar type of project to what you're considering doing. If you're having your Web content rewritten, find a writer who has a decent testimonial or two from a client whom the writer did Web content for.

Along those same lines, ask to see actual samples of the writer's work, and, again, from the same kind of project. Having a brochure written? Ask to see samples of brochures the writer in question has written. Requests like these are not troublesome to a professional writer. On the contrary. When I have somebody who I know is taking seriously their research into finding just the right writer, I know I have a prospective client who is going to be smart and educated about what to expect. And I know from experience that that kind of client always seems easier to work with in the long run than the kind of client who makes decisions in a less-careful way.

Response
When you contact a writer and leave a message, or send an e-mail, how long does it take before the writer gets back to you? Does he or she get back to you within an hour? The same day? Several days later? If you're having trouble having a writer respond to you before you've even hired the writer, imagine how much more difficult it's going to be once you've hired him or her and paid a deposit! No matter how busy a writer is, there is always time to return a phone call or an e-mail. Beyond being common courtesy, it just makes good business sense. The writer's running a business after all. And if he or she doesn't care about his or her own business (by ignoring potential clients), then it's not very reasonable to assume he or she will care too much about yours.

In addition to the response time of an inquiry, how the writer responds to you during your conversations with him or her is equally important. Is the writer listening to what you're saying? Does the writer seem to have a good grasp on what the requirements of the project are? I once acquired a client who had originally talked to another writer who actually tried to talk the client out of what he wanted! The client had put a great deal of thought into a postcard campaign and, knowing his business well (he had been doing it for twenty years) knew what kind of angle he wanted to take with the campaign. He was simply looking for the right words. The other writer, meanwhile, after a mere five minutes on the phone with the client, thought he knew better and told the client the client's whole approach was wrong and he should try a different one. Apparently, that particular writer forgot who the boss was in the client-writer relationship.

Rates
There's a reason this "R" is the last of the three. It's the least important. We're all trying to save money, but in writing, as in most professions (maybe even more so) you really do get what you pay for. I've seen companies spend thousands and thousands of dollars on the design of a Web site, then hire a writer for fifteen bucks an hour to write the content. I've seen people with million-dollar, publishable book ideas, hire ghostwriters at rates that aren't even appropriate for writing simple blog content. And then they wonder why the book project bogs down.

Having said that, it is important to at least know what the project is going to cost. Make sure going in that you have a firm number from the writer. Don't settle for an estimate based on a "projected number of hours." A good writer should have a real clear understanding of the project, know how long it will take him or her, and price the project accordingly.