Is formatting always a part of 'the gig'? And one other question.

Mike,

Formatting is a "value-add" you can give to clients. Some clients don't need it/want it because they have a design guy or gal, or they prefer to do it themselves. This can be dangerous if the direct response savvy isn't there. So position yourself where you can have a say in the formatting.

Guarantees are a joint effort. You advise your client based on your knowledge of guarantee "best practice" and then you both come to agreement as to what you will go with for now, and what can be tested in the future.

After nearly 15 years as a paid writer I delivered my first formatted sales page just a couple of months ago. The client didn't ask for it but I knew that if I didn't do it he'd get a cheap designer that wouldn't follow instructions and certain critical items would be left to chance.

Formatting is an extremely important part of getting copy to do its job. Had I not done this, the guy might have been complaining that the copy sucked, etc. I don't know that many copywriters do it or even offer it. I suppose some do. I've always set up the page in Word and left instructions in the document itself as to how the formatting should go.

As for guarantees I get all the particulars on the phone or in email. Depending on how experienced the client is I will offer suggestions as to how the guarantee might go.

Some people have their own ideas and others have no clue. I sometimes get clients that have pinched a guarantee from another sales page and want me to 'adjust' it to fit theirs. I simply use it as a model and rewrite it completely covering all the major points of the guarantee. Hope this helps. Good luck.

1. I normally will format the letter. Clients usually have a design ready to go. I've been using HTML for years though, so you may run into a learning curve. A couple of weekends going over the basics of HTML, CSS and a WYSIWYG editor like Dreamweaver can solve that problem...

I have ran into funny code that I don't have time to fix, or templates that are more complex than I'm comfortable handling. So in those cases I outsource or just let the client handle it. As Ross mentioned it's typically a "value added" service and not expected.

2. It depends, it's collaborative. If it's a digital product with a mandatory guarantee anyway, I'll do what I feel is best for the guarantee. I'm pretty lucky to have clients that have sort of a "just do your job" attitude. So when I come up with an 8-point "whatever" guarantee, they don't usually ask for my reasoning behind it, they just run with it.

A good example of this, I was talking to a client today who sells a service. He doesn't want to offer an unconditional money back guarantee since he's trading time for money. So we talked about all of the other things he can guarantee instead...

"You'll receive 'x' benefit within 'x' amount of time. You'll get a full report detailing 'y' within 'y' days of placing your order. Etc."

3. I don't use contracts. Others do. I find that a proposal outlining what's expected and an agreement generally works for me. I've been burned once or twice, but you can only burn me once.

My thinking is that if they want to burn you, they'll do it with or without a contract. I just prefer to work with people who I can trust and we both keep our word.

If I was entering into a fee + royalty deal with a client I didn't know well I'd probably have a contract drawn up, but so far so good.

A good rule of thumb is "would I do this job if all I ever see is the upfront money?" That way if you do get burned you still get paid something for your time.

Another good rule is "get all money upfront"... However that kills all royalty deals, and royalties aren't always a bad thing.

Hope that helps.

-Scott