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How do Copywriters work with their Clients?

by zincOnline
10 replies
I am planing to create my own product.

It involves nothing to do with IM and is a very specialized subject that most would know nothing about.

How do copywriters work when they know nothing of the subject/product.

Do they ask leading questions to help them create the copy?

Obviously I could tell them the needs and want surrounding the product, but isn't this kinda their job??

I have yet to create a product and would be interested to hear how it usually works out.

Thanks in advance
#clients #copywriters #work
  • Profile picture of the author Louise Green
    I think the good ones get their clients through word of mouth and reputation.

    That's how it works in most creative industries and I would guess that copywriting is the same.

    Look at the big names in copywriting, they can all select their clients - not the other way round, because their reputation is so strong.
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  • Profile picture of the author JonMills
    Seek out some of the top guys who do copywriting and interview them and you will find out
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  • Profile picture of the author Oxbloom
    If it's a subject we know nothing about, we will study it. We will study your product, the seminal books in the field, and the online communities around which discussion flows. Research is part of any copy assignment, so a good copywriter expects this anyway.

    If it's a subject that's extremely technical or difficult to grasp...such as would require an advanced degree and/or a lot of formal professional training...then you have it harder.

    The easiest thing to do then would be to have a good technical writer dissect it and get a report to your copy guy, who could then put the plain language explanation into copy language.

    Or you could find a copywriter with advanced training in the field in question. In which case, expect to pay an arm and a leg.

    Alternatively, you could find a guy willing to fudge it at any price point...but you have to decide if you're comfortable with that. I wouldn't want my reputation resting on an advertising campaign created under those conditions.

    PS - and OF COURSE we'll ask you questions. In fact, expect us to ask you a ton of them. You don't have to answer if you can't be bothered, but then, expect the final result to be of lower quality than it could have been if you'd been cooperative. It's not "our job" to find out everything we can without your help. It's our job to take the knowledge you have to offer, and put it in language that's going to excite the buying prospect. Don't work against your copy guy, work with him. He's on your side.
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  • Profile picture of the author Loren Woirhaye
    For a topic I don't know much about, I read up on it extensively
    before writing any copy. Usually this process helps me ask better
    questions of the client and often clarifies the client's own
    understanding of his or her business and sometimes leads
    to an improvement of the product or a more precise targeting
    of the market.
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    • Profile picture of the author zincOnline
      Thanks Guys, I was hoping for these kind of answers.

      I'm sure many "copywriters" present their clients with little to no research and I guess these are areas that come with getting what you pay for.
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      • Profile picture of the author Zabrina
        Originally Posted by zincOnline View Post

        Thanks Guys, I was hoping for these kind of answers.

        I'm sure many "copywriters" present their clients with little to no research and I guess these are areas that come with getting what you pay for.
        Absolutely right! It takes some people many years and copyright infringement notices or experts' "he doesn't know what he's talking about" comments to realize this. In general, the higher-paid the copywriter, the more professional he can afford to be. If you're trying to write twelve hours a day just to make ends meet, your work will suffer.
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      • Profile picture of the author MikeHumphreys
        Well, the first question I ask myself is "Do I already know anything about the product or the niche?"

        If I don't then the next question I ask myself is "Do I want to learn all about the product or niche?"

        You see, most client projects are 40+ hours of work for me with a good chunk of it being the research, target market and competitor analysis.

        If it's not a topic of interest to me, then I turn the project down. I don't feel I can write my very best if I'm not passionate about the project. That means it's going to be really tough for me to write passionate energetic copy and I won't do that to any client of mine.

        Do I ask the client questions? You bet. I ask them lots of them along with doing all of my research. In short, I aim for having "too much" targeted information at my fingertips before I write a word of copy and I gather the information from every source I can.

        Anyways, that's one part of how I work with clients.

        Hope that helps,

        Mike
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  • Profile picture of the author Shoaib
    I'm not a copywriter myself but I do personally know a few. Like others said, a good copywriter writing good copy for you that gets the results that you are looking for (sales, opt-in, etc), will go to different lengths to learn about your product and your clients.

    Anything from studying your product, studying your competitors' products if needed, and most of them will ask you for a general profile/demographics of your target user, and some of them will do all kinds of things to really, really get inside your target prospect's head. This is among many other things that copywriters do to really be able to write effective copy.

    Of course, it is a collaborative effort between you and the copywriter. You have to help them along and nudge them in the right direction if you think they're not understanding/grasping something completely, and they will do the same with you.
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