Work Load and Scheduling Questions

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For conversation's sake, let's say you are an in-demand, full-time copywriter and it takes you around 40 working hours to research, write and polish a client's sales letter. Let's also say your fees are over $5,000 per letter, high enough that you are not "churning and burning" to make the mortgage payment.

How do you manage your projects? Do you only work on one client at a time? Or do you have two or three letters going at the same time?

Do you finish the 40 project-hours in one week or is it spread out over two or more weeks?

Assuming you are booking clients far in advance, what kind of "window" do set aside down the road for each project? One week? Two? More?

If you want to interview the client's customers, what happens if they are not available when you are working on that project? In other words, do they work around you, or do you have to make sure all the interviews are scheduled well in advance so key people are not on vacation?

Do you like to work Monday-Friday with weekends off for family and friends? Or do you maybe work every day until a project is finished and then, say, take four or five days in a row off, and start the cycle again?
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Of course, your situation may not share that hypothetical exactly but how do you handle your own work flow?
#copywriting #load #project #questions #scheduling #work
  • Hey Joe,

    You might find this thread useful:

    http://www.warriorforum.com/copywrit...cheduling.html

    For any interviews that need to be done, whenever possible I prefer to do them with the rest of my research for that project, but if necessary I'll do them in advance. The only potential problem is if someone's not available who's vital to the project - I don't want a job to get pushed back leaving me sitting on my ass (I've found a definite deadline is just as much a benefit to myself as to my client).

    When I first started it seemed like I was in front of a computer 24/7, after realizing that couldn't continue I started managing my time better and now I don't work weekends. I do make exceptions, like if a client's launching on a Sunday or if they're prepared to pay extra, but generally the weekend is my own time.
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
    • [1] reply
    • Regardless of the exact occupation, scheduling personal time is recommended for freelancers in order to avoid burnout. As a web developer, I've done weekdays-only scheduling and the "work 10 days and take 5 off" scheduling, and it really depends on the requirements of the projects at hand and my own requirements.

      I've also done the "24/7" scheduling for months at a time, and as Andrew mentions, that's not sustainable (or enjoyable).

      The beauty of freelancing is you can do whichever you want, whenever you want (within scheduled project limitations), but the one thing I've learned is to take scheduled time off on a regular basis, and not let clients dictate my time.
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  • You gave two options for the client fee levels you deal with.

    I know fora fact that is makes more sense resource-wise to
    have one $5,000 client than 10 $500 client. So any copywriter
    should be trying to raise fee and reduce the number of clients.

    When I just started offering my services to Warriors I did a
    10-letter WSO for $297 each and got seriously sick at the
    end of that deal. I was in bed for Christmas. I decided
    I would never make such an offer again and I never did.

    It's even better to have multiple letters from the same
    client than multiple clients. A big part of the stress of
    writing for others is centered in the relationship. When
    you have who doesn't 'click' with you it's hard to do
    your best.

    Writing is stressful work and you need to take time to
    refresh or you can easily get burnt out.

    -Ray Edwards
    a client w
    • [ 2 ] Thanks
  • Sweet, I was just coming to this forum to search for a thread like this.

    As a semi-new copywriter, I still haven't figured out how to make a "designated time" for my copywriting.

    When I'm working on a project, it preoccupies my thoughts most of the day. I'm always trying to think of new ideas or ways to improve my copy. I feel like I'm wasting valuable time when I'm not thinking about the project at hand.

    This is probably a quick recipe for burnout, but I haven't learned to separate my copywriting from the other aspects of my life...yet.

    Is this how it is when you start out, though? I'm sure you get your own "groove" after awhile, right?
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  • Banned
    Completely off-topic I know for which I do apologize most profusely and do feel welcome to delete this post if you must, including the one above where I went off on an incredible tangent but...

    ...like many super intelligent people, I'm amazingly thick as well.

    Anything practical and I'm about as unintelligent as they come. Ask me to wire a plug and I'll probably just look at you with a somewhat dazed and confused utterly perplexed look upon my face.

    Carpentry, oh lordy lord, dreadful!

    Hanging wallpaper? No way!

    Fitting a car stereo? What a joke. Anything to do with basic wiring and I'm just as likely to blow it all up, myself included.



    Car repairs lol. Good grief.

    Playing a musical instrument? Ow! Plug your ears immediately.

    Artistic creation, drawing for example? Remember those little stick men? That's about as far as my capabilities in this department go.

    I see everyone as being pretty much equal.

    You can have the most intelligent person on the planet trying to work out the most complicated theory in the world, it's 3am in the morning and there s/he is distracted beyond measure, not able to bring the final pieces of the jigsaw puzzle together to make it work.

    And in pops a young wet behind the ears lad...

    ...with a piping hot bacon and egg sarny and a steaming mug of hot tea.

    Nourished and re-energized the guy trying to work out this seemingly indecipherable and complicated problem suddenly has a Eureka! moment and pulls it all together and voila! has the perfect solution.

    Now, who is more important?

    The guy trying to work out the most complicated problem to save mankind from some impending disaster or the lad who inadvertently helped him to find the perfect solution by feeding his mind with exactly what was needed at the appropriate time?

    To me - they're both equally as important as the other.

    What we lack in one area someone, somewhere else, more than makes up for this lack of knowledge in another way. We all have our place. We're all unique.

    We all have our own unique abilities and it's what makes each and every one of so valuable.

    You can carry on again now again with the original topic in hand, please pardon the intrusion and my rudeness going off on this 'slight' tangent...
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  • One at a time with a little overlap for tweaking and merchant compliance.

    Usually spend well over 40 hours on a project. Usually takes three weeks to a month or more of full-time work. Paid accordingly.

    A month.

    Given the right incentive people will make the "impossible" possible. Have you told them how critical their customer's availability is to them making a ton of money?

    I work a non-traditional flexible work week. Not a fan of four or five day breaks. Scared I'll lose my mojo.
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  • I'll write outlines of whatever I'm writing - sales copy, ebooks, articles, affiliate copy, etc - and then alternate between those projects that I have.

    I'll begin on a project and keep working on it until my work comes to a natural stopping point -say where I need to do some editing - and move on to another project until it comes to a natural stopping point. I find that when I come back to the first project, I'm refreshed and looking at it from nearly new eyes.

    This cycle is very important to keeping my creative flow in optimal working order.

    Best to you,
    Erin
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    Work Load and Scheduling Questions

    For conversation's sake, let's say you are an in-demand, full-time copywriter and it takes you around 40 working hours to research, write and polish a client's sales letter. Let's also say your fees are over $5,000 per letter, high enough that you are not "churning and burning" to make the mortgage payment. How do you manage your projects? Do you only work on one client at a time? Or do you have two or three letters going at the same time?