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How many writers do you know who love doing round after round of copy changes? For 99.9 percent of us, it's a painful process.
As a direct response writer who has worked on the agency side, client side and now on my own as a freelance free agent, I've learned some tricks for keeping copy revisions to a minimum. You may want to give these a try.
1. Get input from everyone who approves your copy before you start writing. You can do it in-person at a creative kick-off meeting, by email or via the creative brief. The key is to have everyone who approves your copy weigh in on what's important before you start writing.
2. Ask questions. Lots of questions. And do it right up front. It's your responsibility to get the information you need to do your job to the best of your ability. So pick the brains of product managers, customer service reps and salespeople who have direct contact with the people to whom you're writing.
3. Team up. Copy is no longer king when it comes to creating the most successful direct messages. It's a team effort between the writer and designer. Plus, when you and your designer collaborate from the get-go, you're much less likely to need to rewrite copy later to fit the layout or support the design concept.
4. Don't be intimidated. Product managers and marketing directors are your allies. Don't be shy about using them as resources and running ideas by them before you present copy. The sooner you are all headed in the same direction using the same information, the more likely your copy will hit the mark the first time.
5. Use sources that are credible and accurate. Thanks to the internet and Google, you can now find background research on just about any topic you want in a second. However, it may or may not be factual. Make sure the sources you use are credible and accurate; it will save you tons of time and multiple rewrites.
6. Be a good listener, take good notes and keep copies of original sources. There is nothing more frustrating than having to track down an online source weeks after your original search. Likewise, when doing interviews for testimonials, keep records of names spelled correctly, dates, times and exact quotes. At some point in the approval process, you'll need them. Without them, you'll have to rethink, rewrite and even redo your research ... all of which takes valuable time.
7. Understand the business objective of what you're writing. Is your goal to generate more highly qualified leads, sell add-ons to low-ticket purchases or transform one-time customers into multibuyers? If you don't understand the objective, you're setting yourself up for multiple rounds of revisions.
8. One last tip. Write it, then set it aside. Preferably overnight. There's something magical that happens when you let your words and ideas percolate overnight. It almost always results in more clear-sighted, more compelling more on-target copy.
Pat Friesen is a copywriter/creative strategist who writes for direct mail, email, blogs, catalogs, the Web and other direct response media. She's also a sought-after copy coach, workshop presenter and columnist for Target Marketing magazine. Contact Pat at 913-341-1211 or pat@patfriesen.com.
As a direct response writer who has worked on the agency side, client side and now on my own as a freelance free agent, I've learned some tricks for keeping copy revisions to a minimum. You may want to give these a try.
1. Get input from everyone who approves your copy before you start writing. You can do it in-person at a creative kick-off meeting, by email or via the creative brief. The key is to have everyone who approves your copy weigh in on what's important before you start writing.
2. Ask questions. Lots of questions. And do it right up front. It's your responsibility to get the information you need to do your job to the best of your ability. So pick the brains of product managers, customer service reps and salespeople who have direct contact with the people to whom you're writing.
3. Team up. Copy is no longer king when it comes to creating the most successful direct messages. It's a team effort between the writer and designer. Plus, when you and your designer collaborate from the get-go, you're much less likely to need to rewrite copy later to fit the layout or support the design concept.
4. Don't be intimidated. Product managers and marketing directors are your allies. Don't be shy about using them as resources and running ideas by them before you present copy. The sooner you are all headed in the same direction using the same information, the more likely your copy will hit the mark the first time.
5. Use sources that are credible and accurate. Thanks to the internet and Google, you can now find background research on just about any topic you want in a second. However, it may or may not be factual. Make sure the sources you use are credible and accurate; it will save you tons of time and multiple rewrites.
6. Be a good listener, take good notes and keep copies of original sources. There is nothing more frustrating than having to track down an online source weeks after your original search. Likewise, when doing interviews for testimonials, keep records of names spelled correctly, dates, times and exact quotes. At some point in the approval process, you'll need them. Without them, you'll have to rethink, rewrite and even redo your research ... all of which takes valuable time.
7. Understand the business objective of what you're writing. Is your goal to generate more highly qualified leads, sell add-ons to low-ticket purchases or transform one-time customers into multibuyers? If you don't understand the objective, you're setting yourself up for multiple rounds of revisions.
8. One last tip. Write it, then set it aside. Preferably overnight. There's something magical that happens when you let your words and ideas percolate overnight. It almost always results in more clear-sighted, more compelling more on-target copy.
Pat Friesen is a copywriter/creative strategist who writes for direct mail, email, blogs, catalogs, the Web and other direct response media. She's also a sought-after copy coach, workshop presenter and columnist for Target Marketing magazine. Contact Pat at 913-341-1211 or pat@patfriesen.com.
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