Written from Experience

The Copywriting Process

As a copywriter, I want to make sure that your key messages talk directly to your target audience. I see my job as the communicator. I don’t invent or fabricate content, but rather I shape and manipulate key messages to produce quality content that will entice clients and customers.

Gathering the Information
I want to learn about your business. There are a variety of ways to do this. They are:

  1. Existing Website
    If you have an existing website, this is the first port of call. After reading through your current copy, we can discuss where improvements can be made.

  2. Other Written Material
    Maybe you're building your first website, in which case brochures, manuals or other print material will give me the necessary information.

  3. Casual Chat
    On the other hand, you may prefer to simply chat about your organisation. I would pose questions to you about your business and we could discuss where you see your points of difference and why someone would use your services over your competitors.

The First Draft
Based on all this information, I then shape the key messages into web content and send it across as a first draft. Because I view search engine optimisation from a copywriting perspective, I deliver all written aspects of a website as standard procedure. My first draft will always look like this for each web page:

[page tab]

[h1] Page Heading
Copy paragraph 1
Copy paragraph 2
Copy paragraph 3

Metatags
Title: Title Tag
Description: Description Tag

Please consider the first draft as exactly that. This isn’t the final copy, but a first draft, which as the business owner, requires your feedback. The key points to watch out for are - is all the information covered and is the tone is suitable for your business?

In addition to the first draft, I generally write notes outlining the reasons behind the decisions I made. This is handy becuase as you’re reading through the content, you have an explanation as to why I’ve used certain words, structured the content in that way or why I made particularly editorial decisions.

I generally appreciate clients, who mark up my first draft with ‘track changes’ or simply give me a call to discuss the amendments. Giving your feedback within one week of the first draft being delivered also ensures the process continues smoothly. It also means that the information on your site is still fresh in my mind.

The Second Draft
Once you’ve given your feedback, I make the necessary changes and then issue a second draft for final approval. Again final approval is best done within one week.

Quality Check
Once the content is loaded onto the draft web page or live site, I always do a quality control check to make sure everything reads great. If there are any small changes to the copy, I will email them through to you. This final quality control is an important step in the copywriting process.

 

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