How I Write Website Copy, Landing Pages, and Other Copywriting Projects
Ever wonder how a professional copywriter goes about writing effective copy?
Here’s the basic process I use:
1. I gather as much information as I can about your product or service and market. My starting point is my “25-Question New Client Questionnaire” that I ask you to fill out. It helps me understand how you see your business and identifies where the gaps are.
2. I spend a lot of time studying the information. I type my notes into my laptop. This reduces the amount of background material into a more manageable print-out of 2- 20 pages of typed notes.
3. In my questionnaire, I ask you to identify your major competitors. Once I have that information, I do a website Content Audit of each one that identifies their value proposition, top messages and primary C2As. This allows me to identify potential opportunities you can possibly exploit.
4. Then, I start working on a Product/Service Positioning Document that identifies features and benefits, what’s unique about your offering, the customer pain point solved etc.
5. I provide you with some high-level copy approaches and headlines so you can get a sense of how I would tell your sales story. This is usually based on my interactions with you and often, it hots the mark. The reason I do this is because I want to make sure that my assumptions and understandings are in sync with your thinking. It eliminates surprises.
6. Once you approve an approach, I write the copy. Depending on the nature of the copywriting project, I might decide to provide you with some early draft copy. I believe in managing expectations. The last thing we want is for me to disappear for three weeks and come back to you with something that isn’t on point. I witI go through a number of drafts before showing the copy to you.
7. You provide comments in any manner and format you prefer; however, I think the best method of reviewing copy is to read it as an electronic file and make your comments directly on the file, using a “Track Changes” feature. That makes it easier for you to comment at length than writing in the limited space available on a hard copy with a pen. I’ve started to highly recommend to clients that they use this online method of copy review.
8. I revise the copy until you are satisfied and accept it. If I am concerned about a specific edit or change request you make, I express my viewpoint politely so that you are aware of such. If, after hearing my feedback, you still want to proceed with the requested edit, we do so.
###