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How
to Create Winning Concepts and Copy Every Time... It doesn't matter how new you are to copywriting, or how
old... the fact is, there will be times when you'd feel more confident with the
brains, talent, and experience of a writing partner. Perhaps you're writing for a new client who's in an
industry you know nothing about. Perhaps you've been asked to come up with some
very high level concepts. Or maybe you're getting paid partly based on response
rate, and you simply want to make sure your package is as good as it possibly
can be. The answer to these and many other copywriting situations
is to call in another copywriter. Share the fee and make sure you hand in
perfect work. Not only will you find tremendous relief in "buddying
up," but you'll get the work done faster and the results will be better,
making for a happy client who comes back. This is not an unusual arrangement in an advertising
agency. Typically a junior writer will do the hard work, a copy chief will go
over the work, and finally a creative director will put the stamp of approval on
the work after possibly adding his or her 2 cents. And when it comes to concepting, a copywriter is often
paired with an art director, or a group of copywriters and designers may be
assigned to come up with ideas. In the freelance world, many copywriter "gurus"
achieve guru status because #1 - they don't take jobs they don't think they can
win, and #2 - they hire as many as five copy chiefs to go over their work. Some months ago I found myself in a "copywriters
bake-off," as the client called it. I would be up against three other
writers in the concepting phase for a plum job for Intuit, one of the world's
leading software companies. Was I intimidated? After writing copy for 19 years, and
more than 30 packages for software, I can say that... YES, I was! But before I put my creative hat on, I thought about whom I
could bring in. I decided on Carol Worthington-Levy, a well-known graphic
designer with many direct marketing awards for results. My strategy was twofold: Not only would I submit concepts
from two heads rather than one, but I would submit them in an actual design
format, which would come across much more impressive than the text format I
anticipated my competition would use. The strategy worked, the client loved the concepts, and I
won the job. (Although I then found myself competing against three other teams
in the copy phase!) More recently, one of my coaching students had a new client
and wanted validation of the copy she'd written. She sent it to me, and while it
was an excellent piece, it did need a stronger headline. Working together, we
came up with a headline that would have been difficult to improve upon. The next day, my coaching student sent an e-mail that her
client was positively thrilled with her work, and had made only minor edits. Whenever you feel your chest tighten up with that old
(unnecessary) feeling of anxiety, call on a colleague who has proven success
with whatever type of project you're tackling. Just the thought of bringing in a
partner should make you feel more relaxed. Recently I called on Richard Rosen, my old employer and
internationally-recognized direct marketing guru. He's used to paying me for
copywriting, but in this case I needed his help on crafting a strategy. Knowing
ahead of time that I'd want to call him for help with a particularly complicated
product launch, I worked an extra fee into the budget to pay for his expertise. So open up your thinking: Who do you know who has knowledge
and experience you can leverage? If you don't know of anyone whose ability
you're sure of, ask around for a referral, or go to the website of a pro you
don't know personally, but whose work you respect. If they can't team up with
you, they'll know who can. Copywriters are an anxious bunch, often fretting over
imagined insecurities. Buddying up with a copy chief (or other expert)
eliminates the jitters and allows you to learn from a pro. If you think about
whom you can bring in to a difficult project, you'll find that you can eliminate
one of the copywriter's biggest self-defeating obstacles - that of insecurity. A veteran freelancer and award-winning copywriter, Chris
Marlow offers business coaching to new, aspiring, and seasoned business
freelancers who want to accelerate their success. Check out the benefits of
business coaching at www.TheCopywritersCoach.com.
© Chris Marlow, 2003 All rights reserved. |
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