I’ve spent countless hours playing email ping pong and answering questions on Zoom calls, yet nothing gets right to the heart of a copywriting brief like a first draft.
When a client enlists me as their copywriter, my first job is to create a project brief. This isn’t a complex process usually, but it can be time-consuming.
I kick things off with a questionnaire.
What’s your website’s URL?
Which pages do you need me to write?
What’s the copy’s objective? Sign-ups? Domain authority? Web traffic? Conversions?
This is just me warming up, however. It’s then a matter of drilling down into the detail. I need to know about the preferred tone of voice (if there is one). Are there any brand guidelines? First, second, or third person? Perhaps a combination of all three?
Are there any examples of brand style or tone of voice you’d like me to use as inspiraiton?
Can you describe your target audience?
OK, I’ll stop just listing questions now. But you get the idea. To get anywhere close to the client’s vision, I need to know exactly what they have in their head. But that’s easier said than done.
A Copywriter’s Client Questionnaire Can Put Your Back Out
When I first started out as a copywriter in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, my questionnaire was huge. When I say huge, you could print it out and provide a family home with a week’s supply of toilet paper.
But I soon discovered that most clients just can’t be bothered to complete questionnaires. They approach copywriters because they can’t be bothered, they don’t have time to write copy, or they need an exper copywriter’s powers of persuasion.
When you ask them to complete a questionnaire, I can hear them thinking, “That’s your fu**ing job!”
So, I’ve trimmed my list of questions considerably over the years. And I adapt my template according to the initial communications with the client.
Any copywriter will tell you that we have ‘spidey’ senses when it comes to this kind of thing. Some clients just want the copy as quickly as possible. Others want to prescribe every single sentence.
In recent years, particularly since Covid, I’ve started jumping on Zoom calls. Until the advent of AI, however, this wasn’t ideal, as taking notes while you’re gazing into the eyes of a potential client is damned difficult.
But, in the end, none of this usually matters. In my experience, copywriting briefs go out of the window after the first draft. And that’s a good thing.
Hear me out.
A Copywriter’s First Draft Is Worth Its Weight in Gold
I could talk for hours about tone of voice, brand identity, vocabulary, syntax, grammar…I’m actually boring myself writing this. But nothing gets right to the heart of what’s required of me than that first draft.
A first draft is a great place from which to get a very to-the-point conversation started. I never nail it the first time, but getting that first version to the client as quickly as possible tells my what works and what doesn’t.
Most clients have already written at least some of their content in their heads. It’s my job to extract that vision while dipping into my box of copywriting, journalism, and SEO tricks.
Put simply, a first draft is worth a thousand questions and a three-hour Zoom call.
So, if you decide to hire me for my insane copywriting skills, you can expect a first draft fairly quickly — followed by at least two revision rounds.
Need a copywriter in the UK? Reach out today by giving me a tinkle on +44 07386 704956. Or drop me a line at malcolm.cox@contentable.biz.
