Website Copywriting Services

What does a typical website copywriting project involve?

All website copywriting jobs are unique but most share a common process.

Here are some key questions we ask new clients – and some key points we always communicate.

Getting answers to all, or some, of these questions will help us align expectations and achieve a better outcome for the project.

After all, the client and the copywriter want the same thing – well written, authoritative copy that portrays you as trusted experts in your industry, achieves good keyword rankings and entices your target audience to act.

Note: we’ll cover the majority of these questions in a video call consultation and will follow-up with email requests for any key documents or specific pieces of information.

 

Goals, project management, practicalities and measurement

What do you want us to produce for you and what do you want to achieve from it?
This covers the actual brief for the work to be done and the desired outcome.

Are we producing a new product category landing page, a blog post or a series of educational pages around a single topic? etc.

A goal might be to increase relevant phone calls per week by 10%. Or, to increase the organic search traffic to our website by 10% within six-months.

How will this be measured?
While we can help with in-depth analysis of traffic and SEO keyword data, have you got an internal process already set-up to help measure the success of the project?

What is your deadline for this project?
Much depends on the size and scope of the job.

Key point to note:
Once we know enough details about the job and have a deadline, we will then give you a formal quote for the whole project and a delivery date estimate.

A really good product category landing page can take a day to research and write – with time added on for sign-off and amends. Typically, we don't charge for amends.

Do you have any brand and content guidelines – or any legal or regulatory requirements we need to know about?
Please supply them, we promise we won’t share them with anyone. We’re always happy to sign any NDAs, if required.

We just need to know as much as possible about the nuances of what you can say, and can't say within your industry.

Do you have Google Analytics (other web analytics tools are available) and Google Search Console plugged in?
If no – we can help you to sort this.

If yes, we'll need to get access to look at the data, please.

Do you have any specific SEO goals or requirements?
As SEO specialists we will offer guidance on these at every step of the way.

If it's a specific product or service, who is the most knowledgeable person we can talk to in your organisation about it?
A good copywriter will always know how to tap into readily available sources of information.

Who is going to be our main point of contact for the sign-off process?
Once the job is agreed, website copywriting is a relatively simple process.

We can work in MS Word or Google Docs. It's up to you.

We will do our research then produce a first draft and send it to you for your feedback and any amends, we then produce a second draft and it goes back to you again.

Repeat, until final sign-off.

Final sign-off is the desired outcome for any copywriting project, as it means that both copywriter and client are satisfied with the work produced.

Key point to note:
In order to produce the best possible first draft, the copywriter will need to spend time doing research, which might include any, or all of:

• Reading related organisational documents including technical specifications, sales literature and brand positioning and tone-of-voice guidelines.
• Reading any relevant, in-depth industry research papers/intelligence you might have exclusive access to.
• Talking to the experts within your organisation about the features of a product or service.
• Looking at the competitive landscape within your industry.
• Interviewing existing clients - for in-depth case studies, testimonials etc.

 

About your business, brand positioning, products/services and competitors

We don't always ask all of these questions, our approach will differ depending on the needs of each client.

While we want as many facts about your business and products and services as possible, we also want to get a feel for your brand positioning and where you want to get to – your wider business goals.

Describe what your business is and what it stands for?

What is the main product and service you offer as a business?

Can we get access to any or all of your brand-related documents?

If you haven’t got any formal brand documents, please describe how you want your brand to come across to consumers?

Are there any companies you admire and want to be like?

What do you want people to think when they see your brand, or interact with your website?
We’re trying to get a sense of your brand positioning.

Who are your main target audiences at the moment?

Do you have any qualitative or quantitative research available on what your target audience thinks about your brand?

Who is your ideal customer?
This will help us plot a course from where you are now to where you want to be.

What does your product or service do that makes life better for people? Or, what specific problem does your product or service solve?

More importantly, how is your product unique in your industry? How is the quality of your product or service different from your competitors?

What is the unique value proposition of your business, product or service?

Do you have technical data we can use to quickly show consumers how effective your product or service is?

Which product or service do you sell the most of?

Which product or service do you make the most profit margin from?

What are the main pain points for customers in your industry?

Who are your top five main competitors?
Please supply website urls and/or any intelligence you’ve formally gathered.

What is the primary call-to-action (CTA) for this piece of work?
In other words, what do you want the user to do once they've visited the page and read the copy?

This list of questions is by no means exhaustive or prescriptive.

Much of the information will be gleaned from our conversations we have together at the start of, and during the project.