Contact and Communication
As we work together, it is important that we have fast and easy communication. During our project, I am available Monday through Friday, from 8:00 am – 4:00 pm (MST). The best way to reach me is through my business phone or email.
Discussing the Project and Questionnaire
Before starting, I will send you a Discovery Questionnaire. This will help both of us clearly define the scope of the project and promote maximum results. I will email you this as a MS Word file.
From there, I will outline a short Project Roadmap. This will save time and help you see that I fully understand your project. It will also be the basis for our Launch Call.
In the Launch Call we will discuss the Project Roadmap.
Following that call, I will draft and send you an Agreement. Or if your company has an Agreement, we can use that.
Investment and Getting Started
The Agreement will contain all the specifics on what exactly I will deliver, including project deadlines. It will also list your investment for the project and terms of payment. Please note: I require 50% of the project total to begin. I accept check, credit card, or Paypal.
Once we have both signed the Agreement, I will begin working on your copy.
Research
My research process is comprehensive. I will review:
• Your website.
• Materials you send me, such as items you have used in the past and other items you send me.
• From there, I will research your market, including your competitors.
• Sometimes I need to visit with your customer service team, clients/customers, and different department heads.
• As needed, I will reach out to you for additional details and resources.
Collaboration
As mentioned, communication is critical. Some clients prefer to hand off the project and review the first draft, with very little communication in between. Others like dealing with me on an daily basis every step of the way. Which are you?
One other point: I require a single point of contact. It might be you or it might be one of your team. I will communicate directly that person as needed to obtain information and approvals.
Finally, I encourage you to become familiar with Google Docs. I do my writing with this word processing tool. It allows us to track changes, comment, and collaborate in real time. It can be shared with various team members and the working document is always the current document — no need to worry about sending wrong files or things getting lost.
Once you approve the copy, and if I am providing graphic design, I will send that part of the project to you in a pdf.
Review of First Drafts
When you get the first draft, please review it carefully. Also, have any applicable team members review it. The most important thing at this stage is making sure that the tone, message, and offer are right. We’ll fine-tune it during the second draft… and third draft, if needed.
Turn around times depend on two things.
• The size and scope of your project. A forecasted turn-around time for you project will be included in the contract.
• The length of time you take to review the draft revisions will affect the turn-around time.
Revisions
After you review the initial draft, I expect that you’ll want some things changed. Please note those changes using the comment feature inside of Google Docs. You can also suggest changes using the Edit Mode feature, which I’ll turn on when I share it with you.
I will review all your suggested changes within 24 hours of you submitting them to me and make my adjustments within two business days, depending on the breadth and complexity of your suggested changes.
In all cases, I recognize that these are your customers and will defer to you as much as possible. Sometimes, however, there are cases where my clients make suggestions that I know will not work and will hurt profits. In those cases, you can expect me to be bold and direct in my feedback. When clients insist on changes that I feel will not work, I will recommend a simple A/B split test. Let the market vote.
Additional Reviews
After the first revision, there may be some additional fine-tuning needed. You can be confident that I will gladly work with you until you are delighted with the copy. In most cases, one review is enough. When more are needed, it is usually just one or two more. Subsequent revisions normally go more quickly than the first. Typically, we can get to a final copy within a 1-3 business days.
Final Approval
Once all revisions are done, I will submit a final draft to you. At this point, you approve the copy by sending me an email stating that everything is ready for distribution.
Once I receive this final approval from you, I will invoice you for the remaining 50% of the project investment. The invoice is due upon receipt. I will make every effort to be prompt in responding to your requests and assume that, as a professional, you will do the same with my invoices.
Will my office handle the graphic design and formatting? Or will the final copy be sent to a designer for formatting? If you use another graphics service I strongly encourage you to send me a PDF of the final version. If I see something that is distracting and may hurt your response rates, I’ll be direct in letting you know. If requested, I’m happy to work with your design team to make any changes needed to make the end version as effective as possible.
Follow Up
Once the project is done, I provide all of my clients with a complimentary follow-up consultation. We spend a few minutes on the phone to discuss what went well and where improvements can be made. We review the Discovery Questionnaire and discuss additional ways to uncover new profits. Where appropriate, we map out a new project to ensure that you continue to have excellent copy that meets your goals, grows your business, and increases your profits.