Simple Steps To Get Started With Any Copywriting Client

Getting started with a new copywriting client can be very exciting. Who doesn’t love the freshness of taking big ideas and bringing them to life on a website, email campaign or social media?

Before you get too far in the process, I want to caution you to ask a few critical questions, for your own sake and for the sake of streamlining the process to write great copy.

Begin With The End In Mind

Understanding the goal of the project

If you’re writing a website page, a sales page, emails or a lead magnet, it’s important to understand the purpose of your copy before you begin. You need to begin with the end in mind

In the first step of copywriting (Identify) you and your client need to be clear on the goal. Think about these questions to find out if the goal is for revenue, followers, awareness, or launching.

Simple questions to get started:

• What is the goal of us working together?
• Are you looking to increase your revenue?
• Do you want to find more followers?
• Are you looking to build your email list?
• Are you looking just for awareness?
• Do you want to put your name out in the market?
• Do you want to look bigger than you are?
• Do you want loyalty?
• Where are you launching?
• Is this brand new and you’re introducing something to the world?

Of course, there are many reasons why people would want copywriting. They may be rebranding, pivoting, launching something different, or going in a new direction. It is important for YOU as the copywriter to understand the goal of the copy as well as the client.

Identifying where the copy will be used

The second question you’ll need to answer before getting started is understanding by whom, where and when your copy will be read? What are we focusing on?

• Website
• Landing page
• Lead magnet
• Email
• Social Media or ads

These are questions you’re going to want to ask in the discovery call. But even after the discovery call when you start working together, you still need to get clarity on this!

There’s a journey customers go on before they make a buying decision. In the case of a Facebook ad, maybe they were scrolling on their social media and they came across an ad. When they saw the ad, they told themselves a story of what might happen when they click on the ad. They have an idea just before they land on your website, your email, your sales page, or your lead magnet.

As a copywriter, you want to ask your client this question: where are the leads coming from?

Just because we build a website doesn’t mean people will come. How are you going to get traffic and where is that traffic coming from before they land on the website? We want to make sure the story is consistent and congruent with where the reader was right before they clicked to get on your website. You want it to be seamless.

You as the copywriter don’t need to know those answers, but you need to know the questions to ask: What is the goal of the copywriting and where will the copy be used?

Audience

Identifying the audience

• Who is your client’s ideal customer?
• Can you describe them in detail?
• Where do you find them?
• Where are they hanging out?
• What is it they’re looking for?

In general, people have just a few core things they want. To make money or save money, save time, do things faster or better, improve their status, look better in the world, get ahead, feel bigger than they are, feel professional, or change how people perceive them.

What is the problem that they’re facing or what is the opportunity your audience is looking for and what is holding them back from that?

You want to figure out what the customer really wants and why they haven’t gotten it yet. What is holding them back? These are questions that you’re going to ask your copywriting client about before getting started writing any copy.

Call to Action

Lastly, you want to find out what you want their audience to do.

When you’re talking with your client, one of the questions is “What is the next call to action? What is the next step? What’s one easy next step?

You’d be surprised that clients don’t really know! I can’t tell you how many people have said “Well, I don’t know Lisa. What do you think?”. I reply, “I’m not in your business. I don’t really know how to answer this for you”. After a while, I’ve had to understand that oftentimes clients really don’t know what they want their customers to do.

Instead of feeling like an imposter, ask some more questions and work with them. Guide them. You don’t have to tell them what to do but you could say “Here’s a few options” then let them choose from them. If you’ve been doing this long enough you can say “One of my clients uses this one and another client uses this one and I’ve used this in the past”. You can draw on previous clients but if you are just getting started, don’t be surprised if a client doesn’t really know the answer to all of these questions.

With the call to action, you want to figure out what the next easy step is to get started. If they’re not ready to get started, what’s an easy step (transition step)? How do we capture their email address through a lead magnet so we don’t lose them? Not everyone is ready to say yes. It might be a no for now. What is another call to action that will allow you to stay in contact with the client? Suggest your client create an irresistible free opt-in that allows people to take a step forward, even if it isn’t ‘all the way’.

LEVEL UP

Are you ready to level up as a copywriter with a proven process? Professionals get paid more when they have a process! Join Think Like A Copywriter, a 3-week Intensive training where I’ll teach you the framework, mindset, and how to lead a client through the process with templates, agendas, emails and more.

You’ll walk away with everything you need to feel like a professional copywriter. If that sounds like you, get your name on the waitlist for the next round of Think Like A Copywriter.