My Process

1 Learning

Polite, Excited Hellos
Are we a fit? On a short initial call, I’ll ask you about your business, budget, deadline and the problem you need copy to solve. You can ask me anything you like.

Discovery Meeting
If I’m confident I can help, we’ll set up a time to chat more about the why behind your project and discuss the scope of whatever needs doing.

Roadmapping Session
Sometimes, clients need help figuring out what content they need or the message they should be sending. If that’s you, we’ll schedule a paid roadmapping session to dive deep into your business, audience, obstacles and opportunities. After, I’ll deliver a detailed outline of everything we discussed.

What you get: A really good feeling that I’m the right guy for the job.

2 Planning

Once I’ve got all the details and a clear sense of project scope, I give you a firm quote and a statement of work you can sign electronically.

Approved? Awesome!

I’ll send you a contract and an invoice for a 50% down deposit and schedule you in for my earliest availability (usually 2 – 3 weeks).

I might also ask for…

Any existing customer research
Established brand guidelines
Contact details for 3rd parties (designers, devs, SEOs)
Wireframes or IA docs (Don’t have a design? You can – and should – build around my writing.)
Access to analytics, heatmapping data, etc.

What you get: A firm quote and a scheduled kick-off date. Wahoo, we’re working together!

3 Creating

Research
I’ll send you a quick creative brief and take lots of notes so that I can nail your branding, voice, and tone. I’ll also work with you to design, execute and analyze a customer research program. We’ll pinpoint your audience’s pain points, steal your competitors’ best moves and identify missed opportunities you can capitalize on.

Outlines & Wireframes
I organize the research into a blueprint for highly persuasive copy, systematically addressing customer pain points and answering questions before they’re even asked. I’ll work in tandem with your designer to create a conversion-driven wireframe.

Fully prepared, I write your first draft. Your project has my undivided attention, and I’ll send you short updates to let you know where we’re at (without you even asking me to).

I’ve worked agency-side with marketers, SEOs, devs and designers, so I know exactly how to mark up drafts to ensure everyone understands the “why” behind what I’ve written and how the copy should look when it’s live.

What you get: A startlingly good first draft full of comments and questions.

4 Editing

You review what I’ve sent and give me your no-punches-pulled feedback. I’ll talk through the draft and wireframes with you, then get to work making revisions. It rarely takes more than one round.

When you’ve got a draft you’re happy with, you pay me the final 50% and I release the completed documents.

What you get: A publish-ready piece of content without any creative-diva attitude.

5 Launching

BOOM – the moment of truth, baby! You set the content loose on the internet. The crowd goes wild, sales go through the roof and the next thing you know, the President is calling you for some reason. Congratulations! I’ll be on deck to make sure the copy and design come together in the best possible way.

What you get: Leads, sales, the adoration of your audience and an irresistible urge to hire me again/recommend me to all of your friends.

6 Split Testing and Optimizing

After briefly basking in the glory of a job well done, it’s right back to work. For website copy, ad campaigns and landing pages, I can draft variants for split testing that will improve upon even our best-performing controls. You share the data you’ve collected, I craft the next winner.

What you get: Variants for testing and a reliable, CRO-savvy copywriter who already knows your business and is itching to make you more money.