Frequently asked questions

If you’ve had a look around my website, you may well have a few questions about working with me.

I’ve answered some of the most common questions I get asked below. But, please give me a shout if you need any further details.

Copywriting

Many businesses do choose to write their own copy, particularly if their budget is very tight. There’s nothing wrong in that. But I always say that hiring a professional copywriter is a long-term investment in your business. You’re hiring someone who’s trained to write copy that sells.

A customer’s first interaction with your business may well be through your website, email marketing or blogs. So, you need to win them over from the start. Often, I’m approached by businesses who’ve written their content but feel it’s not resonating with their audience or delivering results. 

As an experienced copywriter, I use tried-and-tested tactics to help you make the right first impression and generate leads and sales. I look at your business through your customers’ eyes – bringing out your unique selling points and tuning the content to their needs.

It’s really difficult to write about your own business because you’re just too close to it. So, as a copywriter, I bring a fresh perspective as well as my creative skills.

Plus, by outsourcing your copywriting, you won’t have the hassle or stress of completing this yourself. You can take this task off your to-do list and get on with your day job.

 

I can help with all aspects of your marketing, including:

  • Website content 
  • Blog writing
  • Email marketing
  • Business case studies
  • e-books and lead magnets
  • Social media marketing (paid and organic)
  • Awards submissions
  • CV writing
  • Sales letters (see my blog, ‘Is the sales letter dead?’)
  • Brochure and newsletter copywriting
  • Proofreading.

I’ve helped dozens of clients with different projects over the years. Get in touch to find out how I can help your business.

I’ve included some rough prices on my service pages so you can get a broad idea of the costs.

Each project is unique so the exact cost will depend on your specific needs. For instance, some customers might need me to interview several team members for a blog whereas other projects might involve online research only. 

I’m always happy to produce an individual quote and look at what will work within your budget.

I’ve worked as a professional copywriter for more than 20 years, both in-house and as a freelancer. I’ve been lucky enough to work with some of the UK’s best-loved brands, as well as many smaller businesses.

I’m very happy to put you in touch with existing clients if you’d like to know more about working with me and the quality of my work.

I’m fortunate that a lot of my work comes through word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business. Some work also comes from website enquiries and social media – particularly LinkedIn.

I’m a mid-priced copywriter. I’m not the cheapest – there are many firms in far-flung lands offering copywriting services for peanuts. But these firms have a reputation for churning out high-volume, low-quality content.

When you hire me, you’re getting an experienced copywriter with proven expertise in crafting high-impact content for many businesses. 

I’m an ethical copywriter – so I keep my costs in line with industry rates. Learn more about the going rates for UK copywriters on the ProCopywriters website.

I want you to be really happy with the words I’ve crafted for you and your business.

Once I’ve sent the draft, you may have a few tweaks and comments. That’s all part of the process. My quote includes a review round for you to make any changes.

If you later decide you’d like more changes further down the line, that’s fine. But this would be charged at my rate of £40 per hour.

This really depends on what you need. We’ll agree on timescales at the start so you’ll know when to expect your content.

I’ll always be honest and realistic about the timescales rather than doing a rushed job and compromising on quality. Doing a great job for my clients is very important to me. 

The timescales also depend on how quickly you can get back to me with information and feedback. If there’s a delay, this will impact on the turnaround time.

It’s important that your content is right for you and your business.

I invest a lot of time upfront in research and planning so that I have a good understanding of your needs. This reduces the risk of any misunderstanding over the brief.

But don’t worry if you do need to make changes, I include one round of tweaks and comments in my costs.

Obviously, if you decide to change the brief substantially midway through the project, I’d need to charge additionally.

For new client projects, I ask for a 25% deposit. I may ask for staged payments for large projects, but we can discuss this during our initial call.

Life happens and it’s not always possible to give lots of notice when you need some copy. If it’s a blog or a small project, I can usually fit the work in reasonably quickly. For larger projects, I’ll need more notice.

I like to work flexibly around my clients. My usual working hours are Monday-Friday 9am to 5.00pm. For urgent tasks, occasionally I work unsocial hours (weekends and bank holidays). But I do charge extra for this kind of work and try to avoid weekend working as far as possible (everyone needs a break, after all). 

It’s best to drop me a message or call and I’ll let you know if I’m free. If I don’t have any capacity, I can usually recommend other trusted copywriters.

The brief is one of the most important parts of the project.

Generally, I meet with clients on video calls, usually via Teams or Zoom. However, if you live locally, I’m always happy to meet you in person (especially if you buy me a coffee 😉)

Before our meeting, I’ll send a few questions over to you to steer my research and help prepare.

For a fun take on this, read my blog on what Mad Men teaches us about the copywriting brief.

Copywriting is my living and it pays my bills. So, I’m not able to offer copywriting for free, I’m afraid.

My costs reflect my experience and the investment I’ve made in keeping my skills and knowledge up to date.

But I guarantee that your copy will be in good hands.

I may well have experience writing about your sector but, to be honest, it’s not a showstopper if I haven’t. What’s important is that I understand what you’re offering and convey the USPs (unique selling points) to your customers so they drop you a message, send an email or pick up the phone.

I’ve written for scientists, engineers, builders, tea experts, estate agents, joiners, financial experts, a supermodel (!?!?) and many others. So, I’m used to adapting my tone to suit different audiences.

I’ll look at your project with a fresh pair of eyes and perspective. My clients often tell me that I’ve found a selling point or angle that they’d never considered or overlooked.

Fortunately, this is exceptionally rare. 

If you have to cancel midway through a project, I would charge 50% of the original fee (minimum). That’s because I’ve already committed work to the project.

You may receive emails from ‘SEO experts’ in far-flung lands, offering to get your business website to the top of the Google rankings for next to nothing.

The reality is that no one can guarantee a page 1 ranking on Google – whatever they say. As an SEO copywriter, I can optimise your content to help you get found. In fact, I’ve helped many clients achieve top rankings for the keywords they want to be found for.

I’ve also achieved top Google rankings for my own business (which might be how you’ve found me!)

However, it’s never guaranteed. 

I’m happy to chat about this in more detail if you’d like to give me a call.

Social media marketing

I can help with all aspects of your social media marketing, including:

  • managing your platforms (LinkedIn, X, Facebook and Twitter)
  • auditing your social media platforms, with targeted recommendations on what’s working and what’s not
  • developing your social media strategy 
  • social media training so you can manage your own marketing in-house.

I’m always happy to have a chat about what would work best for your business, within your budget. Please get in touch to discuss your project further.

The cost depends on your platforms and your business needs.

I can help with content creation (words, images and videos), engagement, finding influencers, community interaction and more. 

Day-to-day social media management starts at £400 per platform per month. I benchmark my rates against industry standards annually.

My social media training costs start from £599 and an audit from £275.

I would recommend a social media health check – which is an audit of your platforms. This provides an overview on what’s working (and what’s not) and recommendations you can implement instantly.

This health check is an affordable option if you don’t have the funds to outsource your social media marketing.

I’ve been managing social media marketing for clients for several years – helping them build an engaged and loyal following and driving leads and sales.

In 2020/21, I completed an Advanced Diploma in Strategic Social Media Marketing – an intensive six-month course where I was assessed on my work on a client’s social media platforms. Graduates from this nationally acclaimed course regularly go on to manage social media marketing for top UK brands.

So, when you hire me, you’ll be working with a social media specialist who’s trained with the best.

I keep my skills up to date and I’m a founding member of The Social Club, a 200-strong group of female entrepreneurs and social media marketers.

For day-to-day social media management, I ask client to commit to three months as a minimum. That’s because it takes time to build awareness and grow your social media presence. I’ll be tracking the results weekly and sharing regular updates.

From there, we can make any tweaks as we refine your social media marketing to deliver on your business goals.

Got another question?

No problem. Let’s have a chat over a virtual cuppa.