How to confidently talk to a Designer or Copywriter

Some valuable tips on how to get the most from your relationship with your copywriter or designer.

Contacting a copywriter or designer can be a bit stressful for small business owners. You may not be 100% sure of what you need done, or what information you need to supply for the project to commence. You might not even know whether you need a graphic or visual designer, or a copywriter or content writer. If you are a tad stuck on what type of designer or copywriter you require, check out our last post here.

Today, Forelocks and Fleece and Lauren Bird Design offer some tips on what you need to consider prior to contacting a copywriter or designer. We also cover some questions a copywriter or designer will likely ask you, along with questions you can ask to determine if a particular professional creative is the right one for your project. Basically, we want to leave you with a clear idea of what to expect during the creative process so it’s not as daunting for you.

Firstly, you need to consider the following before contacting a designer or copywriter as they will require this information to estimate and/or undertake the project:

• What industry are you involved in?

• What product or service are you selling or promoting?

• What is the objective of this project – branding or marketing? Do you have a specific measurable goal you want to achieve, such as a sales number, or is it for raising general brand awareness?

• Who is your target market? You might have multiple – each campaign can be tailored towards specific markets, but the one size fits all approach is not appropriate.

• When do you need the project completed by?

• Which medium do you need the design or copy for – print or digital? Each offer opportunities and constraints.

• Budget – an important one! Sometimes you might have to scale back the scope of your project. Other times it pays off when you invest a bit more as you get a greater response from customers.

Secondly, there are discipline-specific questions a designer or copywriter may ask you during the discovery session.

In particular, a designer may ask you:

• Do you have your brand identity’s toolkit (your logo in all its forms, your brand fonts and colours, and your style guide if you have one) available?

• Do you own or have the correct licensing the licensing to use the logo, fonts, etc?

• Are you launching an advertising campaign, and do you have the associated campaign imagery?

• Have you got your copy already written?

• When do you need the designs available to print or go live?

• Where do your digital ads link to? What does your marketing funnel look like – do you have a stream of traffic from your socials and email to your website?

• Who is your particular target market and what region are they located in? (This is important as you don’t want to use inappropriate imagery in certain regions or markets).

While a copywriter may ask you:

• Do you already have a brand voice and/or style guide available? If not, the copywriter can create one for you. If yes, they will require samples of the existing copy and/or style guide to immerse themselves in the brand voice.

• Are the assets you are creating aimed at other businesses (B2B) or directly to consumers (B2C)?

• Is this project primarily online? If yes, there will be SEO considerations, such as keyword research, and UX, such as button and form text.

• What 3-4 words (adjectives) would you use to describe your brand or product?

• What is the most important message you want to leave in your customer’s mind when they read your brand’s copy?

• Have you got your design organised, or do you want the written message finalised prior to engaging design?

Thirdly, questions for you to ask! There are a lot of questions to consider and some may feel a bit daft (they won’t be) but asking them prior to the project commencement can save a lot of time and money overall. For example, you could ask a designer or copywriter:

• Have you previously done any work in this industry or a related industry?

• What is your turnaround time for this scale of project? This is extremely important – if you need a project due within the next few weeks but they are heavily booked for two months you will have a negotiation on your hands.

• Do you have any examples of work you have previously done in this medium? Sometimes their online portfolio will contain examples – depends on copyright.

• Does your fee include revisions? Some copywriters and designers offer multiple revisions per project while others charge additional fees on top of the project fee.

• Are you able to work from our company style guide?

Finally, what to expect when working with designers and copywriters.

For starters, we are not (all) emotional, prima-donna artists who will chuck a hissy fit if a client doesn’t appreciate the ‘deeper meaning’ in the work. We are professionals – people hire us for our unique skill sets and experience as it saves them having to master the practice. Our primary concern is making sure that you get the best solution for your business. We create the design or copy your brand requires to fulfill a particular purpose – marketing – which involves effective communication between us and you.

When you engage a designer or copywriter you will need to answer a few questions about your brand, product/service, and project. By doing this at the start it will save a lot of headaches and time later on – remember, communication is key in this relationship. Be prepared to put aside an hour or so at the start so the designer or copywriter can discuss what you need and when you need it.

Some designers and copywriters prefer to meet you in person during the initial briefing, while others are happy to connect via video conference, email or phone. Technology allows you to work with professional creatives outside of your immediate locality, which is great during times like Covid-19, and it saves you time as you don’t have to schedule time to travel to/from a meeting.

Most designers and copywriters will provide you frequent updates during a project, while others will only contact you if they need information. This depends on the scale of the project and if there are any critical decisions to be made at different stages throughout the project.

Designers and copywriters may show you samples throughout the project to gauge if the project is meeting expectations. If you really dislike the sample, then you need to speak up so the designer or copywriter can discuss alternatives with you. If you are not comfortable verbally communicating this, chuck it in an email. We would rather know sooner than later if the project isn’t as you envisioned so we can work our magic and create something that you absolutely love.

We hope these tips help you in your mission to hire a designer or copywriter.

If you are a small business owner and are feeling a little overwhelmed about contacting a designer or copywriter, please email one of us or message on our socials to see how we can help you with your branding or marketing project. We don’t bite, promise! 😊