So, your IT company needs content, and your in-house writers don’t have the skills or the time to work on the project. You need to hire a freelance technical copywriter, and you have a ton of questions:
- How much will it cost?
- Can she be ready with the content by our deadline?
- What kind of content do I need?
Each freelancer is different, and while I can’t speak for them, let me tell you a bit about me and how I work with clients.
Details, Details, and more Details
When we start talking about your project, I like to get as much information from you as possible, such as:
- What type of content do you need? Website pages, landing pages, email autoresponders, case studies, white papers, or social media management?
- Do you have a target word- / page- count for this copy?
- What is your objective for this content? (Lead generation, sales, informational, etc.)
- Is this a brand-new project, or a rewrite of existing content?
- If it’s a rewrite, can you send me any previous copies of the content?
- If it’s new, is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) available for me to interview?
- What is your timeline for this project?
- What is your budget for this project?
1 and 1 are 2, 2 and 2 are 4…
After I receive all this information from you, I calculate a project-based fee. This fee includes two rounds of revisions prior to delivery of the final copy, as well as two rewrites after the final copy delivery, as long as they’re requested within 30 days of receipt of that final copy, and they’re not a result of a project scope change.
That might sound like a lot of conditions, but it’s really not. Most projects flow smoothly, and you don’t even realize that we’ve had all the reviews and revisions by the time you receive the final copy.
We have a deal
Once we agree to work together on your project, and before I start writing, I require a 50% deposit of the project fee, payable either by PayPal (my preference) or company cheque. After I receive the deposit, I work with you to create a detailed project plan and content outline, including an overall timeline, which you approve before I start interviewing or writing.
On your marks, get set, go!
Next up is the writing. I gather all the information you’ve sent me, conduct interviews with the SMEs, and write a first draft for you. Turnaround of that first draft depends on a number of factors, like the specific content type, quality of the information you’ve sent, and availability of the SMEs. Regardless, I work to get this first draft ready for your review according to the agreed-upon project plan.
I’ll send you a copy of the content, and you have your stakeholders and SMEs review it, being sure to track all of their comments. Consolidate everyone’s comments into one document and then send it back to me. Sometimes it’s necessary to go over the edits/comments together, but it’s not usually the case. It takes me 2-3 days to incorporate the feedback into a second draft, and if necessary, we do another round of reviews.
It looks good, now what?
After all the reviews and approvals are done, I prepare the final copy of the content for you. The balance of the project fee is now due, and once that’s received, I forward you the final copy of the content.
This particular project is now finished, but I hope it’s not the end of our relationship. I like to stay in touch with existing clients, so that the next time you need a freelance technical writer, you won’t have look very far.
Contact me today to find out just how quick and easy it is to get your next copywriting project started (and completed.)
