«Return to Blog List Case Study Copywriters: Juggle More for Your Clients
When we want to stock our kitchen, our family shops at three different grocery stores. We visit one store for seafood and organics, another for the kind of tortellini my son likes, and another for our favorite brand of salsa.
High maintenance? Probably. We want what we want. But at times it’s exhausting. It’s more stops of the car and more items on the to-do list – and more time out of the day.
That’s why one-stop shopping has become such a marketing buzzword. We’re all looking for every opportunity to cut steps in our daily lives, while still getting what we need.
The business world is no different. If you’re a copywriter, your clients are busy business owners and marketing folks who are looking for time-savers.
Copywriters can help. Consider how you can deliver one-stop shopping for your clients. That doesn’t necessarily mean writing all the marketing materials they need. After all, some of us bring expertise in specific niches (i.e. case studies).
Instead, consider handling more of the process for your clients. For example, I help many of my clients with design and project management. Adding these aspects means I take care of pretty much the entire project and deliver a ready-to-use marketing piece.
Want to be more of a one-stop shop copywriter? Here’s your playbook:
Add Design Services
Most clients publish case studies on their websites AND need an attractive PDF version for printing and distributing via email.
Even large clients or those with in-house designers may need occasional outside help. Clients who choose to engage my help with design fall into two categories:
• Organizations that have designers they work with – in house or contractors – but choose to have me coordinate the entire project to keep things simple.
• Organizations without designers that appreciate not having to find yet another vendor.
Some tips…
Find the right designer – Maybe you have writing AND design skills. If so, awesome. You’re already a one-stop shop. If not, partner with a designer. Choose a designer with work samples that match the type of clients you have. Some have a more whimsical, illustrative look while others are more corporate. A tech company would likely want a different look than a wellness coach. Consider working with a couple of designers to fit the various clients you have.
Ask about turnaround time – What’s the designer’s typical turnaround time? You want to ensure that the person is responsive when you need them. Also, have them let you know whenever they’re going to be out of the office so you can plan for that.
Ask about files – One of my clients likes to have copies of the InDesign (or other) files just in case they want to make changes themselves in the future or change vendors.
Equip the designer – Get your client’s logo, typefaces, color schemes and preferences to the designer, along with other sample marketing materials or the client’s website URL so that the designer can match the look of the client’s other materials.
Create a template – Engage the designer to create the template for case studies (or other collateral), and then to place each case study into the template. I price these separately: a one-time fee for template creation and then each layout.
Proof designs – Review layouts to ensure typos have not crept in.
Send one bill – Create a single invoice for writing and design. Add a little mark-up over what you pay the designer to account for your time in guiding the designer and shuttling versions back and forth.
Add Project Management
With multiple interviews and customer review cycles, case study projects demand more project management than other types of writing assignments. Save your clients all that legwork by handling the pieces.
For case studies, add the following to your writing and editing:
- Schedule and conduct all interviews
- Record interviews and provide transcripts (if requested)
- Manage review and signoff with the featured customer
- Collect graphics such as logos and photos
When you deliver writing, design and project management, it means fewer invoices for clients to process, fewer emails and fewer tasks on their lists. Also, by boosting your value to them, you can charge higher fees as you become the preferred, one-stop provider.
This is really good advice, Casey. Clients LOVE it when contractors they trust can make their lives easier.
Thanks Daphne! So true. I give clients the option of paying me less and doing more of the pieces themselves, or paying more for me to handle the various pieces – and nearly all choose for me to do extra parts of projects for them.