The next step for making your writer your best ally: great budgeting

Through close work with a client base that ranges from fashion to pharma and consumer goods to high-level B2B, our team of copywriters has learned some important lessons about creating the best client-writer relationships.

What works? What doesn't? How can you get the best results from your copywriter – and thoroughly enjoy the whole process? This summer, we're discussing the steps you can take to make your copywriter your company's best ally:

Briefing • Budget • Process • Wrap-up

In the second article of the series, we talk about the all-important...

Budget

A good budget provides a range to accommodate any extra conversations or last-minute tweaks. And you should know exactly what you’re getting for your money.

Top tip: If you know up-front how much you’d like to spend on the project – particularly if your budget is limited – let your writer know. He or she is there to help you, and can immediately start thinking about ways to get the most out of the time you have.

Here are some key points the budget has to cover:

• Does the briefing count as part of the budget? How about meetings? Make sure it’s clear how many hours of meeting time you have, and what rate will be charged for additional time.
• Do you want a copy platform with an outline you can approve before your copywriter perfects the text? That’s an extra phase to factor in.
• Are two rounds of revisions enough or does your company typically need more back-and-forth? 
• Will the changes come back to the copywriter in one document or will the copywriter have to work through several people’s comments? The latter is less efficient and takes more time to go through, so keep that in mind.
• Does the budget include last-minute changes? How many?
• Does it include a final proofread in layout? This is often a neglected phase – yet probably one of the most important for your company’s image. A great company should have flawless communication materials, plain and simple.

Top tip: Word count just might be one of the most underestimated elements in the copywriting process. When you ask for website or annual report copy, for example, it matters – a lot – whether a section is 200 or 500 words. Discuss word count with your copywriter before he or she prepares a budget. More discussion › less miscommunication › a process you both enjoy.

Stay tuned for the third section in the guide – the writing process – in the next issue of WordSpin.

Related articles:
The final steps for getting the most out of your copywriter: writing process and wrap up
Your guide to getting the most out of your copywriter - step 1