@Marya – I love how you said it: “The more I research, the better I write.” I’ve found this to be true for me as well.

@Bill – Thanks!

@Colin – I can see how it would get easier once you get past the first few minutes. A problem I’ve encountered is getting customers to keep their commitments. They tend to view the interview as a low priority, so it’s easy for them to brush it off.

Ryan

@Marya – I love how you said it: “The more I research, the better I write.” I’ve found this to be true for me as well.

@Bill – Thanks!

@Colin – I can see how it would get easier once you get past the first few minutes. A problem I’ve encountered is getting customers to keep their commitments. They tend to view the interview as a low priority, so it’s easy for them to brush it off.

Ryan

I totally agree with everything you suggest: I’d have to say I do 80% research and 20% writing. The more I research, the better I write – I find what I “own” through research makes the writing part flow so quickly I can hardly keep up with it.

I do have to say though, with Point # 7, a lot of my online clients don’t want to give up information to the point of being secretive, which I find very odd, since you’d think they’d want their copywriter to know their product or services inside and out.

My offline clients are the absolute reverse – they’ll inundate me with plastic crates full of reports, brochures, ad clippings, data, excel flowcharts, going back to the dawn of time!

There’s a whole different culture on the net, it seems.

Marya Miller

But after a few good minutes explaining more of what I do, they tend to ease into it OK. I’ve had mostly good ones after the first few minutes of the “am i being interrogated” phase.

Got really good angles that the client couldn’t articulate herself.

But after a few good minutes explaining more of what I do, they tend to ease into it OK. I’ve had mostly good ones after the first few minutes of the “am i being interrogated” phase.

Got really good angles that the client couldn’t articulate herself.

I totally agree with everything you suggest: I’d have to say I do 80% research and 20% writing. The more I research, the better I write – I find what I “own” through research makes the writing part flow so quickly I can hardly keep up with it.

I do have to say though, with Point # 7, a lot of my online clients don’t want to give up information to the point of being secretive, which I find very odd, since you’d think they’d want their copywriter to know their product or services inside and out.

My offline clients are the absolute reverse – they’ll inundate me with plastic crates full of reports, brochures, ad clippings, data, excel flowcharts, going back to the dawn of time!

There’s a whole different culture on the net, it seems.

Marya Miller

I think the one place where I fall down is number 7. I think I’ve been hesitant to ask my customers to do more research. But Makepeace is right: the customer knows more than anyone else about the subject.

Hope and your family are doing well…