***

They ask for it often: A quick paragraph. A small logo. Some web design ideas. A photo or two. On spec, so they can decide if you’re the right creative for them. And if you’re desperate enough for the work, or to “get in” with that client, you’ll do it. But if you’re not, here’s my answer.

Dear [Prospective Client],

Thank you for making contact with me, and for asking me to work on your copy. I’d love to. However, even though you asked nicely, I’m not able to write up some spec copy for you, as a sample, so you can decide whether or not you want to use me.

I completely understand that, as we’ve never collaborated before, you want to be 100% sure I understand your brand language and corporate ID, as well as your needs, before committing to use me as your service provider. I also understand that you want some guarantee of what I can do before you approve my quotation.

But I don’t work on “spec”.

And here are six reasons:

• Good copy is informed copy. And informed copy can only emerge from client input, because you know your audience best. I need to understand your objectives, criteria for success, brand personality, competitors and many other things in order to produce the right content for you. And this is a process.
• Good copy comes from partnership. It’s not about a copywriter having a moment of inspiration and producing a quick masterpiece. If I work in isolation I can’t hope to write the right copy – because it will only tell half the story.
• Good copy takes time. Intelligent, relevant, appropriate copy needs to emerge from a sound understanding of your target market. Until I can interact and empathise with your users, or until I can learn everything there is to know about them via you, I can produce nothing more than a superficial content solution.
• Spec copy is a pretty picture, not a meaningful conversation. A “best guess”, created upfront as a sales tactic, is never going to be good copy. Yes, it may “wow” you. It may impress. But will it express what you need it to? Unlikely.
• Web copy, in particular, is more technical than you think. The writing of web copy starts quite far down the line; after I’ve had a chance to get to know you, your business, your users and your competition. And after several hours of Google tools, research, reading, review and SEO analysis. It’s not something that can be done right at the start of a project, before I’ve been awarded the job.
• Spec work makes other work more costly. If I took on spec work, I’d have to charge higher fees to cover work I produced but didn’t win. You’d be paying for failed pitches, as well as the one piece of work you were interested in. And for that kind of money, you may as well use an agency, not cost-effective little me.

Because I am a freelancer and not a big advertising agency, I’m not in the business of acquiring as many retainers as I can. I’m in the business of writing clean and high-quality copy that hits all of the clients’ important notes and that I can be proud of.

I’ve spent 10 years in the business, so I know my stuff. But more than that, I love my work and I’m proud of the diversity of projects I’ve worked on. Every copy deck has been crafted with thought and research, and with respect for the client.

Finally, I put all of my resources into every client that engages me because I don’t need to save my best ideas to sell myself to potential new clients, on a spec basis.

So, where does that leave you? Well, I’ve worked on copy for [180 clients over the last 10 years] – many of them, in your industry or in similar environments to yours. Why not have a look at the client list on my website, and let me know whose copy you’d be interested in reviewing… If I need their permission, I’ll get it. How’s that?

Thank you.

Best regards,

[Your Hopeful Freelancer]

***

[Note from Tiffany: This letter, tongue-in-cheek as it is, is not intended to be a blanket condemnation of spec work and anyone who takes it on. It's merely an explanation of why I choose not to. Having said that, if I were a beginner writer without a piece to my name, I'd consider writing on spec if the prospective client a) seemed serious, b) had a clear idea of brief and c) appeared to have a solid reputation; if I could use the work elsewhere if they turned it down; and if the spec work seemed likely to lead to other assignments and writing opportunities.]

***

A couple of months ago, you briefed me to write you some website copy. Optimised, for Google, but still charismatic. We had a blast working together, because you’re fun and your company does cool stuff and you knew what you wanted – and what you didn’t want. And when you weren’t sure of either, we worked it out together.

Your copy came out beautifully. There were a few tweaks here and there. And some extra changes. No charge for those. You’d given me a juicy job, and there’d be more. Your programmers placed the copy onto a test site, so we could look at it in situ. It looked amazing. But between my Version 5 and the test site upload, you guys made some changes on your side. A word here. A phrase there. A paragraph somewhere.

So I came in for a couple of hours to run through it all with you, online, and proof it. No charge. This was a goodwill visit. And anyway, I’d enjoyed the work so much. Aside from which, the copy felt like ‘mine’, and I wanted it to be 100% perfect.

Today you e-mailed me. You thanked me profusely for the copy, raved about the feedback you’d had and urged me to check it out, live, on the web. Which I did.

It looks glorious. Really. But I’m a bit choked up, to be honest. Because there are still errors in it. Somewhere in between the last set of on-screen changes I oversaw and this morning, someone added stuff in. Without Title Case to match the rest. With US spelling, when I’d used SA. With a couple of typos, spelling errors and poor grammar. It’s 90% mine, but it’s 10% wonky. Probably throughout; I can’t say…

And, I’m going to level with you here, I don’t have the energy to go through the 30-odd pages of your site to octuple-check it and list them all for you. Again. Because, like Garfield’s never-ending lasagne, there’s no resolution here. You know and love your business and you’ll be adding things forever. And I don’t want to be the evil writer-Nazi from hell who can’t enthuse about anything without pointing out its flaws.

I’m sorry, client. I’ll gladly work with you again, but my gimlet eye is watering. In an ideal world, you’d send me the changes/additions as you think of them, I’d run a time sheet in five- or ten-minute increments and, at the end of the month, I’d invoice for the hour or so of work require to keep things perfect. Or, I’d write off the hour or so of ad hoc changes on the back of other, regular, ongoing, juicy work in that month.

But the world isn’t ideal… So I’m writing this letter to make myself feel better. I’m taking a risk. I’m lowering my cards onto the table, with hordes of perfectionist freelance creatives at my shoulder (nodding sagely), and I’m hoping that the clients who are reading this have a look at them and hedge their bets a bit better next time.

Thank you.

Sincerely,

Your Freelancer

This piece originally appeared on the Freelancentral website as ‘ Client, my gimlet eye is watering -  A letter from your Freelancer’.

My latest Bizcommunity article, entitled ‘Get the most out of your freelance copywriter or editor‘ went live today. It deals with teaching clients how we work and what we need from them, in order to deliver the best job possible. It also provides a short list of questions for the client, to be used by clients in briefing their writers/editors or by freelancers in trying to locate the Holy Grail that is a clear brief. This is what Jo Duxbury of Freelancentral had to say about it:

“Tiffany, you’ve got this spot on… Many clients don’t see the value of getting their copy professionally written or edited, but it truly is a skill and can add so much to your communications. There’s no point spending thousands on beautiful design or a great web site, only to undermine your credibility with text that’s peppered with spelling and grammar mistakes, or copy that’s clunky and difficult to digest. Getting an outsider – a professional writer/editor – to review your copy may also help you spot the little gems in your offering that you perhaps can’t see as you’re too close to your business. At the very least, clients should hire a professional copy editor to ‘sanity check’ and proofread their copy. The Facebook group ‘I judge you when you use poor grammar’ is nearly half a million members strong… that’s pretty telling.”