Hire a copywriter on the front end of a project

I am often asked by clients to look at an existing copy doc and make it better. They say it needs a little “editing.”  Or they ask if I could just “massage the copy a bit.” I do what I can, of course. But more times than not, it’s like Quasimodo asking me to massage out that little kink in his shoulder.

Sometimes, the copy is given to my client by his client or boss, and my client quite rightly wants it to be better.  Many times, the copy has been written by someone in house who really isn’t a promotional or persuasive writer.  To save a little money, I presume.  Or “try their hand” at it.

They have the headline and the visual and the copy, but for some reason the copy just isn’t working out and, well, could I just take a look at it?  Many times, the problem is a bad headline or the concept (or lack of one) is poor; it doesn’t really communicate what’s important or, worse, tries to be cute to the detriment of meaning. Let me tell you, a bad headline can never be fixed with good copy. In fact, a bad idea will make your copy cry out in pain, no matter which masseuse you take it to.

When clients ask me to “massage the headline,” they really need a new one. And when they ask me to “edit” a really long, poorly written document, they need a complete rewrite.  Sometimes they know this, of course, but believe that calling it “editing” or “massaging,” instead of “writing,” will make it cheaper to fix.  It doesn’t.

Editing for grammar is one thing. But figuring out how to make someone else’s writing logical, compelling, engaging, persuasive and smart? That’s rewriting.  And nine times out of ten, this kind of “editing” takes longer than it would have had the client given me the raw information and let me write it from scratch. Even worse, the result is always a compromise.

Do yourself and me a favor. Hire me on the front end.  Let me be an architect.  Not a repairman.

I once saw a rough-and-tumble girls’ high school volleyball team wearing t-shirts that said, “Friends don’t let friends cheer.”  Rather hurtful, I guess, to their spunky, short-skirted, undulating classmates. But I can appreciate the attitude.  So if, in a moment of frustration,  I tell you that your (or your client’s) attempt at concept/copy is sub-par, remember, I’m being your friend.  I just want you to know that you can save money–and save face–and maybe even save a client–by hiring a good strategic, conceptual writer in the first place. Do that, and no one gets rubbed the wrong way.