Questions I Often Hear About Freelance B2B Copywriting …

This might be your first time dropping by my website. Maybe you’re looking for a freelance B2B copywriter because you’ve got too much on your plate right now. Or, you just might be curious about what “The Engineer’s Copywriter” means.

But it’s more likely that you need a specific type of freelance commercial writer. You need a writer with the technical background of an engineer, but who can also write clearly. You have a B2B offering (a B2B product, service, technology or method) that you’re selling and you need it described well – and persuasively – to your buying audience.

Whatever your reasons for stopping by, you may already have some of the questions I often hear.

So without having to pick up the phone or sending me an email, you can get many of those questions answered right here.

Q. What types of projects can you handle?

I can handle a wide variety of B2B copywriting projects. This includes some of the longer writing forms like feature articles, white papers and case studies.

I’m comfortable writing for the web too. I can create your landing pages, product pages, email messages and blog posts. I can even help launch your business start-up by creating an entire WordPress website or overhaul the copy on your existing site.

Q. Website overhaul? What’s that mean?

Maybe …

• Your website hasn’t been updated in years.
  
• Or your offering has changed.
  
• Or you’re losing sales because your website message isn’t right for your technical audience.

With an overhaul I’ll identify your key marketing messages. Then I'll see that they’re translated and working properly all across your website pages.

My commitment to you can be a simple as describing where you need to make changes. Or we can take the next step with me writing the custom web content that will give you the most dramatic results.

Q. Your website says, “The Engineer’s Copywriter.” What’s that mean?

I have an engineering education. Many of my friends are engineers. I worked as a professional engineer for 12 years. I’ve designed and written software programs. I’ve written complex system requirements. I’ve reviewed technical proposals.

I know how engineers think. I know the typical concerns they have when making buying decisions.

So if you expect engineers will be reading your marketing materials, you can be assured that my writing will speak to them.

Q. What kinds of marketing courses have you completed?

I’ve taken some general marketing and advertising courses through the certified Coursera route. This includes:

• An Introduction to Marketing from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania
  
• Advertising and Society from Duke University

I have a complete balance of copywriting courses under my belt from AWAI, including:

• Secrets of Writing High Performance B2B Copy
  
• B2B Websites — Developing Content that Builds Authority and Develops Leads
  
• Web Copywriting 2.0 — Complete Guide to Writing Web Copy That Converts
  
• The Accelerated Program for Copywriting

You can feel confident I’ve got the tools and training as a B2B copywriter to deliver your marketing needs.

Q. What can I expect from working with you?

Breathe easy, because I work hard from the beginning at being easy to work with.

After we’ve gone over your project requirements on the phone I’ll send a simple Fee Agreement. This makes it clear what I’ll be delivering and when. For bigger projects I stage the deliverables to avoid misunderstandings, false starts and rework.

But if I feel unsure of producing what you want, don’t worry. I’m not about to take on work I can’t handle. You expect more than that from a professional freelance writer.

When we commit to each other, you can be assured of getting your marketing messages delivered on time, on budget … and error-free.

Every project with you starts with research. I will need to begin with most everything you've used to develop your offering. This may be:

• Any information you have on the market (the real people you are selling to)
  
• Any customer surveys you've conducted
  
• Any good and bad customer feedback you've received
  
• An interview (phone or email) with the creator or lead engineer for your offering
  
• A list of any competing offers on the market and some of your thoughts about what makes your offer better than the rest

Then I’ll be on my way, digging into everything you’ve given me. I'll draw on my own engineering experiences, and look for answers to my own questions.

If I can’t find answers to those questions, I will make them as concise as possible and email them to you one-at-a-time. But I’m not expecting you to hold my hand. I’ll only send questions if I’m really stuck …

If I'm struggling to get the words just right, I will do my best job with a paragraph and then ask you for a quick review. I'm not going to let these parts of the project get stuffed into the final package, hoping no one will notice. They will. And certainly your buyers will notice.

We need to get all the elements right. It must be done well! You expect that first draft from me will be as clean as possible, right?

Q. But I’ve got a tight deadline to meet. Can you start working on my project right away?

Well, the short answer is … it depends on your timing.

If we’ve got it defined in my Fee Agreement, I insist that I meet those goals.

But I’m not about to jeopardize the work I’m doing for my existing clients. When we’re reviewing your project requirements I’ll be upfront about what’s going to fit my timetable.

You can be certain you’ll get a Fee Agreement telling you exactly when I’ll deliver your marketing materials. And I’ll deliver either on or before the deadline.

Q. How long will it take you to write my copy?

I like having 2-3 weeks for most copywriting projects. That gives me enough time to dig into the research, write, polish and revise what you need. But if I realistically believe I can do it sooner, I’ll let you know.

Q. What if I want to make revisions?

Every project I quote will have at least 2 rounds of revisions included.

But if your timing is reasonable and the revisions are within the project scope, I’ll do my best to make all revisions. I want you to be pleased with the final package.

Q. Can you do the design, too?

I’m not a graphical designer. But I can do some illustration mock-ups, usually by hand. These you can give to your own graphical designer.

With website projects, I can use WordPress themes to design a website. This will start you off with a very professional look.

As your business grows, you might want to hire your own web design team. For that approach, I can write your website content and lay it out within a Word document using text boxes. That way you’ll have the content positioned as I think it would work best on your website. Then, your web design team can take the copy from the textboxes and paste it where it belongs on your actual website.

Q. I see you’re based in Canada. But I’m in the US (or some other country). Can we still work together?

By all means we can still work together!

My work as a freelancer has no international borders. I’m only limited to writing for English-speaking markets – anywhere in the world.

I’ll quote my fees in Canadian dollars. So if you’re based in the US that’s like getting an up-front 30% price reduction because of the exchange rate difference.

Q. Do you ask for money up front?

If this is our first project together, I’ll invoice 50% of the total fee to secure our agreement. I’ll begin working when I receive that first payment. Then, I’ll invoice the project balance when I deliver your initial draft.

For your next projects, I’ll submit one total project invoice after I deliver the initial draft.

Q. How do I go about hiring you?

After we’ve talked on the phone, settled on the scope of your deliverables and the deadlines you want, I’ll send you a Fee Agreement.

If you’re happy, you sign and return the agreement and my work begins from there.

If you don’t like the Fee Agreement, no worries. You can either: a) let me know what’s not right for you and I’ll try to make adjustments, or b) decide we don’t have a fit, and move on.

If you have an immediate need for my freelance B2B copywriting services, or if you’ve still got a question that’s not answered above, call me right now at 780-999-6052 or email me the details at . There’s no charge to discuss your project and give you a cost estimate. And you’ve no obligation to hire me.

Need more info to decide if I'm is a good fit for your project? You can contact me today, and request my FREE Copywriting Information Kit. You'll get a PDF document with everything you need to know about me, including my fee schedule.