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How to effectively make use of your freelance writer

by Marsha Maung

Many people have come to me voicing their problems about using freelance writers and then they curiously ask me, “How in hell do you survive? I don’t think I can trust another freelance writer again – not in the very near future, anyway”. How do freelance writers survive? Gosh….I’ve never asked me the same question. I guess freelance writers like me just roll with the punches, I guess. But what I think this fellow was trying to get at was this – how to work with your freelance writer in such a way that thing get done fast, does not cost a whole truckload of money and does not zap your patience like hyperactive kids.

OK, then let me start answering this question by saying that I’ve got huge problems as a freelance writer. Being a copywriter or writer is not easy….not being a good one, anyway because here’s what a good freelance copywriter needs to do. Say, Mr. A who owns a boutique comes over to me and say, “Hey, you! You’re a freelance writer. Now, I’ll give you XXX amount of dollars and you write my copy for me in two days”.

What does a freelance writer do
If I take the project on, what I have to do is this….I have to sit down, surf the web, read materials and download stuff so that I understand the industry. I am in the freelance writing industry, not the fashion industry and if he wants me to write something powerful and believable for him, I’ve got to, first, UNDERSTAND his industry, his market, his products and find something to yap about. Whilst being a good yapper often makes a good copywriter, that’s not all there is to it. OK, so boutique was a very general type of business….now, how about fixing computers or maybe road building? I know absolutely nothing about these stuff and if given the task, I would have to dig far and deep into the industry even before I can start writing something for the client.

Once I understand the industry, I would start writing a short draft of the copy and then hand it over to the client to see my points are there or if I hit any nail on the head. I hate to sound (or write) stupid (things) because my reputation is on the line! But being spot on the first time round is close to impossible since I am not there, sitting in the CEO’s chair in the piping company’s office. I am here, sitting in my sunken chair in front of my computer trying to earn my keep in this world as a freelance writer! My world and views are completely different from the client’s!

Help your freelance copy writer by providing points and as much information as possible
One of the ways that you can make the process a less painful one is to provide your contracted freelance copy writer with as much information as possible….be it in digital format or in the form of brochures or books. Everything that you think will help the freelance writer understand your world, hand it over to him/her. This shortens the process by a whole lot since the research process has been reduced by 70% or more – depending on the kind of information you provide him/her.

Provide realistic and accurate comments and feedback
As an experienced freelance writer, I don’t expect ALL my clients to come back to me singing praises about how wonderful the copy I have written was and how amazingly spot-in I was about everything! I expect feedback, constructive criticism and helpful guidance from the client. With this feedback, I will go on to edit the current copy, you see.

So, if the client tells me, “I don’t know. Something’s not right and I just don’t know what. Why don’t you tinkle around with it and see if it hits a spot?’

Here, here….take this gun and just shoot me. When you tell that to your freelance copywriter, you’re shoving the writer into a dark room and ask him/her to shoot around to see if he/she can shoot a bull’s eye! Direct, direct, direct.

Be specific with your feedback! “This headline over here is too strong. Can we tone that down a little bit?”, “I don’t like the word ‘abominable’. Try something more common”, “Remove this sentence or revise it, you’re making the customers sound stupid”.

Yes sir! On the job, sir!

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Note: Direct link to the image used above. (Typewriter) from website www.sxc.hu

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Marsha Maung is a Malaysian freelance writer albeit copywriter who started out her career as a writer writing copy for adverts. She has, since, branched out to writing web copy, content for websites, being a ghost writer, ghost blogger and search engine marketing expert. For more information on this amazingly (ahem!) talented freelance copywriter, visit http://www.marshamaung.com. For dirty details, head on over to her blog instead at http://marshamaung.blogspot.com