Award-winning journalist and freelance copywriter, Susanna K. Hutcheson, presents news, thoughts and ideas on the world of business, marketing, copywriting and much more.

What Copywriting Clients Want and What You Should Give Them.

It's hard to please many copywriting clients. You may be the greatest copywriter alive. But you'll get your share of dissatisfied clients. Or, if you offer refunds (a very bad practice), you'll get lots of them as people will use you and then ask for their money back. Don't offer refunds. Doctors don't. Lawyers don't. You shouldn't. That is for products and non-professionals.

But, I digress.

Why are some clients dissatisfied? The reason, in most cases, is simple. They expect you to regurgitate their thinking and write their thoughts and ideas --- not yours. Of course, they won't tell you that. They may not even know that's what they want. But, it is.

I'll give you an example. A client wanted a print ad. I interviewed him for about an hour and recorded the conversation, as is my practice. In going over the interview, I captured the whole ad in his own words. I wrote the ad and he loved it. Why? Not because of my writing but rather because he heard his own beloved voice in the ad. He heard his precious thoughts and ideas in his ears and through his eyes.

The ad didn't pull too well so he asked me to write another one. This time I wrote it using my own thinking and style and it pulled extremely well.

Having said that, many times the client will give you extremely valuable information in the interview. It can be incorporated in the advertising. But, not always. The client is in love with his own thoughts, his own ideas. What many want is for you to write his thoughts and ideas. It's your job to determine if that's in his own best interest or not. If you decide it's not and use your own judgment, he probably will not like your copy. But, if he's smart enough to use it, he'll be grateful.

Taking this a bit further, clients want great copy and wonderful service. Trouble is, they don't want to pay for it. For example, you can get slogans written from $395 for a package to $2000 a package to $20,000 or more. What makes the difference in price? Usually it's the amount of time and work the copywriter puts into the job of creating the slogan.

My preference when creating a slogan is to interview a number of my client's customers. That will generally give me the USP (unique selling proposition) and lots of other valuable information. But, in reality, that's expensive. It takes lots of my time. Lots fo work. And the fee would be around $15,000 to $20,000. Clients won't or can't pay that.

So I offer a package. I work from the information they send me. It's hard to come up with a really terrific slogan that way. That means some dissatisfied clients. Clients simply do not understand how much work is involved in "real" copywriting. And, frankly, most of us can't afford to do that sort of copywriting because clients will not pay for it.

The executives of Nike didn't especially like the "Just Do It" slogan when they first heard it. But Dan Wieden, of Wieden and Kennedy Advertising Agency believed they had a winner. Of course, he was right and the Nike executives were wrong.

The bottom line is this: You'll not please all of your clients. Many will be totally unhappy with you. Don't let them get you down or make you feel as if you're not good at your craft. If they don't even try your copy, they have absolutely no way to know if it's good or not. Their judgment is not the final word on the value of your copy. You should always write to make sales --- not to please your clients.

Famous copywriter, Eugene Schwartz, said that he missed the mark many times with his writing. No one hits the ball out of the park every time. But, if you're a good copywriter, your value is not diminished by one or two or a dozen unhappy clients. Nor is it diminished by some ads that don't work. There are many reasons ads don't work. Not all of it has to do with copy.

Forget the dissatisfied clients. Give clients what they're willing to pay for. That's all you can be expected to do.

It's Time To Re-Think Your Marketing Strategy.

Two years ago you could do well with clients who didn't have the large budgets and great products of more mature clients. Not so today. In this economy you must re-think your marketing strategy. Moreover, you must re-think the type of client you want to market to.

Clients who could afford your service a year or two ago can no longer do so in many cases. So, unless you're willing to lower your fees, you need to market for more substantial clients. Lowering your fees is seldom a good idea. The only time you should lower your fees is to offer less service. Since that won't make you look good long-term, I suggest you don't do that.

Sit down sometime this week and think about your business. Where are you. How is your income? How does it stack up against one or two years ago? Then, consider how to reposition yourself and market yourself to a new class of client.

Fact is, most everyone is experiencing a severe slowdown. But there are smart folks out there who know they must have their own marketing strategy evaluated and start doing something major very quickly or they'll go out of business. That's where you come in.

While I only accept two clients and no more, there are others out there who can. Perhaps you can. Offer your best clients a strategy. Different copywriters charge different fees for a strategy. Some do a complete marketing plan. Others a more simple strategy. Either way, help your clients determine how they should change their marketing during this bad time.

Seriously reconsider where you are and where your clients are. It's time for you, and them, to re-think that all-important marketing strategy. If you don't, if they don't, times will get much worse very quickly.

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David Ogilvy, One of the Greatest Copywriters - His Story

The new book about David Ogilvy, The King of Madison Avenue is one of the best biographies I've ever read. It also tells about great copywriting and what sets it apart of most copywriting.

While the author knew and had a deep respect for David Ogilvy, he provides us with what I believe to be a very honest biography of the man. You will meet the real David Ogilvy. You'll see all of his great strengths but you'll also see his weaknesses and his less than appealing side.

Ogilvy learned much of his copywriting skills from his mentor and later brother-in-law, Rosser Reeves. He also took a good deal of value from the great Claude Hopkins. He was a listener. He asked everyone lots of questions.

When he was writing copy for an ad or when he had a new account, he dug deeply and discovered just what really made that product different. Then he wrote some of the greatest sales copy ever written.

For example, the people at Dove soap wanted to sell it on the basis that it was neutral --- neither acid nor alkaline. Ogilvy knew that wouldn't sell Dove. He was, after all, a salesman.

So he probed. He found out how Dove was made. And, oh yes, it had cold cream in it. That was it! "DOVE IS ONE-QUARTER CLEANSING CREAM-IT CREAMS YOUR SKIN WHILE YOU WASH."

That's what people pay a "great" copywriter for. That's why copywriters are not cheap and if they are cheap, they're not this good. Ogilvy found the one thing that would sell the product and it did sell. Dove sales, for example, took off.

I found this book extremely well-written. It's exciting and informative. The author gives us a balanced look at Ogilvy, from his beginnings through his great career.

I've found that great copywriting is a skill few people have. But, that's OK. Most clients won't pay for it anyway. I reserve my very best work for clients who can afford to pay me what I'm worth.

Should you try to be a great copywriter like Ogilvy? Should you dig for the real, single-most unique selling proposition that will really sell your client's product. Of course. But don't waste that sort of work on the low paying clients you'll likely get on the Internet. Reserve it for high-paying clients who understand and appreciate that sort of copywriting and advertising.

On the Internet you'll find people who go so far as to think they can write their own copy. They have absolutely no idea what real copywriting is. And, you can't educate them. Save your energy.

I advise you to work for a great agency if you can. If not, find just a very few really terrific, well-paying clients. Then you can afford to be great. Otherwise, just be good enough.