To Meet or Not to Meet?

I've been trying to meet with a client in Massachusetts. We've scheduled a meeting three times. Each time, the meeting coincided with a snow storm. The third time, I turned around enroute because driving conditions were so bad that I was crawling down the highway at 7 miles an hour in terrible traffic. It would take half a day to get where I was going and I would miss the appointment.


Virtual meetings save time, money and aggravation (such as sitting in traffic for three hours) -- but there are times when they are not enough. Here are just a few times when I find that there is no substitute for a face-to-face meeting:

• I need to see an actual product, manufacturing process or organization to clearly communicate its unique qualities
• I am working with a group of people and everyone has his or her own ideas about priorities, approaches, etc.
• I want to present and discuss a variety of concepts
• I would like the opportunity to explain a concept before the client looks at the materials (NOBODY reads explanatory cover emails when there are fun attachments to open)
• I'm doing a free-ranging information gathering interview to uncover great topics or angles for marketing materials and PR
• A project is languishing on the back burner and needs to be rejuvenated
• A personal connection is important to the story that I am telling about a company

Recent Projects

Lots of variety this week! Here are a few projects that I'm working on right now:

• Press releases, press releases, press releases!
• Media relations program for a wholesale supplier of European watchbands, dog collars and phone covers
• Major update for an e-commerce website for industrial tools
• Series of lead nurturing emails for the client of a marketing firm
• Web content for a marketing firm client
• Copy for some fun e-newsletters

Contact me if I can help you with your project!

4 Ways to Reduce Writing Costs

Often, only a tiny portion of my fee is actually for writing. Instead, my time is devoted to helping my client identify his or her goals or audience, doing basic research, or fielding insights, requests and revisions from multiple people within an organization. This can be money well spent, but if you really only want to pay for writing services, here are a few quick ways to slash your costs:

1. Appoint one person to work with the writer -- It takes time to consolidate and sift through comments and revisions from an entire team. If you can assign one person to process all internal feedback and transmit the information to the writer, you can really trim your costs.

2. Establish deadlines -- The longer you let a project drag on, the more it is going to cost. If you hire an outside writer or creative team, try to make sure that the project doesn't get back-burnered when you get busy. Stops and starts (not to mention all the emails asking if you have had a chance to review copy, provide information etc.) take time and end up costing you money.

3. Know your goals -- It's great that you know you want to do an email campaign (or a brochure, new website, whatever) but also know who your audience is and what action you would like them to take as a result of the marketing contact. Try to identify a measurement to define whether or not this marketing effort is a success.  The more you know about your goals, the easier it is for the writer to create strong, effective copy.

4. Gather resources -- I start most projects with some research to identify competitors, industry trends, company culture, leading industry publications, etc. If you can provide a writer with suggested websites to visit, news items to read, publications to scan, or keywords to incorporate, you can slash your research costs.

Hourly Rate or Project Fee?

"What's your hourly rate?" That's almost always the first question that I'm asked, but the answer can be misleading. One writer might charge $50 per hour but work very slowly and require lots of revisions, while another writer might charge $100 per hour, but complete the work in half the time and get it just right. In this case, the writer charging $100 per hour is the better deal.

I prefer to quote a project fee, rather than an hourly rate. Here are a few reasons why:

1. You are not always comparing apples to apples when comparing hourly rates (see above)
2. Clients are often uncomfortable if they know the meter is ticking. Everyone relaxes when they know exactly how much a project will cost.
3. Some of my best ideas come when I am off the clock -- walking and driving are prime times for good ideas. Quite honestly, I don't want to record and bill for every productive minute in my day.
4. You can't put together an accurate project estimate without asking a lot of questions and really understanding a project. Sometimes the scope of the project changes once a client starts answering questions, or roadblocks are identified. The estimating process can bring clarity to a job.

Project fees usually specify whether revisions are included. I typically include one round of revisions with my project fee. If additional revisions are required, then most writers will bill hourly. What's my hourly rate? Contact me to find out!