Questions I Hear... A Lot

“What’s it like working with you?”

 

I’m very straightforward… partly because of my personality and partially because I’m busy all of the time. 

 

To avoid any confusion, I make it a point to establish:

• My hourly rate(s)

• an accurate hourly estimate for the project

• any required deadlines

 

Once this is all agreed upon, you can send me a creative brief and/or fill out one of my questionnaires so I’ll have all the information I’ll need to complete the project.

 

“Are you open to long-term partnerships, or just one-offs”

 

I’m open to both!

 

To ensure fairness across the board, I work on a first-come, first-serve basis. This means:

• when I commit to a project, you can trust it’ll be done by, if not before, your deadline

• your project will be added to my ‘priority list’ which I use to ensure I don’t take on too many projects at once

• I never overbook projects

• if I know a long-term project needs to be worked on a consistent basis (weekly,monthly, etc.) then I factor that in before accepting work from others

• the longer I work with a client, the faster I’m typically able to complete tasks (less research, less effort adapting to tone of voice, etc.)

 

“How do you ensure you can meet your deadlines?”

 

To ensure fairness and transparency for all of my clients, I operate on a first come, first serve basis. 

 

I always have a list of various projects that I’m working on. So, if you come to me with a request, I’ll be upfront as to whether I can meet your proposed deadline or not. To be clear, I have a strict policy of not taking on more projects that I can handle. Doing so stretches me too thin, compromising the integrity of each project in the process.

 

In other words, once I commit to a project, I will follow through 100% of the time.  

 

“What is your policy for revisions?”

 

In the event that revisions are needed, due to information that I missed from your creative brief, or theoretical lack of following directions, I’ll make any necessary revisions free of charge.

 

However, if you say, change your mind or decide you “just don’t like it”, I’ll bill you for revisions on the same agreed-upon rate as usual.

 

So if the mistakes are my fault, I’ll fix them for free. If they’re your fault, you’ll be charged for them. That said, I’m pretty reasonable.

 

“What does your writing process look like?”

 

To succeed in my field, you have to understand what you’re selling beyond the tangible. More times than not, there’s a core emotion or intangible ‘desire’ within your core offer. I usually start from there, then work backwards.

 

For instance, convenience usually sells time. Time means you can let your customer fill in the blanks of what they’d rather be spending their time on – thus, essentially letting them ‘auto fill’ their desire.

 

So, I start with an intangible desire, weave that in with an appropriate emotion, then use that to tell my story.

​

“Have you ever missed a deadline or took on too much work”?

 

Actually, yes – in 2020. I was a bit too ambitious and bit off more than I could chew. The project was for a VSL (Video Sales Letter), for a not-so-great client. The client was receptive at first, but her tone changed as the project continued. Overall, it was a rare failure.

 

I realized at this time that I can’t ‘bang out’ or ‘grind’ this line of work. It has to be done with care. That’s why I’m so particular when it comes to communication and strategy. It’s so I can ensure knowing that this blunder won’t happen again.

 

“How do you adapt to comments or revision requests”?

 

When comments and revision requests are done ‘right’, you can find a sense of consistency, whether that be tone, topic or choice of words. If these are somewhat consistent, I can typically connect the dots. If there are inconsistencies, then I’ll have a list of questions for you so we can be sure I’ll get it right for the second round.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Have a not-so-common question? Shoot me a message below!