Contact and Communications Policies

As we work together, it is important that we streamline our communication.

During our project, I am available Monday through Friday from 9 AM to 1 PM and other times by appointment. In general, I use early mornings and afternoons for writing. The best way to reach me is through email at Deb@DebGriffithCopywriting.com. We can always speak by phone as needed. I will always respond.

Discussing the Project and Questionnaire

To get started with a potential project, I will send you a Discovery Questionnaire for you to complete. This helps us both be in sync with requirements and expectations for your project. My goal is to always maximize your results.

I will send the Questionnaire to you in a Word file by email. Please return it to me as soon as you can – most clients do this in 1 to 3 business days.

After I receive your Discovery Questionnaire, I will review it thoroughly and conduct any initial research needed. Next, I will outline a proposed Project Roadmap. This will save you time and make it easier for you to see how we proceed. We use this for our Launch Call.

Within 3 to 10 days after I receive your Discovery Questionnaire answers, I will schedule a 20-minute Launch Call with you. At that time, we will review the Project Roadmap. This is your opportunity to add any directions or insights that you may have about your project.

After that call, I will draft and send you an Agreement.

Investment and Getting Started

All specifics for deliverables, project deadlines, project investment, and terms of payment will be included in the Agreement. Please note that a signed Agreement and an initial deposit of 50% of the project total investment is needed for me to begin. This can be paid by PayPal, bank transfer services, direct deposit or by overnight check payment.
Research

To ensure that I maximize your results, I perform comprehensive research before I start writing. I completely review your website along with any other materials that you send to me. Then I will research the market and your competitors. If necessary, I will ask to talk with members of your team, such as customer service, past clients/customers, or various department heads. This is one of the ways that I bring the power of story to work for you and one of the ways I find the most powerful story for you.

I will reach out to you for additional resources, details, or product samples, as needed.

After I have completed the research phase, I will have a greater understanding for your product, your voice, and your customer’s emotional triggers, as well as finding the right story.

Collaboration

I believe in effective communication for any project. This means I can work according to your preferences. You can choose to let me handle the project and only involve you when you need to review a draft. If you prefer a more hands-on approach, I am happy to communicate with you as needed.

Please email me with your preferences on your preferred frequency of communication as well as how you would like to be contacted.

Review of First Drafts

For most projects, you can expect to receive the first draft in 10 to 14 business days, depending upon the size and scope. White papers can take as long as 2 months, depending upon the availability of interviewees and resource materials.

Once you receive my first draft, please review it carefully to make sure the tone, message, and offer suit your needs. This can be fine tuned in additional drafts as needed. The project rewrites will need to fall within the scope of the project as outlined in our Agreement, however.

If the direction or the scope changes, it will be considered a new project, Then, an additional investment on your part would apply.

Revisions

After you review the initial draft, it is likely that you will want some things to be changed. Please note those changes using the track change feature in Word.

I will review all of your suggested changes within 24 business hours of your submitting them to me. I will make my adjustments within 2 – 4 business days, depending upon the breadth and complexity of your suggested changes.

In all cases, I recognize that these are your customers and will defer to you as much as possible.

Sometimes, there are cases where clients make suggestions that I know will not work and will hurt profits. In those cases, you can expect me to be direct in my feedback. When clients insist on changes that I fell will not work, I always recommend a simple A/B split test to let the market decide.

Additional Reviews

I want you to be happy with the finished product. Therefore, we can continue to fine tune the copy until it’s right. In many cases, one round of changes is enough. With each additional round, the number of requested changes typically decreases. I suspect we could get to a final copy within 1 to 3 business days.

Final Approval

Once all revisions are done, I will submit a final draft to you. At this point, you approve the copy by sending me an email stating that everything is ready for distribution.

Once I receive this final approval from you, I will invoice you for the remaining 50% of the project investment. The invoice is due upon receipt. I will make every effort to be prompt in responding to your requests and assume that, as a professional, you will do the same with my invoices.

In most cases, the final copy is sent to a designer for formatting. I strongly encourage you to send me a PDF of the final version. I will double check that any graphical elements added by your design team enhance the copy and make it more effective.

If I see something that is distracting and may hurt your response rates, I’ll be direct in letting you know. If requested, I’m happy to work with your design team to make any changes needed to make the end version as effective as possible.

Transition to New Projects

Once the project is done, I provide all of my clients with a complimentary follow-up consultation. We spend a few minutes on the phone and discuss what went well and where improvements can be made.

We review the Discovery Questionnaire and discuss additional ways to uncover new projects. Where appropriate, we map out a new project to ensure that you continue to have excellent copy that meets your goals and grows your business.