Copywriting tip #829 – fight the fear, nail the brief.

Clients expect a lot from you when you're a freelance copywriter – such as doing a great job of explaining their niche business so people understand it. Here's how I do it.

One of the trickiest things about being a freelancer is regularly having to step outside your comfort zone. Overwhelming feelings of "What the f**k am I doing here" are par for the course.

I've been writing digital (and – gasp! – print) copy long enough to know this will pass. And that the quickest way to kill your internal doubter is to start doing the thing you've been asked to do.

Seriously. Just write already.

All the noise that precedes this clouds your mind with information that whoever is briefing you thinks is massively important. They forget you're an outsider to their world. And that information overload isn't helpful.

They don't know that what they are actually doing is feeding your fear monster.

So have faith in your abilities. Read the brief, start your craft.

Falling back on your copywriting muscle memory

Whenever I shut out the noise and start writing, muscle memory kicks in – and I start doing what I do best. I realise why people hired me.

And once I'm in the zone, my understanding of the subject – no matter how complex – grows. And I feel better equipped to take on more information.

So try this:

1/ Read the brief

You always need at least an hour and maybe two or three to fully read the brief a few times and read any supporting materials. You need to tell yourself, "I get this," before you begin, especially when you have an important corporate copywriting assignment.

2/ Fend off meetings with people in eight departments and a dozen Slack channels

It's understandable that your client wants you to know everything there is to know about their business, and while occasionally a serious round of onboarding lasting several days is required, most of the time it just isn't.

Think about it: if a client talks about their business for five hours, that's around 40,000 words they're asking you to take in. For a website containing 1,000 words, the maths just don't add up.

3/ Start the work

Once you've done the prelim work outlined in step 1, just start writing. Putting this off because you keep getting new info will add to the internal pressure you're putting on yourself to deliver. So write – and you'll quickly tell yourself, "Everything's OK here."

4/ Identify gaps in your knowledge

This is really important. It would be arrogant to say you can nail any brief with just an hour or two's prelim work. You need to start writing to see where you need more information.

Jot down any holes in your text with notes to self along the lines of, "Need more about the management structure here," or "Find out if payment can be split over 3 months," or whatever.

5/ Get your inside expert to fill you in

Ask your contact if you can check in with them habitually for help with your copy. I prefer them to provide answers by email, as it requires them to condense their thoughts – and saves endless phone calls where you're being overwhelmed all over again.

In this way, YOU control the process. You'll feel less like the puppet – and more like the master. And it is a process – as I discuss in this breakdown of how long it takes to write a website.

I've been copywriting so long now that I can spot a "nightmare brief" a mile off. And I know how to politely say no to client requests to devour 15 documents, attend five client briefings and come see their CEO give a conference in Geneva.

If you're being paid five figures and the work will last months, then just maybe you will need to do this.

The rest of the time? Try following the five steps above.

New to copywriting? Check out my post about client red flags for new copywriters.

Written by Mike Peake, UK freelance copywriter and website copwyriter.

E: hello@bymikepeake.com

T: +44 (0)208 133 4306

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