Campaign and print copywriting
Hire a copywriter who cut his teeth in print
Print has not stopped working. As so much marketing has moved online, a well-judged advert, brochure or piece of direct mail can command attention precisely because it is physical.
But print is expensive to design, produce and distribute. The copy has to earn its place. It needs to attract the right reader, make a convincing case and give them a reason to respond.
I have been writing professionally since 1998 and working as a freelance copywriter since 2006. My career began in magazine publishing, before digital production had completely taken over. Today, I use that experience to write advertising and campaign copy for professional services firms, specialist businesses and agencies.
What I can write for you
You may need one important piece of print or a central message that works across a complete campaign. Either way, I will help you work out what needs to be said, how to structure it and what the reader should do next.
Direct mail and sales letters
Direct mail gives you space to make a proper case to a carefully chosen audience. I can help you develop the offer, identify the strongest reasons to respond and write copy that holds attention from the envelope to the final call to action.
Print advertising
An advert may have only a few seconds to do its job. I write headlines and supporting copy that make the point quickly without reducing a complicated service to an empty slogan.
Brochures and capability statements
A good brochure should do more than describe your organisation. It should help a prospective client understand what you offer, why it matters and why they should trust you to deliver it.
Prospectuses, reports and technical guides
Longer publications need a clear structure as well as accurate copy. I can turn interviews, notes and technical source material into something your intended audience can understand and use.
Campaign concepts and messaging
If several pieces need to work together, I can help develop the main proposition, campaign message, headlines and calls to action. This gives your designer, agency or internal team a clear idea to carry across the campaign.
Supporting digital copy
Print campaigns rarely exist in isolation. Where necessary, I can also write the emails, landing pages and other digital copy that support the same message and move readers towards the same action.
Print taught me to get it right
My first job after university was as Assistant Editor of a historical magazine. It was 1998, but we still produced each issue using camera-ready copy.
That meant laying out pages on boards, positioning the text, gluing in illustrations and sending the finished package to one of the remaining firms that could photograph and print it.
There was no content management system and no quick online correction after publication. Once the issue had gone to print, every word, caption and page had to be right.
That experience taught me habits that still matter. Check the details. Think about how the words work with the design. Respect the available space without sacrificing the argument. Make the copy as strong as it can be before committing money to production.
I do not just understand print in theory. It is where I learnt my trade.
Learning from the copywriting pioneers
When I became a freelance copywriter in 2006, I was not stuck in the past. I had learnt to hand-code HTML and build my own websites. I followed the rise of blogging, social media, search engine optimisation and the other changes reshaping marketing.
But I also wanted to understand why some advertising worked and some did not. So I read everything I could by people such as Claude Hopkins, John Caples, Louis Victor Eytinge, David Ogilvy and Drayton Bird.
Their work came from different periods, but the underlying questions remain useful:
- Who is the campaign trying to reach?
- What does that audience care about?
- Which benefits matter most to them?
- What proof supports the claims?
- What might stop them from responding?
- What should they do next?
These writers understood that advertising copy had to earn its keep. They knew the difference between a feature and a benefit. They compared what worked with what did not and used what they learnt to improve the next campaign.
Those principles still shape the way I work.
Copywriting for firms with reputations to protect
I mainly work with professional services firms and specialist businesses, including accountants, insurers, insurance brokers and solicitors.
Their marketing has to persuade without sacrificing accuracy. An exaggerated claim, factual error or clumsy explanation can undermine the credibility the campaign is supposed to build.
I am used to working with complicated services, technical source material and several people who need to approve the final copy. I can ask specialists the right questions, understand what they tell me and turn it into clear, persuasive English.
With more than two decades of professional writing experience, I also know when to challenge a weak argument and when a detail needs checking before it goes any further.
Working with agencies
I often work behind the scenes for marketing and design agencies.
I can work from your brief, adapt to the client’s tone of voice and collaborate with account managers, designers and other specialists. I am equally comfortable contributing to the initial campaign thinking or taking an agreed concept and turning it into finished copy.
If your client needs an experienced copywriter for an important print or advertising project, I can become part of the project team while respecting your relationship with the client.
Practical questions
A few things people ask
Can you write both print and digital campaign materials?
Yes. Although my career began in print, I have built and written for websites since the early days of commercial digital publishing. I can write the print and digital elements of a campaign so that they share one message without forcing identical copy into different formats.
Can you work with our designer or agency?
Yes. I regularly work with designers, agencies and internal marketing teams. I can supply finished copy for an agreed layout or collaborate on the structure and campaign idea before the design is finalised.
Do you work with technical or regulated subjects?
Yes. Much of my work is for professional services firms and specialist businesses. I am comfortable interviewing experts, working from technical material and handling copy that needs careful checking and approval.
Can you improve copy we have already written?
Yes. I can edit and restructure an existing draft, or tell you when starting again would produce a stronger result.
How much does campaign and print copywriting cost?
The fee depends on what you need, how much research is involved and how many campaign elements must work together. Once I have seen the brief, I can recommend an appropriate scope and provide a clear quotation.
Planning a campaign or print project?
Tell me what you are producing, who it needs to reach and what you want the reader to do.
I will help you work out what copy the project needs and how I can contribute.