So, you’re thinking about working with a copywriter.

And you may be vaguely curious as to how things might unfold if you bring me into your fold.

(If you weren’t thinking either, what the heck are you doing on this page? Here, go watch this video that hilariously depicts the true horror of tabletop gaming.)

But the question “How do I work?” is a little loaded, because there’s two parts to it:

1. How I work in harmony with you to deliver tip-top and timely copy
2. How I work to craft that copy for maximum persuasiveness and power

Ultimately, you want copy that’s going to get results… so let’s start with #2: how I go about making your copy the tip-toppiest it can be. 

SERPO: The Secret To Smashingly Good Copy

(And Just Not An Interstellar Alien Conspiracy)

If you’re up-to-date with conspiracy theories, you know Serpo is a secret alien planet that people have apparently visited and lived on.

(Seriously… it is!)

But it’s also the name of the framework I’ve developed over the years to produce A-grade copy. 

I use the SERPO system to methodically give businesses like yours the results they’re searching high and low for. With SERPO, I operate differently to most freelance copywriters, following principles like:

• The “copy context rule” that when not applied, makes the best-written copy as useful as a chocolate teapot… and by following it, transforms average copy into a powerfully persuasive tool
• A hardened, battle-earned edge that’s slowly formed over years of frustrating failures and scathing critiques
• The secret weapon behind scrolling through social media feeds and browsing Amazon that gives you an unmistakable edge over your competitors
• A cookbook of psychological ingredients to create copy that talks to prospects, connects with them… and gets them to pull out their credit card
• Why going live with your copy is the “end of the beginning”, and how to turn great copy that’s getting results into KILLER copy perfectly tuned in to your prospects

So what is SERPO exactly? Well, it spells out how I get fantastic results for you. Let me break it down…

STRATEGY

Just like your lungs if you were suddenly rocketed into space, your copy too often gets the air violently sucked out of it. And the #1 reason is that it’s used without knowing what the deeper strategy is (or no strategy at all). A kick-arse sales page disconnected from the emails, landing page, ads, or whatever comes before it just isn’t going to perform at kick-arse levels.

So, we kick things off by discussing your mission and strategy. And if you don’t have a plan, no problem! I can help you develop one.

EXPERTISE

Jump on Fiverr or any freelance platform and you’re going to find copywriters… LOTS of copywriters!

And they’re happy to charge $50 for a landing page (bargain!) or $20 for an email (unbelievable!)… but what you ultimately get is just words. Not well-written, persuasive copy that engages readers, takes them on a journey, and makes buying or clicking the obvious next step.

But perhaps that’s why you’re here: because you’re looking for a copywriter who understands psychology, persuasion, structure, syntax (plus an active affinity for alliteration)… and not bargain basement prices for warmed up words that do diddly squat.

(OK, I’ll stop now.)

RESEARCH

Even the best copywriter does the legwork before laying virtual pen to paper.

While you might be a fantastic source of intelligence about your audience or market, you’re often the beginning and not the end of the research process. Us copywriters have a NEED to know as much as we possibly can, because even the most trivial nugget of information might uncover a big idea that turns your funnel, marketing, or promotion on its head.

So, to get the best result for you, I dig. That might mean ambling through Amazon reviews, scrolling through subreddits, or forensically examining forums.

(Damn, sorry… this time I’ll stop for sure 😉

PERSUASION

If you don’t need copy that aims to persuade or convince, you probably don’t need a copywriter like me. For example, if you want blogs or content, find a rockstar content writer… which I am 100% not!

Direct response is a different beast, with its own principles and rules (and part of the “art” is knowing when to break those rules). If this is the kind of copywriter you’re chasing down, well…that’s me!

OPTIMISATION

Once your copywriter delivers the copy, they typically ride off into the sunset never to be heard from again. I don’t like to do that, and here’s why:

Sometimes a promotion will knock it out of the park first time, and other times strike out. More often than not, you get something in between (a safe hit, if you want to continue the baseball analogy). Either way, reviewing the data once your marketing’s been live for a while and then fine tuning it to boost results is a big part of the process… or at least, my process.

The Start Of A Beautiful Friendship

Still here?

Well, here’s where we tackle the #1 mentioned at the top of the page (AKA How I work in harmony with you to deliver tip-top and timely copy).

So, here’s how things typically unfold in terms of the process and relationships…

Putting SERP Into Action

It’s time to get to work.

I follow my SERPO framework (minus the “O” that comes later) to research, draft, and refine your copy, all in the context of your marketing strategy.

At this point, you might have to answer a few questions. Sometimes, we’ll review an early part of the copy to really lock down tone and key points before I roll through the rest of the project. But right now, it’s mostly up to me.

Barring mishap or sudden changes, you get the first version of your copy by the agreed date.

Here Comes The “O”

If you’ve studiously read everything on the page up til now, you already know that optimising the copy for certain projects is part of my process. 

We’ll have talked about that before getting started on the project… and now your promotion’s gone live, it’s time to put it into action. Here’s how it unfolds:

1. The copy / funnel / marketing runs for as long as it takes to collect enough data (i.e. more traffic, the quicker it generally is)
2. Once there’s enough data, we review it and aim to identify what’s working and / or what we might want to test
3. Now that we know what to tweak, I’ll make the changes
4. You implement… and happy days!