Blotted Ink

How do you pronounce your name?

"Ryan".

What is copywriting?

This is the most common question I'm asked. The definition of copywriting that I like best is "writing to accomplish a specific purpose." This is quite a bit broader than the standard definition of copywriting which is typically related to marketing, but it describes what I do quite well. Whether a piece of copy is used to sell a professional service to other professionals, or it's a detailed business plan to get funding, it's all copy. It's writing to accomplish a specific task.

 

How does this all work?

 

Do you require a contract for your services?

 

What are your payment terms?

 

My deadline is fast approaching, can you help?

 

I'm not located near you, can we still work together?

 

Can we meet face-to-face?

Usually it's not necessary, but I am not averse to meeting clients in person. Typically writing jobs are handled over the telephone and via email, but sometimes face-to-face conversation is desirable or even necessary. I live 20 minutes north of Boston, and I bill travel time separate from the rest of the job.

Time is your scarcest resource; I try to stay out of your hair as much as possible.

 

Is there any kind of work that you won't do?

I generally don't do whimsical stuff. If you've got a brand of laundry detergent that you're looking to sell, I'm probably not your guy. (Unless it does something truly amazing, like doing triple duty as anti-freeze and baby formula!)

I also won't do work that's obviously a pitch designed to part consumers with their money while providing little to no value in return.

 

Will you take equity in my company in lieu of direct payment?

Short answer: no.

Longer answer: equity instead of direct payment is a form of shifting risk, and I don't like doing it. Now let me back up and flesh this out a bit. First off, I have taken equity in a business rather than up-front payment in the past, and it's likely that I'll do it again. There are a few required conditions before this even becomes an option. The first is a past working relationship, the second is that the individual runs their business in an ethical and exceptional way. I go out of my way to provide a very specific kind of service to my clients, and I cannot be an owner (even a silent one) with a business that is run orthogonally to these principles. So while these conditions are necessary, they are not sufficient for me to agree to taking equity. There has to be something in it for me as well. Great ideas and enthusiasm are not fungible; they don't put food on the table, nor can you deposit them in a bank.

To wrap things up, an entrepreneur offering me equity is shifting the risk from himself to me. He may be thinking a number of things. The most common train of thought that I've come across is this: "If I offer you equity, you'll get a cut of the profits when I start making money." What's not said is that if he does not make money, I don't get paid. If the business goes bankrupt, those individuals that the entrepreneur owes money to get paid first. But as I'm technically a shareholder at this point, I get a haircut. This means I don't get paid. But suppose the entrepreneur is profitable, he then wants to buy my equity slice back, normally at less than fair market value. It's just very hard to do while maintaining a productive, professional relationship.