In the wonderful world of copywriting myths, you’d be forgiven for thinking that working with a copywriter will only ever “take two minutes…“.

There’s truth in the fact that a copywriter can – and often will – produce a marker pen within milliseconds of spotting an error or a missed opportunity in your writing, and will likely locate mistakes in marketing before they’ve even been made, but the speed at which a copywriter recognises poor writing should not be confused with the length of time it takes for them to properly create, shape, and in some cases completely set fire to and rebuild a client’s idea.

It’s clear with a lot of the briefs or drafts that land in the inbox of a copywriter, that the original scribbler quite possibly raced through the early writing process in order to get their idea down on paper or screen. This is understandable. They want to focus on sharing their ideas or telling their story. However, for the final copy to make sense and to be accessible and engaging enough for its intended audience and purpose, a copywriter needs to be given time to get it right, right?

Copywriting is always a big project. Even if that project involves the minimum of words. Those projects are even bigger, in fact, because each word holds a larger impact in the overall context. It’s the same as a plumber spotting and fixing a leak in your toilet. Increased bills, lack of sanitation, destruction of property…  tell me that sorting out that issue is not as significant as, say, the ‘bigger’ project of furnishing you with a new bathroom?

To continue the theme, if you were indeed having a new bathroom fitted, you wouldn’t expect the fitter or plumber to complete the job within a matter of minutes. Whilst this would be lovely and certainly a hell of a lot more convenient than four to six days spent flushing the toilet with a bucket, if said tradesperson emerged from your bathroom within minutes or even hours after first switching off the water and claimed they’d finished the renovation, you’d be more than a little concerned. You’d be questioning if the foundations had been properly laid (pipework etc). You’d be wondering if everything was put together and assembled properly. You’d be worried that not everything had been effectively checked, tested, or professionally finished to a high standard during the non-existent length of the project to date.

Now, I’m not saying that shaping a piece of writing and renovating an en-suite are similar ventures, but my point is that you wouldn’t patronise the presumably skilled and experienced bathroom labourer with a phrase such as, “the old bath has fallen through the ceiling and there’s toilet water everywhere, but I’ve heard you’re good and I’m personally pushed for time, so it should take you two minutes to sort…“, as he or she assesses the damage from the doorway.

We all want convenience and we all want instant results, but high quality and professional work (whatever the industry) takes time. Writing, just like any other trade, is a honed skill. Deep down, clients know this. Sadly however, because the ‘fix’ we provide as copywriters does not impact on something physical or typically material – like getting a builder in to mend a hole in the roof, or a mechanic to service your car so it stops making that scary rattling sound – some people seem to resent handing good money over for our services. The expectation is that minimal time and fuss equals minimal need to pay the big bucks.

I had one client who was always guilty of the “It’ll take you two minutes” mantra, to the point that, even if it was true, he sent me so much of these tasks in total that it would always amass into days anyway. I was early into my career, he was a friend of a friend, and he was also a charmer, so I foolishly accepted the money he offered me as I listened to him openly and somewhat disrespectfully say, “Well I know your hourly rate is probably £xx, but this will ‘obviously’ take you nowhere near that long, so here’s a fiver and we’ll call it quits…“.

This rookie mistake – and admittedly inexperienced handling of my client – irked me for the first two years I was out there as a start-up copywriter, but I have to say, this gentleman taught me a valuable lesson in business. That lesson was that I should charge for my writing by the project, not the hour. This system may not work for all my fellow copywriters or editors out there, but it works for me, and my clients know exactly where they stand with me after their individual consultation is assessed and we come up with a plan and a payment.

So, if you ever feel happy and confident to look me in the eye and tell me that it’ll take two minutes to work my magic on your project, that’s exactly how much time you’ll get. A copywriter is proud of their craft and bound by their need for solid literacy, so if you cut short their timescale, the piece you receive in return will likely be no better than the original you scribbled or ChatGPT-d yourself.

Let me know how that turns out for you, hun.

Want to meet me in the middle? Book a Sorted in 60®. You’ll go away and write up the results yourself, but for 60 whole minutes, you’ve got me collaborating and creating directly with you to truly transform your copy, content, and comms.