Comments on: What Every Copywriter Should Know About Big Copy Projects.

By: Copywriter’s Confession: I Get Cold Feet When I Write Hot Copy | MarketCopywriter Blog

Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:56:19 +0000

[...] angst sets in when I’m working on a mongo copy project—and I feel buried alive in words and [...]

By: Yo Prinzel

Yo Prinzel — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 19:18:28 +0000

I use a visual representation to make it easier so, if I have 4 due dates for different parts of the project, I add a little box that shows the due date is also a payment date. I’ll email you a confidential version so you see what I mean

By: Lorraine Thompson

Lorraine Thompson — Sat, 06 Feb 2010 18:42:05 +0000

@Yo: Hmm. The incremental payments do sound a wee complex–though with your genius for finance/numbers I’m sure it works perfectly. I love the idea of a price break in return for full payment up front–going to give that serious thought.

@Kimberly: Yes, sometimes it’s impossible to anticipate the turns a project will take–especially when your client is new or you don’t know him/her well. Glad you found the post helpful.

By: Kimberly

Kimberly — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 16:50:33 +0000

I’ve only had one long-term project so far. It took seven months to complete and was extremely stress due to poor planning on my part and the client’s part (I agree, Dree, those deadlines DO seem far away). I learned a few lesson from the experience about how to better prepare the next time. I’ll also incorporate payment planning after reading all of these helpful comments.

By: Yo Prinzel

Yo Prinzel — Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:19:49 +0000

I require 50% upfront on almost all projects, but on long ones, I shudder at the thought of waiting months to get paid for my invested hours. The way that I get around this is to set a quarterly payment schedule for the remaining 50%. Each time they get 1/4 of the work, they pay me 1/4 of the remaining 50% (which means they pay… 1/8 the total? Oh gosh, I’m really confused now…). I also offer a 10% discount on full priced projects that are paid in full at the start.

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 18:08:26 +0000

Sorry to make you sweat, Lorraine. I remember one project that took 10 months as opposed to the 2 we expected. It’s because the client misunderstood the licensing requirements (for an insurance course), and didn’t think it was worth mentioning that I now needed twice as much copy.

First and last project with that one!

By: Lorraine Thompson

Lorraine Thompson — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 16:49:20 +0000

Hi Lori:

I’m in a cold sweat. Your mention of a two-year project brought back old, bad memories of a marketing report–originally to run 120-140 pages–that morphed into 350+ pages and took almost a year to finish.

Yes, establishing a payment plan is crucial. I also delineate revision parameters: I include two rounds free with my fee, but they must be returned within two weeks of my delivery of copy. And they can’t veer directionally from the (fairly detailed) Assignment Sheet clients sign off on before I start the project. #OnceBurnedTwiceShy

By: Lori Widmer

Lori Widmer — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 13:26:42 +0000

Totally agree with all of the above! Every point is spot on, Lorraine. My own personal nightmares with large projects tend to be of the “when to collect payment” variety. I’ve worked out a system in which I’m paid some up front, some at some defined midway date, and the rest at a clearly defined expected delivery date. That last one’s important as it’s my way of limiting endless revisions and it gives clients more incentive to stick with their own deadlines. Nothing’s worse than being two years into the same old project with no end in sight (been there, done it).

By: TC/Copywriter Underground

TC/Copywriter Underground — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 18:37:15 +0000

What’s worse is that what one philosopher said is likely true – we don’t really learn from the experiences of others.

Painful, but perhaps true.

By: Lorraine Thompson

Lorraine Thompson — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 16:37:06 +0000

Hi Tom: Excellent point about geometric scaling of big copy jobs. “Hammered” pretty aptly describes my condition after underestimating time involved in several website content projects. Experience is an excellent, if painful, teacher. ; >