Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Organizing an advertising project

Any copywriter you hire must work closely with you and your organization to determine your advertising needs. Before you meet, here are some key questions to consider to save time, money and to better target your marketing.

  • What service or product do you offer?
  • What project do you have in mind?
  • What is your budget? This allows the copywriter to help set your expectations for the scope of the project.
  • How will you get your message across? Are you considering direct mail, an improved website, press release campaigns, or perhaps radio spots?
  • What is the goal of the project? Be specific. For example, “I want to increase the amount of long-haul trucking coverage that we write," or "I want to obtain more adjusting business from managing general agents."
  • Who is your target market? Be specific.
  • How will your target market benefit from you providing these services as opposed to your competitor?
  • What else are you doing toward this goal? In other words, is this part of a bigger advertising plan already in place?
  • Who are your competitors? What are they doing?
  • Describe why your product or service is better than your competitors.
  • What have you done in the past regarding this endeavor? Describe similar projects. How well did they succeed? Why or why not?
  • Has your competitor done something you like? What about something you don’t like? (Raid your “swipe file.”)
  • Who is the contact person at your agency for this project?
  • Who authorizes acceptance of the project?

While you may be a good communicator, a copywriter can help you hone your message to a few key points. This saves money and helps to ensure that your copy does its job -- bringing in business.

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