How important is collaboration when you write for a client?
I believe collaboration is crucial when you are portraying a ‘voice’ on behalf of someone else. And it’s especially important if you’re getting paid for it.
When someone asks you to write for their business, it is a huge privilege. That person or organisation is putting their trust in you to produce an effective piece of writing that will help build their brand, promote their services, attract more customers, or whatever it is they are seeking.
That’s quite a responsibility, so it’s important to get it right.
If you are writing on behalf of a client, take the time to learn as much as you can about their business, their culture and their style.
It is essential that you have a good grasp of your client’s expectations and agree everything in advance to avoid any misunderstandings. You will not have a happy client if you veer off in an alternative direction because that’s how ‘you’ would write something. Yes, they’re paying you to write for them, and of course your own style will play a part, but that style needs to be versatile and in synergy with theirs.
They could be expecting a formal piece of work from you to present to their shareholders and, if you produce something that’s more suited to the clientele of a youth club, that’s really not going to go down well. And you can guarantee they won’t be giving you any more work, let alone recommending you to anyone else.
This is where collaboration comes in.
In an ideal world you and your client will have had a detailed discussion and you will have been given a full brief on what is expected of you, including who the audience is, the number of words, and guidance on tone and house style.
In reality, we don’t live in an ideal world, but it is up to you to request clear instructions from your client, and to ask them the right questions to get the information you need. You may have to work some of the requirements out for yourself or provide your client with some ideas. So, do your homework. Who is their audience? What’s the tone and style of their website, their social media channels, or any literature they produce? What sort of words do they like using? Do they write in a formal business style or is it more casual with scope to be lighthearted here and there? Most clients want clear, concise language so don’t go all Jane Austen on them, unless they’ve asked you to, of course 😁
Immerse yourself in their culture as much as you can and then, when you do collaborate with your client, you’ll have an understanding of what they need. If you don’t receive as full a brief as you would like, you’ve done your preparation so you will have a good idea of what they’re looking for. And, if they’re not entirely sure what that is, your suggestions will be based on a solid foundation of research.
Whatever your understanding of the brief is, collaboration with your client will surely benefit everyone. You’ll know what is expected of you so you will produce a piece of work that they will be delighted with.
Everyone’s happy.
Suzy Pope is a versatile lifestyle writer with a background in PR. If you would like help with a writing project, please get in touch.
