Also, I don't think you should trust a copywriter who uses either of those words in your copy (regardless of where they're from).
Sure, "everyone's a critic" (and sorry to join the crowd), but if you're going to promote yourself as a professional copywriter you should at least have a grasp of the basics.
So I imagine she may well be able to help people who struggle with that. Which in my experience is almost everyone in business.
It's OK these days, in common vernacular, to use "begs the question" to mean something that prompts or suggests a question. It's really only in the context of "Philosophy 101" (where the meaning is the logical fallacy of the premise assuming the conclusion) that it should not be used that way.
If you're going to get pedantic on the Internets, you better be prepared to go all the way down. :)
It's more like a product, less like hiring a contractor. The solution is the review, not me.
But, just wanted to add that if you read that blog post, it's extraordinarily good at relating to its audience and the problems they face. The problem statement is clear and concise. The example email excerpts are well chosen and highly relatable, giving the reader a chance to connect his/her own experience in an almost first-person voice.
The itemized dead-end alternative paths are also relatable, and she does an excellent job of differentiating her offering from others the reader may have considered or with which the reader may have been disappointed.
In all, it demonstrates considerable proficiency in precisely what she's offering: conversion.
While the points about copyediting have some validity and some tightening could help solidify the offering, they are largely pedantic in the main.
The only suggestion I would offer is that, this being a new product, it may be difficult to grasp exactly what you're getting and where it leaves you (i.e. how it's actionable). A before/after-style case study or example deliverable could go a long way there.
And thanks for your assessment! It's certainly nice to hear that some things I aimed for landed.
This doesn't solve my problem, because now I still need to write the copy for the rest of my site based on your feedback.
Basically, one of the huge problems I heard over the years was that founders wanted to write their own website copy. Or at least, their budgets necessitated that they did. However, once they did that, they weren't sure what was and wasn't working on their websites as far as copy goes. So they came to me for advice. I'd say about 75% of the people I talked to were in this bucket.
The other 25% wanted to hire a copywriter to actually write it. For the majority of founders, that option was not only cost prohibitive but also required more work in their eyes than writing the actual copy.
It sounds to me like what you're in that 25%. Would you agree with that assessment?
In regards to the custom copy, it would depend on which sections of your website needed the most TLC. But as a ballpark, you're looking at half a page.
I had a similar experience, except that it wasn't my choice. I was given no recourse, but to strike out on my own. Since I am fortunate enough to have the means (I believe that it used to be called "f**k you money," but I always thought that I was the one that got to to say "f**K you," not the potential employers), I was able to do it. In the aggregate, it has turned out better than I ever could have imagined.
Glad to hear that things worked out alright. I've never heard someone use "f*k you money" before. I'm definitely hanging on to that one.
