The six stages of website copy

A client asked me recently how I was getting on with their copy. I responded it was going well, despite the fact that not a single word had been written. But I wasn't lying and it got me thinking about the many and often underrated stages of writing website copy.

I'm conscious that my family, and perhaps my clients too, often wonder what I'm doing and why I describe my apparent inactivity as being "very busy". So, for no better reason than to make myself feel better, I thought I'd share what I see as the six essential stages to writing so that when I'm staring blankly at the window (and a lot of people seem to walk past my window these days), you'll know that this is me...being super busy and productive!

1. Organise

I am assuming as a prerequisite to starting your work, you have received and read some sort of brief. More often than not, in my experience, this takes the form of a sort of mind dump and some cross-examination more than an organised sequence of instructions. And that's ok. This stage of the process is about collecting as much information as you need about the project and then getting it all nice and tidy.

I say nice and tidy because most of the creatives I know are not particularly tidy people and it's easy for files, documents, and emails to take on a scattergun feel. But by pulling all the information into one place (copy and paste if you have to), I think it helps prepare the mind for the writing process. Don't ask me how, there's probably some psychology in there, it just does. For me, once I've got everything in a Dropbox folder, I feel primed and ready even if I haven't read it all yet.

2. Absorb and play

OK, so some wise folk might call this research and there is of course some of that involved in this stage too. But at this point of the project you're trying to step into another world, the world of the person you're writing for (well that's actually two people - the people who are paying you to write and the readers who will be ultimately reading what you've written). You read around your subject, dip into other people's websites, walk around with ideas in your head, write things down, cross them out and write them down again.

This is the second lengthiest part of the process and one that to the outside world looks like you're faffing. But as you may know, I firmly believe in some faffing as an important part of the process. This stage is very unscientific and can take anything from a few hours to a few days or even weeks which makes it understandably hard to factor into your pricing. I mean what price on navel-gazing?

3. Write

At some stage of the process, you have to stop with the navel gazing and general faffery and get on and write. Stack a pile of biscuits next to your keyboard, refuel on coffee, gin, whatever it takes and just write. This is actually the quickest part of the process and when you finish, you'll have a smug feeling of satisfaction that the project is nearly complete. Of course, it isn't, not even close and what you've written is probably rubbish, but enjoy the moment while it lasts.

4. Percolate

You'll like this stage. It involves mainly walking the dog and thinking about what you've written although don't attempt this stage on the same day as stage 3 above. And keep a notebook or something handy. This is when snippets of genius will spring into your mind, inspired sentences, emotive CTAs, words of beauty. You absolutely MUST write them down or they will have escaped you by the time you meet your desk again.

5. Critique, edit, reflect, repeat

This stage is painful, painstaking perfectionism and you may have to repeat it many times. You've got to learn to stand back, critique your own work and be super objective. You're looking for cadence, keywords, and cliches. Your checking to see whether your copy catches the essence of whom you serve and appeals to the emotions and senses of your readers. Does it have just the right dash of personality or is it the same old samey as everyone else's copy?

What many people don't realise at this stage is that you may spend ages agonising over just one word. When the client comes back and says, 'I like it but could we just change...?' Well yes, you could, but that word or sentence was carefully chosen from a shortlist of 10 and has been put through its paces to see if it's up to muster. It's been chosen because it balances out a paragraph, tugs a psychological trigger, adds a touch of flavour. Whatever the reason, it's been chosen for a good reason with much love and care, but as a writer, you have to get used to a) explaining why you've chosen it, and b) be prepared to let it go - even if it hurts.

6. Proofread or ask a mate to do so

Let's be brutal here. Proofreading your own work is virtually impossible. You go typo blind when you've written something. I'm also a big believer that there are two types of people in the world: those that are genetically primed to spot a typo from a thousand paces and those who can't see it even if it's punching them in the eyeballs (no prizes for which type I am).

Whatever type you are, here are two golden rules to help you pull through:

• Never, ever proofread or send copy on the day you finished editing.
• If you absolutely have to send it the same day, pull in a proofreading mate or tell the client it hasn't had its final proofread yet and ask to have it back. The chances are there may be some final amends before sign off in any event which gives you a chance to re-check ...either that or you need to re-think your deadlines.

So there it is and now you know what your copywriter is up to. Perhaps other copywriters have got things better sussed than me. I hope so because in my world there is always an element of chaos involved before the final (beautiful) copy is achieved. But if you're writing your own copy, take heart that whilst it may look like you're sitting at your desk doing nothing, you are actually in the process of being very busy and creative.