What to expect when you work with me

If you’ve never engaged these services before, you might be wondering how it all works.
The process is a little different for copywriting and voice-overs. Here’s how they go:

1. TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
Fill out the form on my Contact page, or book a FREE 15-minute Discovery Call to tell me what you need. If we’re both keen to take it further, then I’ll email you a briefing Q&A that digs deeper into your brand, target market and your project objectives. This helps me understand the project scope so I can give you a fixed, accurate quote.

Don’t worry if you’re not clear on something in the brief – we’ll go through it together if you choose to work with me.

What about meetings?
I can get all the information I need via phone, Skype or email check-ins. In-person meetings take time away from what I do best – writing! But if you really do want me to meet with you, I may need to charge for travel time and the meeting time, which I would include in my quote.

2. PROPOSAL AND PROJECT BOOKING
You’ll receive a proposal, outlining project scope, timings and fees, plus Terms & Conditions. If you’re happy with the proposal, you sign, scan and email the pages to me. To book in your project, I’ll invoice for 50% of the fee if over $500, or the full fee if under $500. My payment terms are 7 days.

3. GETTING TO KNOW YOU AND YOUR BUSINESS
Now we chat, by phone or Skype, to dig deeper into your project. This is your chance to ask questions and my chance to get a sense of your personality too, which makes writing about you and your business so much easier! But just so you know, I can be a little shy at first…

4. WRITING AND DELIVERING YOUR COPY
I’ll write your content and send you Draft 1 in MS Word to check over. Or we can work in Google Docs if you prefer. I’ll also invoice for the remaining project fee at this point, as you’ll see in my Terms & Conditions.

Need changes? No problem. My fee includes 2 free revisions (3 copy drafts all up). I prefer getting changes in Word’s (or Google’s) Track Changes – for faster turnaround.

Basically, the better your brief, the fewer revisions are needed. If you need more than 2 lots of revisions, I’m happy to help, but they’ll be an extra charge, as they’re outside the scope.

5. FINAL DRAFT – IT’S ALL YOURS!
When you’ve paid the final invoice, I’ll send you a clean (no mark-ups) Word doc of your copy to use however you wish. If you haven’t provided feedback or closed the job within 5 working days, I’ll assume you’re happy and the project will be marked completed, unless you’ve told me of any delays.

And if you’re happy with my work, I’d love to get a testimonial!

Voice-over jobs often require a faster turnaround, so it works a little differently. Depending on my current workload, I can usually turn a job around in 2-3 days.

1. TELL ME WHAT YOU NEED
Fill out the form on my Contact page, or book a FREE 15-minute Discovery Call to tell me what you need. To quote accurately, I’ll need to know:

• What you need the voiceover for, e.g.: explainer video, or other web-based promo video; radio/TV/cinema ad; eLearning project; phone-on-hold messaging.
• Is it for broadcast or internal company use? Broadcast pieces (including those on the internet) are priced higher because they potentially reach a larger audience.
• Number of words in your script. This helps me calculate the final run time of the audio, which is what I quote on, instead of an hourly rate.

 2. THE BRIEF: GETTING MORE DETAILS ABOUT YOUR SCRIPT
It’s important to me to deliver you a stellar voice-over. To do that, I need to know:

• The main message/purpose of your presentation
• Your audience – who is the script talking to?
• Who’s talking: a company representative? An expert? Someone recommending your product/service to a friend? This helps me decide on the voice delivery style.
• Tone, pace and pitch: do you want the read to sound authoritative, warm and friendly, conversational? Do you want a fast or slower read? A higher or lower pitched voice. All these things can affect the impact of your message.
• How to pronounce any uncommon words.

If your job isn’t urgent, I’ll send you a voice-over briefing form to answer these questions. It includes some tips on writing better scripts too

3. DEPOSIT TO KICK THINGS OFF
To start work, I require a 50% deposit for jobs over $500, or full payment if under $500. Payment details are on the invoice I’ll send. My payment terms are 7 days. If your job is fast turnaround, just email me a bank receipt screen grab, so I know your payment is pending and I can start earlier.

4. I GET FAMILIAR WITH YOUR SCRIPT
I’ll read through your script and get back to you with any questions I may have. If I notice any grammatical glitches or sections that don’t flow well, I’ll let you know. Sometimes what might read well doesn’t sound so good when read out loud.

5. I HIT ‘RECORD’
When I record your script, I might include a couple of takes of certain lines, with different vocal inflections so you can choose which works best. Most of my clients appreciate this extra detail.

6. EDITING
I do a basic edit of the voice track. This includes removing bad takes and breath sounds. Please bear in mind editing is the most time-intensive part. A track with a finished run time of 2 minutes can take around 1 hour to edit. If you need the master file separated into individual files, I can do this for an extra $50/hour. I don’t offer music or sound effects services.

7. I SEND YOU THE AUDIO
I supply the raw voice-only audio initially as an mp3. I will also invoice for any remaining project fee at this point, as per my Terms & Conditions.

8. REVISIONS AND CHANGES TO SCRIPT WORDING
One round of revisions is included in my rate. Further changes, and any changes to script wording after initial recording, are charged depending on how much needs to be re-recorded.

9. APPROVAL – IT’S ALL YOURS
Once you’re happy with the audio, and have paid the final invoice, I’ll send a final WAV or AIFF file via DropBox. Now you have the audio – and copyright – to use it however you wish. I’d love to hear or see the finished product too, so feel free to let me know when it’s ready!