WRITERS' FRUSTRATION CRAMP
LAST MONTH’S insight considered the future of copywriting, a cornerstone of marketing. Since then, the Professional Copywriters’ Network (PCN) has published the results of its 2017 survey, providing the latest, detailed insight into the working lives of the UK industry’s practitioners. More than 500 seasoned writers answered an in-depth questionnaire prepared and analysed by the PCN.
Top of their frustrations list, it would appear, are clients who pass the finished work through a committee or otherwise complex signing-off process, mutilating along the way. All of this after issuing an inadequate brief or demanding unrealistic timescales.
All too often, copywriters confirmed, clients haven’t a clue what they are looking for. They know what they like, of course, but only after seeing it – or failing to do so, claiming that the work “doesn’t sound like them”.
Maybe it is down to the professionals to provide more information and greater support when clients are commissioning, critiquing and approving text.
The best customers are partners. These are the people who benefit most from the creativity of their chosen scribes and where frustration-free relationships flourish.
NEW BUSINESS
Writers, inhouse or independent, seek out their clients through descriptive websites, using social media routes and via networking, with less than 10% choosing to advertise. Word of mouth is stated to be the most effective contributor to new business.
More women than men responded to the survey, almost 60-40, and a disturbing fact to emerge is that the copywriting gender pay gap stands at a monetary 29%, rising to 46% among freelance operators.
It seems that female writers are less adventurous than men in what they charge. Undoubtedly, they are missing out. According to UK government statistics, the pay gap average across all industries is 18% and falling.
Remarkably, the PCN survey showed that the highest earners are those whose best scholastic achievements stopped at GCSE, suggesting that copywriters can scribble away successfully without intense education. Only 22% advised that their schooling and further study had been particularly relevant.
The survey revealed that 71% of those who replied are working full-time and the average level of experience is around 11 years. Less than half have completed any sort of copywriting training and over two-thirds work as general writers. Only 46% claimed additional skills, relating mainly to online activities and marketing materials.
PRE-AGREED
By preference, a sizeable majority of freelance assignments are carried out on a pre-agreed project fee basis, usually calculated with daily or hourly rate formulae. The highest daily rate recorded was £1,800 and the average shown to be £339: almost £100 extra for international work.
The average annual income across all employment types is £42,000 full-time and £26,000 part-time. Best paid copywriters are over 50 years old. Lowest earners are those working in advertising and other creative agencies.
Irrespective of financial rewards, just 0.5% of these survey respondents hanker after changing careers. Many would like to modify the way in which they work – to start up their own agencies, for example – but hardly any want to leave commercial writing behind them.
It is an underrated craft, so devotees revel in occasional client or employer plaudits. Clearly, money matters, but the single thing that most wordsmiths crave is encouraging feedback from their paymasters.
This is clear affirmation that copywriting, for anyone who loves causing positive effect through their words, is a fulfilling way to earn a crust.
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