Frequently Asked Questions
All your burning questions answered. And if we haven't answered some of your questions, you can email us!
What is copywriting?
A number of people have pointed out that ‘copywriting’ sounds a lot like ‘copyrighting’. Yes, both words may sound the same but they are completely different! Copyrighting has to do with legal copyrights (which we won’t go into here!), while copywriting is all about writing copy. Copy is just a fancy term for written content.
Copywriters generally work for ad agencies or pr agencies.
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Why do I need a copywriter?
Organisations need a copywriter or a copywriting agency to deal with:
- Corporate communications, internally and externally
- Marketing and brand communications
- Public relations
How an organisation communicates its written objectives to internal and external audiences is critical to its success. Think about it, a targeted ad campaign with catchy copy is more likely to stick in consumers’ minds and help to drive sales. A well-written corporate profile will leave a better impression on potential clients than one that is poorly written.
These are very simple scenarios, and Clarity understands that different organisations have different copywriting needs, we can help to address these needs after a thorough consultation with you.
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Why do I need Clarity?
From your organisation’s corporate communications to marketing communications, Clarity will bring our own unique flair and expertise to help you reach your target markets effectively.
We’ll sit down and work through your organisation’s objectives with you and work out a scheduled strategy and plan of action. We take a very professional approach to our work, and you can trust us to meet your deadlines once we have committed ourselves to them!
Of course you could probably do your own writing, but then you wouldn’t necessarily do your own accounting, legal work or building maintenance would you? It’s good to let the specialists help, leaving you free to concentrate on your core competencies.
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Do you do design work?
As we specialise in words, we don’t want to dilute our expertise by offering design services (heck, we’re not designers!). However we do work with a number of talented, professional ad and design agencies we’d be more than happy to recommend to you!
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Why was Clarity set up?
When I first returned to Malaysia in 2003, I toiled away as a senior writer, editor and head of creative at a leading local agency (yes, the industry IS tough!). I began to notice plenty of new ad and design agencies that kept springing up practically overnight and what struck me was how little attention was paid to copywriting, never mind good, clear copywriting!
Overall, ad agencies tended to worry more about the visuals and didn’t understand that effective copywriting is the cornerstone of successful corporate communications programmes, marketing and branding initiatives. I used to think it was such a shame when organisations spent a bomb on expensive ad campaigns or beautifully finished brochures, only to be undone by sloppy copy, typos and poor grammar. After all, very few people see design ‘mistakes’ but the printed word is another matter!
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I am concerned about privacy. Will you keep information about my project confidential?
You can be 100% assured that Clarity will never disclose any information about your organisation or projects to any third party. We take confidentiality very seriously. We also take our own reputation very seriously, and would not do anything to damage this.
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What are your charges?
The nature of copywriting means that each job is completely different from the next. Just as we don’t deliver ‘template’ writing, we also don’t have a template list of charges.
After an initial consultation, we will review the work scope and revert to you with a job quotation. We’ll also include a timeline so you know when to expect each draft (again, as each job is different, timelines will also be different!).
Once the quotation is approved, Clarity will charge a 50% advance followed by the remaining 50% on completion of the job.
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Do I have to pay extra for amendments?
No, we usually factor in three rounds of revisions to make sure that you’re absolutely satisfied with the writing. Minor text changes and word replacements will not incur any extra charges.
However, complete rewrites will be subject to additional fees (although this rarely ever happens!). It’s best to ensure that we get all the latest information necessary to complete your project, to avoid too many revisions.
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Where are you guys based?
Roz is based in Penang, Malaysia and is more than happy to travel across the ‘channel’ to meet clients based on the mainland. Malaysia is +8 hours ahead of GMT.
MH splits her time between Paris and the south of France, she is +1 hour ahead of GMT.
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