Project Description
When you’re busy working for great clients, your website isn’t always top-of-mind…
Back in 2017, this was true for Lickability.
The team had been in business for about seven years, and were doing very well, but their website hadn’t changed much since they launched in 2010.
Now that the team finally had the time to work on their site, they needed a new design, new photos, and of course, new copy.
To get the job done on schedule (and on budget), they hired me to map out their site and write the copy (plus, a designer who could make it look purdy).
But before we got into the words and pictures, I suggested we all take a step back and work on their brand first…
Back in 2017, this was true for Lickability.
The team had been in business for about seven years, and were doing very well, but their website hadn’t changed much since they launched in 2010.
Now that the team finally had the time to work on their site, they needed a new design, new photos, and of course, new copy.
To get the job done on schedule (and on budget), they hired me to help them with their copy and Sam Brown to create the design.
But before we got into the words and pictures, I suggested we all take a step back and work on their brand first…
When you’re busy working for great clients, your website isn’t always top-of-mind…
Branding
To get to know the Lickability brand and tone of voice, I sent the team a discovery questionnaire.
A typical questionnaire is full of questions about your brand, personality, product points, customers, competitors, and more.
With this information, I can get a complete picture of who you are, which may influence the tone of voice or final writing style.
Once the team was finished with the questionnaire, they sent it back to me for review.
While I reviewed their responses, I was cutting words, highlighting the important stuff, and mining for information that I would use to inform the next step of the process.
Next, we moved on to strategy, so I could help them use content to achieve their goals.
Strategy
After getting clarity on their brand, it was time to do some strategic work.
First, we got on the phone and talked about their customers and how they acquired business.
I wanted to know things like:
- Who are their leads?
- Where are they coming from?
- What is their level of awareness?
- What is their level of intent?
This type of information informs the content, messaging hierarchy, use of social proof, and more (so it’s kind of a step you don’t want to miss).
Next, we talked about their competition, who they admired, and who they wanted to appear different from.
This helps me identify messaging opportunities that can help the brand stand out against the competition.
Finally, we conducted a full site review on their existing wireframes and placeholder copy to talk about what was working, what wasn’t, and what I could do to get them from “eh” to “awesome!”
Once we had all the right information, I got started on their content architecture.
A typical content architecture is sort of like a blueprint for a website from a content perspective.
Copywriting
Following the branding work we did together, we decided on a tone that was conversational, easy-to-understand, and would exude a touch of quirk.
I started with the Homepage copy, which I shared via Google Doc; next, we hopped on the phone to discuss the details.
Getting immediate, honest feedback is what helped us move quickly and get to the final round of copy faster.
Once we finalized the Homepage, I could move on to the other pages with confidence.
For the remaining pages, we followed a similar review process, which helped us stay on schedule and on budget.
When all of the copy was finished, I shared the files with our designer, who placed everything in situation.
From there, we reviewed the copy together and shared any final edits needed to bring the project to a successful close.