Have you or your team written something that needs a little pep? Maybe your website’s not particularly exciting, but you can’t tell how to invigorate it. Or your sales copy isn’t selling much. Or you need a hand making a report or brochure or course more compelling.
Whatever the case, I can probably help. I specialise in taking stiff, bland and overly formal copy and turning it into something accessible, enjoyable and engaging to read, with the ultimate aim of ensuring your readers trust, like and understand you – then take the action you want them to take.
I can do this with:
- Website copy
- Sales pages
- Newsletters
- Blog posts
- Articles
- Essays
- Case studies
- Lead magnets
- Brochures
- Reports
- Workbooks
- Course content
- Other long-form copy
I honestly don’t know how she writes such engaging copy!
I’ve hired Kaz to go through course material I’ve written to check for errors and add a little punch of personality. It’s always fun to work with her, and it’s a good feeling knowing my business copy is in such safe hands.
— Sophie Playle, Liminal Pages
The 3 ways I’ll make your writing more effective.
1. Accessibility
It’s not always easy to tell whether what you’ve written makes sense. It does to you, of course, because you know this subject inside out. But what about everyone else? I’ll translate any jargon, ensure everything is clear and comprehensible, and bring your language back down to Earth if it’s ended up out of the layperson’s reach. In short, I’ll make sure you get your point across.
2. Engagement
This is the boredom-eliminating part. The part that makes your writing not just understandable, but enjoyable. I’ll take stiff, dry copy and give it a warmer, more welcoming tone – so instead of feeling like someone is droning on at them, your readers will feel like they’re having a lively, engrossing conversation with you.
3. Persuasiveness
If you’ve written something, presumably it’s because you want to prompt someone to do something, whether that’s hiring you, buying from you, taking action on your recommendations, completing your course (and enjoying the process enough to give you a glowing testimonial), or just sharing what you’ve written because they found it worthwhile. Using my 10+ years of copywriting experience, I’ll ensure your content is structured to deftly guide your readers towards your goal.
Let’s get specific.
- Correcting spelling, punctuation and grammar (standard procedure)
- Tidying up formatting (goodbye, double spaces after full stops)
- Removing redundant words, sentences and maybe even paragraphs
- Replacing incorrect words (happens to the best of us)
- Rephrasing cliches, jargon, and janky metaphors
- Untangling ambiguous wording
- Explaining unclear sections and phrasing (such as acronyms)
- Improving the flow of sentences (so they don’t sound too stilted or staccato)
- Altering repeated words (unless you did it on purpose)
- Substituting stronger word choices (e.g. ‘shove’ instead of ‘push hard’)
- Decimating crutch words, so only a few instances remain (one of mine is ‘just’)
- Culling exclamation marks, probably
- Restructuring content so it flows more logically (and persuasively)
- Strengthening introductions and conclusions
- Making copy consistent throughout multiple pages or documents
The copy strikes just the right tone – warm and friendly, yet professional.
You’ve made some really helpful edits. The stories read well, so thank you for taking the time to understand the context. I appreciate you sorting out the matter of voice in particular. Speaking directly to the reader – i.e. ‘you’ and ‘your community’ – makes the brochure more friendly and accessible. Thanks too for correcting my olde English!!
— Giles Ruck, Foundation Scotland
What this isn’t.
- Brand narrative, verbal identity, or [insert marketing buzzword here]
Let’s just say if you want your brand to suddenly sound like Nike, you’re in the wrong place. This is a hands-on service in which I take what you’ve already got and enhance it. - Verifying facts
I’m all about making sure your copy reads beautifully, not ensuring what you’ve written is factually accurate. That’s not to say I can’t make a falsehood read beautifully, but, you know – that’s not the point. - Checking for plagiarism
As above, I’ll assume what I’m working with is legit. Ensuring that’s true is on you. - Design
I would love it if design and layout were my forte, but sadly they aren’t. I can do a mean header or bulletpoint list, though. - Indexing
Admittedly I love organising things, but indexing is next-level in that regard. You’d be better off seeking a dedicated indexer if that’s what you need. - Proofreading
Editing is the step before proofreading. Having said that, I am very, very good at spotting typos and fixing punctuation. I don’t feel too outrageous for saying you may not need a proofreader when I’m done with your copy (unless you’ll be printing it). - Writing from scratch
This isn’t a writing service, but that is something I offer. If that’s what you need, take a look at my copywriting page. - Writing coaching/critiquing
If you’d prefer to learn how to improve your writing by yourself, I can help with that. Check out my writing critique service.
Kaz’s key skill is translating more academic writing into easily accessible and punchy material.
She is incredibly easy to work with and makes the process simple. She was responsive, dedicated and able to pick up quite diverse sets of data and translate them into accessible outputs. I would not hesitate to work with her again!
— Dr Vikki McCall, University of Stirling
How much this’ll cost ya.
Prices range from £0.05–£0.15 per word. Minimum fee £250.
If you’ve written a straightforward document that just needs a little excitement in its life, that’ll come in at the lower end.
If you’ve written a sales page that isn’t selling or something that needs a structural overhaul, that’ll come in at the higher end.
Everything else will be somewhere in between.
Projects of under £500 must be paid 100% in advance. Projects of £500+ can be paid 50% in advance, with the remainder due on completion.
Easy (and fun!) to work with. Oh, and her writing is the best!
Kaz was honest and upfront with advice, and really took the time to make sure the end product met our needs. I now appreciate how hard it is to translate what you want to say in theory into accessible and engaging writing in practice.
— Dave Bell, MAD Challenges
See how you read all the way to the end? *elbow nudge*
If you’ve got some copy you’d like my help with, shoot me an email at kaz@kazmarston.com or fill in this form.