FAQs
Questions? Answers.
Don't be nervous.
We're here for you.
Content and localisation is important, but it’s also a big investment for your business. Stay informed and know what’s what with this quick round-up of common queries.
Copywriting & content marketing
Absolutely! Our work is completely original every time. There’s no copy/paste around these parts and definitely no fill-in-the-blank templates.
We may reuse statements or quotes from your own previously published work (e.g. your website or social media) for alignment. Where other parties or individuals are quoted, the work will be attributed appropriately.
Right now, AI writing services are not able to provide the quality of content we insist upon. Google has also indicated that using AI-written copy may start to negatively impact search rankings and results.
That said, we recognise that AI and machine learning will continue to have a huge impact on the content industry. We’re currently exploring ways to effectively incorporate these and other emerging technologies into our services without impacting quality or rankability.
We wish! But no.
We use the insights and data we have available along with our gut feelings (which are usually pretty accurate given our years of experience), but everything’s always changing out in the big wide world web. From Google algorithm updates to competitor movements to customer demand for your offering, there’s just too much going on for any promises.
That’s a-ok! We get it. It’s not easy to decide exactly what to talk about – particularly if you’re looking to build a blog and need to publish regularly.
If this is you, don’t worry. We’ll check out your business and consider what your audience needs before sending you a couple of options to choose from. We won’t get stuck into the research and writing until you give us the go-ahead.
We always start with a brief – usually done over a call with you – and your website or social media so we can get a feel for your business, what it is you do, how you speak and what your customers need. After that, we look to publicly available research, reports and news to build your story.
We may look to your competitors for inspiration but we will never quote or reference them or their research (unless you specifically ask us to).
Where we cite research or quote others, the work is always attributed appropriately.
To ensure you receive exactly what you need, we offer two rounds of revisions for quoted projects.
Where we can, we offer extended review and feedback periods so you can seek input from your team and stakeholders before we get to work on the revisions. Extended revisions are not recommended for blogs and articles as this could impact your scheduling.
All copywriting projects include two reasonable revisions. But what’s reasonable?
In general, don’t hold back! We want you to be happy with the final work. However, the following requests would be considered unreasonable:
- Out of scope: For example, asking for a 4,000-word article when you accepted a quote for a standard blog post.
- Conflicts with brief: Changing the direction of the project, like the topic, primary messaging or target audience.
- Unclear or incomplete feedback: Saying “It doesn’t feel quite right” without guidance on what’s wrong.
- Beyond revision limits: Sending a third or fourth round of feedback. This will only be accepted in rare cases and may be subject to additional fees.
It’s rare for a client to request the unreasonable so it’s unlikely we’ll have problems. However, if we identify a potential issue, we’ll raise it with you early to make sure that we’re all on the same page and you get the copy your business needs.
Two minds are always better than one!
For small jobs, your project is in the hands of one highly experienced writer. A second writer may come in to proofread the work for typos and make sure everything’s on brand and in your brand’s voice.
For larger jobs, like reports, our writers work together to craft content that flows and is engaging. This could involve one writer challenging the other’s thought processes or identifying gaps and providing additional research to deliver the quality copy your business deserves.
If possible, yes. Our writers get to know your business so it makes sense that you keep the same writer throughout your relationship with us.
If you’d prefer a new writer be assigned, that’s no problem. Just ask.
In most cases, yes. We try to keep communication flowing via our fantastic account managers so our amazing copywriters can focus on what they do best – writing fabulous copy. But when it comes to reviews, it’s usually easier if you have direct access to the writer too.
Localisation
We currently offer localisation for Hong Kong, India (Hindi), Indonesia, Japan, Mainland China, Malaysia, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam. We also localise English for Australia, India, Singapore, the UK and the US.
If you need a language or market not on the list, just ask. Our team have strong relationships with localisation experts around the world and can usually onboard a new specialist within a couple of weeks.
We can translate and localise any written copy or video voiceover (e.g. for subtitles). Our specialty is in marketing copy, but our team has experience across everything from content design to legal agreements.
If you need localisation support for your existing copy, contact us for a quote.
As much as you can! If you have style guides and glossaries for your target language, we can work to those. If not, we can review your existing translations or work with you to define your style.
If you’re providing the English copy for us to translate, strong background information, screenshots and photos can also help us deliver quality work. A translation may need to be altered for terms in-context vs in buttons, so whatever info you can provide will help.
Like serving Marmite in an Australian café, some things just don’t work. While accurate and clear translation is a great starting point, localisation takes your work to the next level, helping build consumer confidence and trust. It considers local and cultural normal and expectations to deliver the right message at the right time.
Absolutely! Share your live sites, prototypes, wireframes or mock-ups, and we can provide guidance for locale-specific imagery or where your global choices may need a little tweaking.
We don’t usually do stock photo searches and purchase but if you really need help, chat to us and we’ll see what we can do.
No and yes, but no.
For some localisation projects, we use a content authoring tool (CAT). This tool auto-translated copy (called machine translation or MT) when preparing a project for our team. However, all content is very carefully checked, reviewed, edited and improved by native speaking localisation specialists.
CATs can speed up the translation component of a localisation project, and help us deliver more consistent copy across projects for a client.
As our localisation services grow, we will also invest in translation memory (or TM) which uses machine learning (with human review and intervention!) to improve machine translation.
Content authoring tools, machine translation and translation memory are standard tools used by localisation and translation providers worldwide. They help us deliver better quality copy in the languages we work in, but cannot replace experienced (and human!) specialists.
We are not currently considering other AI or ChatGPT-like services for localisation projects. At this stage, it is unclear how we can use it to benefit our localisation clients. Until we know more about the impact of AI-generated copy (even if copyedited by a linguist) on SEO, we won’t risk it.
Presentations and workshops
Of course! We’re happy to join you and your clients on a video call (or in person if location, time and budget allow) to walk you through our work or findings. If you’re an agency, we’ll present as an extended member of your team and will not promote our services to your clients.
In general, most workshops are held remotely on a video call. For larger groups, in-person workshops may be organised in Sydney or Newcastle with sufficient notice.
Sometimes. It all depends on the event, and where and when it is.
Jen, our director, is keen to help marketers, small business owners and fresh-faced copywriters get confident with content. While she doesn’t run copywriting training sessions at this time, she’s available to provide guidance and support when time and location allows.
Jen’s usually happy to present for free. However, if your event is not held online or within NSW, you’ll need to meet transport and accommodation costs.
What we don’t do
We do an awful lot, but there are some things we simply can’t deliver right now.
- Blog or article posting or tracking
- eDM development or scheduling
- Media or ad buying
- Social media planning, posting or tracking
- Research studies, social & media listening and reporting
- Campaign tracking and monitoring
- SEO tracking and reporting
- Website analytics setup or tracking
- Website design or development (but we have some fabulous agency partners we can recommend)
We don’t do direct comparisons or trash talking of competitors as we feel that to be an unhealthy way to do business. What we mean by that is blogs like “Why [Your Business] is better than [Your Competitor]” or “What [Your Competitor] won’t tell you”.
We don’t serve businesses in the gambling, tobacco or alcohol industries, or work for political parties or religious organisations.
If your business is considered a competitor of one of our key clients, we also won’t be able to support you.
If you need help finding a good agency, just ask and we’ll be happy to refer you on. (We do not charge agencies or freelancers referral fees.)
Payments and cancellations
We’ll email you an invoice upon completion of first drafts or presentations. Invoices are due within 2 weeks unless we have agreed to special terms with you beforehand.
We encourage payment by bank transfer, but credit cards can be accepted on request.
We include two rounds of revisions with all copy projects to ensure you’re happy with the final copy you receive.
We get it. Things happen. Budgets change.
The most important thing is to let us know – FAST.
If we haven’t started work, there’ll be no charge. If we have, we may invoice you for all or part of the original quote, depending on how far along we’ve progressed. We’ll discuss this with you if and when it happens.