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Copywriting Contracts: Do You Need to Send Them to Clients?

By Nicki Krawczyk 8 Comments

Do You Need to Send Contracts to Your Copywriting Clients?

Everybody needs a copywriting contract, right? After all, we need to be safe—to protect ourselves and ensure the project doesn’t fall through!

But…to protect ourselves from what, exactly?

Like the topic of whether or not to bill upfront, the question of contracts comes from the same impulse to “protect ourselves” from nefarious clients.

People believe that having clients sign contracts means that they won’t have to worry about not getting paid.

Well, I have two pieces of very good news for you.

Business Owners Want to Pay You

The first piece of good news: there are far, far, FAR fewer “nefarious” clients out there than you might think there are. In fact, in my 20+ years of writing copy, I’ve never had a client not pay me.

Sure, sometimes clients have taken a little longer than I’d have liked to make their payments, but even that’s usually due to an innocent mistake or it slipping their mind, and a gentle, but firm, email or two did the trick.

So, the chances of you needing some “legal recourse” against a non-paying client are going to be extremely slim—if it ever even happens at all.

A client who is running a business likely wants to continue running that business (or keep their job at that business). They understand that they are paying you for your services. And if they hired you, they want to pay you for those services because they want your services!

An Easy, Free Copywriting Contract

And the second piece of good news is that you don’t need a physically signed, legalese-full, “I spent $300 on Legalzoom” contract to constitute an agreement.

After you and your would-be client talk about a project, you’ll send over a proposal via email that details the exact scope of the project, when you’ll deliver that copy, and how much you’ll charge for that work.

(Note the word “exact”—you need the description of your project to be as detailed as possible. Not just “an email series” but “a six-email sales series;” not just “website copy” but “full website copy, comprised of copy for the home page, the About page, and the Work With Me page.” It needs to be as clear as possible so both you and your client understand the expectation and what will be delivered.)

Once your client responds to that email with “Great! Let’s get started!”, guess what? You have a written agreement. And, in the US at least, it is legally binding and, for all intents and purposes, a contract—even without a bunch of legalese.

(Full disclosure: I am not an attorney. If you have questions, you should contact an attorney.)

But, again, it’s very unlikely that you’d need to use this legally binding document to (read this with a deep, booming voice) take a client to court.

(Side note: Taking someone to court is so expensive that it likely wouldn’t be worth it, anyway. But again, this is a very, very, VERY unlikely scenario to begin with.)

Updating or Amending Your Copywriting “Contract”

The purpose of these agreements is to make sure that both you and your client are clear on and agree about all of the key points of the project: The exact scope, the delivery date, and the price.

This means that when your client says, “Can you also add in a new page about XYZ?” you can say, “Absolutely! That’s out of the scope of this project, though, so let me send you a new quote for just that page.”

It also means that you and your client are both referring to the same single agreement if any questions come up. (Oh, and it also makes it so much easier to write up your invoice!)

You don’t need a lawyer and you don’t need legalese; you just need a detailed scope of the project (including the cost and delivery date) and then you need your client to write back in agreement. That’s it.

Your Turn

How does this affect what you thought about the proposal and agreement process? Did it turn on any lightbulbs for you? Let me know in the comments below!

Last Updated on December 14, 2023

Filed Under: Copywriting Tips Tagged With: client relationships, land work

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About Nicki Krawczyk

Nicki is a copywriter, copy coach and the founder of Filthy Rich Writer. She's been writing copy for more than 20 years.

Comments

  1. Margaret says

    June 1, 2020 at 6:03 pm

    Hi Nicki,

    I am so glad to read this post. I got a mail from you and saw this. Just today, I was discussing how I should set up a contract before I job. Now what you have explained is sort of a contract itself. I’m so glad you have broken it down for me. You’re such a lifesaver!!. Thank you ?

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      June 1, 2020 at 7:40 pm

      Hi Margaret,

      Great! I’m so glad this was helpful. 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  2. Susan Burton says

    June 1, 2020 at 9:35 pm

    I love your sample response when clients ask for ANOTHER website page or additional work. “Sure, but that is outside of the scope of our original agreement. Let me write up a quote for that additional work and email it to you.” (Look, I just practiced! It was easy!)

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      June 2, 2020 at 8:11 am

      Hi Susan,

      I’m glad it was helpful! And you’ve already got it down! 🙂

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  3. Linda Gassmann says

    June 2, 2020 at 11:13 am

    Hi Nicky! Thanks for clearing this up. I was thinking I needed to draft a full-blown contract, but I’ve seen proposals that include scope of work plus terms and conditions, so I wasn’t sure if I needed a contract in addition to all of that. I guess I found my answer! Thank you for saving me lots of time and for being here for all of us! Stay happy and healthy.

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      June 2, 2020 at 2:19 pm

      Hi Linda,

      I’m so glad this was helpful! This is definitely a lot faster (and, frankly, more user-friendly) than an “official” contract.

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply
  4. MB Klics says

    June 5, 2020 at 1:25 pm

    A proposal with the entire scope of the project is a great tip. Wish I had done this in my earlier days! Makes it much easier to charge for all those little extras clients try to slip in.

    Reply
    • Nicki Krawczyk says

      June 5, 2020 at 2:57 pm

      Hi MB,

      It definitely does! It also encourages your client to take you and your services more seriously, and that certainly never hurts. 😉

      Thanks for commenting!
      Nicki

      Reply

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