BackTuesday 9th February, 2010
Copify: unprepared to sell cheap copy
There’s a content mill that has just launched online, and it’s called Copify.
Unlike the bespoke and personal service offered by a good copywriting agency or freelance copywriter, Copify wants to build up a huge bank of ‘writers’ who are willing to churn out copy for as little as 2p per word, and then match them up with companies who want content at rock-bottom prices.
In other words, they want suckers to write for cheapskates.
Fine by me
Personally, I don’t care if Copify want to make money out of cheap content. Nor do I feel my profession is threatened by the fact Copify offers ‘standard’ and ‘professional’ copy (the latter pays a whopping 4p a word – or, at least, did yesterday). After all, if there’s a company that’s based on a model that is bound to generate hundreds of dissatisfied customers, then some of them may well come in my direction.
Nor do I care that Copify has missed the point that crap online content for SEO purposes is likely to backfire in the near future (Tom Albrighton nails this nicely). Once again, I can see plenty of new clients coming to me licking their wounds, wondering why their site has dropped off Google.
Good luck to them, but…
I’m all for enterprise, as long as all parties are satisfied. It’s not my place to dictate how people conduct client relationships. But I’m also very interested in the role copywriting has in social media, brand reputation and all the other elements of online marketing.
And these guys have cocked it up badly
The first rule of business is that you work with people you trust.
You trust people, in part, because they know what they’re talking about. They do their homework, they are authorities on their subject, and you learn from them. And, ideally, the opposite holds true.
So, if you’re setting up a new business, you should…
Research your market
When Copify launched, there was a massive backlash on Twitter among copywriters who were angry at the low rates of pay on offer. It was the old quantity vs. quality debate once again.
As@harryfiddler put it:
@copify 20c a word for 2500 words. $2 pw for 250 words. $20 pw for 25 words. The 25 words will be the one you use.
Fair enough. But if Copify’s research had found that people were willing to accept the 2p or 4p per word offer, they should simply have stuck tight.
Instead, thanks to pressure from outraged copywriters, Copify quickly introduced a new 8p per word rate – for top tier writers.
Two’s company…
The people at Copify will no doubt say that they’ve been listening to their critics. That they’re flexible.
Maybe so. Or perhaps they were just wholly unprepared.
Let’s go back to a tweet I posted yesterday, addressed to one of Copify’s most outspoken critics:
@Mr603 Finally taken a proper look. No contact page/ address. Domain registrant concealed. No Copify at companies house. Not a good vibe.
Personally, I like to know who I’m dealing with. A website that gives me no contact details, doesn’t belong to a registered company and doesn’t include contact details in its WHOIS record is – well, let’s say I wouldn’t trust it an inch.
Not off the register
So, I had to laugh when I discovered that Copify had – today – registered itself as a company at Companies House and added an ‘About’ page to its site.
Again, they’ll say it shows they listen. I say they’re unprepared for launch.
Get this. I tweeted that Copify had just registered as a company. It came back with:
@benlocker we have only just moved into new offices, this is why we have only just been able to do this.
Er, no. My company is registered at my accountant’s address. It leaves me free to change my business address without hassle. It’s a standard arrangement.
As I said, trust is based on authority. If you believe that you need to move into new offices before you register your company, I know you don’t know what you’re talking about – and I don’t trust you.
Openness or censorship?
Most interestingly of all, Copify hasn’t hesitated to block Twitter users that have questioned its mode of business, and it has also deleted tweets. As any fule kno, this is a classic way of using social media to trash your online reputation and get acres of criticism into the SERPs (search engine results pages). It’s something that a good copywriter is often asked to help sort out, usually by writing copy that pushes the negative stuff down the rankings.
Out to lunch
Anyway, it’s taken me about an hour to knock out this post. And at 2p per word, that would have bagged me about £8 or £9.
If that’s the sort of money that appeals to you, then go ahead and sign up with the new content mill. But ask yourself – do you really trust them?
Arrows! (you owe me 2p until I am vetted, then it may be 4 or even
Comment left by Alconcalcia on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:27 pm
If you pay for cheap copy, you will get cheap copy.
I would certainly not want to pay 2p a word and think I am saving money, when i would probably take just as long reading it to make sure it is legible and grammatically correct!
You can buy websites for £50, but they are dare I say, terrible, you can buy flowers for £1.99 but they last a couple of days, you can do lots of things for less, but every single one of them is inferior.
I do not shop in the pound-shop nor would I use a cheap copy service.
Comment left by Chris Carrier on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:28 pm
It seems Copify are aiming at getting business a peg or three below established copy agencies. People working after hours from home, or perhaps they want to build experience. Hell we all have quiet periods and still need to feed the kids.
“If you pay for cheap copy, you will get cheap copy.” – Indeed, some people actually want cheap copy.
You might knock out 500 words of “standard” Copify copy in 25 mins for £5 at the lowest rate.
It might be soul destroying but it beats flipping burgers for an hour.
Comment left by Falcon on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:46 pm
To be honest, I didn’t even think about the more words = more money angle, clogging up good copy with superfluous text. Nice insight.
Comment left by Daniel Cecil on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:48 pm
I think it’s only fair to point out that Falcon’s comment was posted from a proxy IP address. I might as well ask – are you connected to Copify? If not, why hide your IP?
Comment left by Ben Locker on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:53 pm
“they want suckers to write for cheapskates” Brilliant. Have you seen Client vs Graphic Designer on YouTube yet?
Comment left by Ben on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:57 pm
Thanks Ben. I think I might have seen it – an animation? – but will double check.
Comment left by Ben Locker on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:00 pm
Hi Ben,
Regarding your point on “Again, they’ll say it shows they listen. I say they’re unprepared for launch” …
The decision to introduce a new price bracket was indeed brought around by discussion by copywriters on the internet, I don’t see how it reflects anything to do with a “launch”.
Also, Copify is a new business, as and when it was “registered with companies house” (frankly, who cares?) is kind of a cheap shot in my opinion.
Apart from that, great piece. Thanks for the exposure.
All the Best.
Rob
PS Accountant is in-house!
Comment left by Rob McVey on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:04 pm
Ben – No relation to Copify, just an observer watching the debate unfold.
Comment left by Falcon on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:13 pm
Fair play Falcon.
Comment left by Ben Locker on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:16 pm
Top posting Ben, and thanks for referring to my post.
You’ve perfectly summed up the irony of Copifygate – a business that purports to help with social media not displaying that many SM smarts itself.
If you look at the reply from Copify on my blog (from the web-developer half of the partnership, rather than the copywriter half) you’ll see a contribution that (in my view) does little to enhance their reputation.
Unless I delete it, that post will stand forever as an example of Copify’s approach to social media. And because my SEO brings all the boys to the yard, my post already ranks #7 for a search on their own brand (up from 10 this morning). Could be a cause for concern…
Comment left by Tom Albrighton on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:17 pm
Exactly Tom. Same here. This post is in at number 9 on Google after only 30-odd minutes – there’s only topsy.com between us. That’s the kind of exposure you don’t get for 2p per word.
Comment left by Ben Locker on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:23 pm
Outspoken? Better than Lisa Barone’s opinion of me I guess (full of shit). Missed half today’s debate due to illness, but at least they’re doing the rounds, addressing concerns. I still wouldn’t use them or work for them, but feedback’s always a good plan.
However – you bring up one of their Tweets:
“@benlocker we have only just moved into new offices, this is why we have only just been able to do this.”
Doesn’t ring true with the press release they put out this AM. They either wrote a rush job this morning (wouldn’t surprise me), or decided to do the legal stuff AFTER setting up and starting the PR.
Either way, that’s a bit weird.
Comment left by Andrew Nattan on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:28 pm
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by writerdiehl: An excellent post from @benlocker on Copify’s too-late attempts to present as a quality business. http://bit.ly/cTpHPk...
Trackback by uberVU - social comments on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 3:49 pm
Re: Falcon, Feb 9th 3:46pm.
No. It doesn’t.
Without being snippy, if you’ve done the time to reach the status of being paid to write, and you’re then happy to carry out jobs that are likened to being better than flipping burgers for an hour, you’re not doing yourself, or your previous achievements any justice whatsoever.
Comment left by Larner on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 4:22 pm
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Andrew Nattan, China Blue, Sarah Turner, writerdiehl, Ben Locker and others. Ben Locker said: Positive pro-Copify comment on my blog post. http://is.gd/80QVj <– sadly it came from a proxy IP. Draw what conclusions you will. [...]
Pingback by Tweets that mention Copify: unprepared to sell cheap copy | Copywriting Blog -- Topsy.com on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 9:21 pm
[...] Ben weighs in with what could be described as “cheap traffic bait” or “insightful comments on just how Copify have riled people up”. I favour the latter description, but judge for yourself: Copify, Unprepared to sell Cheap Copy? [...]
Pingback by Copify - The Debate - Unmemorable Title on Tuesday 9th February, 2010 at 10:40 pm
A lot of good points in the debate. I get asked to write “cheap” copy for some of my clients…I usually refer them to Elance. Atleast now, I have someone else to refer them to!
I’m sure that most of you would agree with me, in that I have spent thousands on every course or manual out there to improve my craft. At 2 cents per word, I would have to write 24 hours a day, seven days a week, for years to just break even.
As someone said, we all have our slow times, but as John Carlton says, you need to have a nest egg put away as “F.Y.” money, to get through the slow times. No one should work for 2, 4 or even 8 cents per word. There are enough clients out there that really need our services and are willing to pay for them.
Comment left by Charles Baldwin on Wednesday 10th February, 2010 at 10:12 am
Have just caught up with the debate. Yesterday as I was working hard at a rate that will pay my mortgage and feed my children. Am I being a bit precious, though? Maybe I really should just cut & paste stuff from Wikipedia and remove the hyperlinks.
Anyway, is Copify setting out a global stall? In other countries – India springs to mind – these rates could make sense.
Comment left by Angpang on Wednesday 10th February, 2010 at 11:56 am
If I was them, I’d do a Ryanair on the issue. Their target is not copywriters on the web. Why bother responding to people that cannot afford to work for them?
Comment left by Michael on Monday 15th February, 2010 at 11:24 am
Yes, but I suspect the backtracking and mea culpas suggest they haven’t properly thought through what they want to achieve. But you’re right – that’s why I said they should have stuck tight if they were confident about their business model.
Comment left by Ben Locker on Monday 15th February, 2010 at 11:27 am
It was strange to see a new firm arguing in public with its potential supplier base, but last week showed how easy it is to get drawn into online debates that might not benefit your brand, particularly if you subscribe to the dubious wisdom of ‘all publicity is good publicity’.
‘Social media’ means engaging with all comers, but you also need to consider what message the engagement itself is sending. Copify clearly took the issues raised by copywriters very seriously, or it wouldn’t have responded. Unfortunately, it didn’t really take the time to strike the right note in its responses, resulting in the need to backtrack – again, a perhaps inevitable consequence of the ‘instant’ nature of SM.
I’d promised myself I wouldn’t post about Copify this week. Ah well, I lasted a couple of hours…
Comment left by Tom Albrighton on Monday 15th February, 2010 at 11:47 am
[...] blogger Ben Locker puts it, Copify is a business model which tries to get “suckers to write for cheapskates”, which, although not the most accurate description (some would argue that companies not looking to [...]
Pingback by Copify and what it means for quality writing « Fine ale and cheap wine on Friday 5th March, 2010 at 3:23 pm
Honestly, Ben. Just don’t worry about them. They are really not going to eat into the relationship between professional clients and good copywriters; nor that between worthwhile but inexperienced clients and good copywriters.
Comment left by Laurence Blume on Sunday 29th January, 2012 at 7:00 pm