What is a copy deck?
We all like to think that writing is more of an art form than a technical exercise but when you’re writing copy for a company profile or website, there are always going to be rules and regulations. A holistic stream of consciousness that beams back it you from the page is all well and good, but when semi colons are considered superfluous and italicised words are a no-no even the most stunning of prose can fall flat. That’s where copy decks come in.
Simply put, a copy deck is a single document which includes everything you need for a certain copy writing project. The tool set includes information on what fonts to use and in what size, details of paragraph structure and of course essential house-style information. For example how should certain brands be referred to, are abbreviations acceptable? Does the client have specific guidelines on the use of italics? And should you (or should you not) use full stops in headers and titles? Having the document at hand can help avoid unnecessary editorial changes and also helps writers streamline their copy to maximum effect.
But a copy deck often moves beyond simple formatting guidelines. For web content there are often SEO keywords to include and clients often want certain elements, their company name or product for example, emphasised, perhaps by having it appear in bold or perhaps having it mentioned a set number of times. Certain sections have to be flagged up so that the design team understands what goes where and in what order; meta tags can come in handy and page numbers can be set to match their place within the site map. Where graphics or video feeds are to be included, a copy deck can be set to include instruction panels, usually greyed out, so that it’s clear that it’s not part of the actual copy.
Copy decks just make life so much simpler, which is why we love them so much. Here at iFactory we use them to help clients and copywriters to compile ‘pitch perfect’ content for whatever project they have their mind set upon. Our copy decks are well crafted and have been carefully thought out; they include SEO tips and those all-important industry know-how tricks to help you not only write great content but also to gain an SEO advantage over your competitors.
We’re one of Brisbane’s longest running digital agencies and we are GITC accredited and we have a creative team of industry experts working for us, so you know you’ll be in good hands. If you want to learn more about copy writing and digital marketing solutions then why not call our team today?
