a. “You” is the client, its employees and agents.
b. “I” or “My” and “TLT” is The Little Typewriter.
a) You will receive the copywriting agreement upon acceptance of the quote.
b) This agreement includes a no-liability clause, meaning if the copy is edited or changed by you after I have written it and it has been signed off or completed as per the creative brief and agreement, TLT cannot be sued for any issues relating to the project including, but not limited to, poor performance or results, defamation or misleading advertising.
c) Records are kept of all original documents, including quotes, agreements, instructions and emails relevant to the project and the final version of completed work.
d) The agreement must be signed by either the registered owner of a business name or the director of a company entity.
e) Should you be unable to pay the account by the due and agreed date the company director gives their personal guarantee that they will pay the account or be held personally liable for the debt.
f) In the event an overdue account is referred to a collection agency/law firm you will be liable for all costs including collection costs, agency commissions, legal and demand costs and any other associated fees.
g) The Terms and Conditions constitute the entire agreement and understanding of the parties and supersede any previous agreement between the parties. A waiver of a breach of any of the provisions of this Agreement shall not be construed as a continuing waiver of other breaches of the same or other provisions. They shall be governed by Australian law, and the parties hereby agree to submit themselves to the exclusive jurisdiction of Australian Courts.
a) You are asked to nominate one primary contact for all revisions and contact throughout the project.
b) Should you not communicate with me for 30 days, the project will be deemed closed and any final amount owing will be invoiced.
c) If no comments are received within two weeks of submitting work to you, I will assume you are happy with the completed work and finalise the project, provided we haven’t arranged a new deadline.
a) Unless otherwise stated, every project will include two rounds of edits. Additional rounds operate as a variation and incur additional fees at an hourly rate of $100.
b) When we work together, I’ll give you a Q+A creative brief. This is important for teasing out the copywriting gold and defining your project scope and vision. Project briefs that are perfected from the start result in minimal edits later, saving you time and money.
c) Any major modifications to the original creative brief, during the course of execution will render the provided quotation invalid.
d) Additional fees/charges may be applied to cover the time and expenses required to complete any new work.
e) The new quotation will need to be approved and the revised deposit paid before work can recommence.
a) All original material remains the property of TLT until final payment is received.
b) When full and final payment is completed, the copyright of the work produced is automatically assigned to you. You can then use the work however you wish.
c) In the event that you cancel a project before completion, you waive copyright to any work completed.
d) I take no responsibility for the material and how it is used once you have approved the final draft.
e) I reserve the right to display and link to the completed project as part of an online portfolio. (The link will also help your Google ranking.)
f) All copy completed is run through Copyscape for plagiarism and to ensure the newly written copy will not cause any trouble with the Google Gods or other site owners.
a) TLT relinquishes all responsibility for legal repercussions that may be incurred on publishing or distribution of material by the client.
b) I endeavour to ensure that all my work does not infringe on any copyright or other rights of a third party. However, it is your responsibility to ensure the accuracy of all content and that the information provided to, or produced by TLT is factual and correct.
c) All materials provided by you are assumed to be legal and accurate.
d) While I work very hard to ensure my work is free from errors, I do not offer an error-free guarantee. Therefore, you are responsible for final approval.
e) I cannot be liable to clients or any third party for damages, including lost profits, lost savings, complaints, claims, litigation or other incidental, consequential or special damages which arise regarding the project.
f) If any provision of the copywriting agreement shall be unlawful, void, or for any reason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions.
g) If you wish to make a claim about incorrect performance or breach of these Terms and Conditions you must send it, in writing, to hello@thelittletypewriter.com.au within three months of project delivery.
a) Tone and audience as per the creative brief with a mix of personal and professional language to create a connection with readers.
b) Voice is mostly second-person (you), however, content and keyword goals usually have a need for first and third-person as well.
Writing is my bread and butter, so prompt payment is important. You must agree to adhere tightly to the payment schedule, as I agree to adhere tightly to our project schedule.
a) Unless otherwise agreed, projects exceeding $1,000 are subject to a non-refundable 50% deposit before work commences. Jobs less than this amount require full payment in advance.
b) Following the first three months of any ongoing work, a deposit may no longer be required.
c) Weekly, fortnightly or monthly payment retainers are set up depending on the project size and your needs. The final invoice is issued upon project completion. Payment must be paid in full before the copyright of the work is transferred to you.
d) A $60.00 service charge is payable on all overdue balances for reissuing each invoice at 14 days, 21, 42, 63 and 84 days from the date of the original invoice. Clients who fail to make payment(s) within the required timeframe may result in the project being forfeited or an updated payment arrangement, i.e., full or final payment before project completion.
e) The price of services is either:
– as indicated on invoices provided by TLT to the client; or
– the quoted price, providing the quote was given to you in writing and has been accepted
f) Additional revisions or proofreading outside of the proposed scope or quotation agreed upon operate as a variation and incur additional fees at an hourly rate of $100.
g) Unless otherwise stated, prices and quotes are in Australian dollars (exclusive of GST). Additional charges, such as travel time, delivery or courier costs, redrafting/redrawing fees or liaison with third-party agents such as web developers or graphic designers may be added to the price of the services upon your written authorisation. These costs will be clearly outlined if applicable.
h) You acknowledge that any changes to the original brief or scope of works requested by the client, or which become necessary in the professional opinion of TLT to give the full effect to the client’s order, will be a variation and incur additional fees.
i) If an order is considered urgent, as agreed upon by both parties, I may charge a rush loading equal to 30% of the price of the order. This is dependent on availability.
j) I reserve the right to change the price of an order in the event of any variations, including changes to the brief, additional rounds of editing/proofreading, request or need of additional paid supplies, such as additional or specifically purchased royalty-free images, or increase in delivery costs and the costs of complying with all legislation, regulations and by-laws from the date of the client’s quotation.
k) I may recover from you as a liquidated debt due or owing all costs, losses and expenses incurred as a result of default or omission of the client, contractors, subcontractors, consultants, representatives or others responsible.
l) If you cancel after I have received the signed agreement and brief, a cancellation fee may apply. This may include costs such as time spent for brief preparation, research, drafting, proofreading or set-up fees, including loss of profit.
m) If all works are completed at the time of cancellation, full payment is required. Written notice must be provided to cancel and only becomes effective once TLT provides written confirmation of the client’s request to cancel.
n) I do not subcontract any written work. External proofreading and/or editing will be done by a third party.
a) I strongly believe in hitting deadlines, but this is only achieved if we work together. As such, I endeavour to deliver all work by the agreed deadline. However, should any circumstances beyond my control, such as illness or a family emergency occur, then this may prevent me from getting the work to you on time.
b) I will inform you within two business days, should there be any timeframe issues.
c) If I am unable to complete work, because I have not received the necessary information from you, I will continue the project at my next availability. This may affect the overall timeline.
d) I am not responsible for a missed deadline if you are late with a deposit, slow to supply materials or have not provided feedback to agreed timescales.
e) I cannot be responsible for deadlines missed due to circumstances completely beyond control, such as emergencies, acts of God and so on (within reason). I’m a one-lady band. But if this should happen, you will be updated accordingly and work prioritised as quickly and as efficiently as possible.
f) Should you decide to delay the project or withhold required information for projection completion for more than 90 days, due to uncertainty, indecision, or any other reason not related to illness or family emergency, then the project will be deemed closed and any final amount owing will be invoiced. The project can be reopened, following a new quotation and deposit payment.
g) If you require further changes outside the original scope, this will take extra time. New deadlines can be agreed upon together, but I will do everything reasonable to meet your needs.
On average, a new site and/or new content takes 6-12 months to rank. Competitive industries and search terms naturally take longer.
a) I will make all reasonable efforts to bring about desired performance levels regarding Search Engine Optimisation through optimised content, however, I make no guarantees or warranties that SEO services and works will bring instant results, or that a performance level can or may be maintained.
b) If your chosen service includes article submissions (outreach), I will make all reasonable efforts to place content within a (4) week timeframe from the article approval on an external site with a Domain Authority equal to or higher than your website, according to the Moz toolbar.
c) No guarantees can be made with outreach or SEO. This is because the search engine algorithm is always changing and Google warns against such guarantees.
d) You acknowledge that while TLT may in its sole discretion optimise previous SEO works within this contract agreement, further SEO or re-optimised work may be considered a separate contract and service, and you will be invoiced accordingly.
e) You agree that I am not liable for any costs or loss incurred by the client for any implementation made by the client, or by TLT on your behalf, which does not conform to the evolving algorithms, guidelines, styles and best practices by Google.
f) You agree that I utilise only legitimate white hat SEO tactics and I am not liable for any act, omission, delay or representation including but not limited to the service, works or any conduct required in the sole discretion of TLT to provide the service or works, which directly or indirectly causes the client’s website, domain name or email to be penalised, blacklisted or banned by search engines, and the client acknowledges that it is also their responsibility to comply with the terms and conditions of Google and other search engines.
g) You will be provided with an initial Google Analytics report up to three months after the web copy and/or blog content has been published. You must provide me with full access to your analytics account in order to generate this report for you.
h) Additional monthly reports, outside of the included one in your SEO package, will be charged at a rate of $280.
i) Unless otherwise agreed upon, it is your responsibility to ensure the appropriate tracking and analytics are set up properly on your website for reporting, reviewing and monitoring the work done.
j) It can take up to 9 months (sometimes longer) before you see some improvement in your
domain authority. This requires a holistic approach including establishing backlinks and creating valuable optimised content on a regular basis. Once you gain momentum, the additional traffic may lead to additional backlinks.
a) To take advantage of the project momentum and make sure your final copy is exactly what you’re after, I offer a 14-day guarantee. This means, after sending through the first draft, you have up to 14 days to discuss your two included rounds of revisions with me.
b) Within this 14-day period, I guarantee I will turn your revisions around as soon as possible so you can use the copy and start getting the results you’ve been looking for. After this 14-day period, the copy is deemed approved and final payment must be made.
If the client wishes to cancel the copywriting agreement, TLT retains the deposit and the client will be required to make additional payment(s) to cover any work already completed. This ‘kill fee’ (not as dangerous as it sounds, I promise) will be based on the percentage of the project completed.
[or:]
If the client wishes to cancel after the project is finalised, the full amount quoted and signed off on must be paid within 14 days.
If TLT cancels the project, the client will be under no obligation to pay for any work not completed. Any monies already paid on uncompleted work will be refunded to the client within 14 days. Should the client wish to use any completed material and secure copyright to that material, the client must pay for all or any work completed to date in accordance with the standard payment terms.
If the client fails to comply with any of the Terms and Conditions, TLT may, in addition to exercising all or any of its rights against the client, suspend any further order and immediately invoice the client for any work performed for any order but not yet paid for in accordance with these Terms and Conditions.
If TLT has not provided works to the client for review, however is unable to obtain instructions from the client for a period of 10 business days without reasonable explanation, TLT may terminate the order and invoice the client or time spend on the cancelled order.
a) Due to their bespoke character, works may not be returned.
b) Services and copywriting works may not be rejected unless the final works provided do not conform with the brief or scope of works detailed in the project brief, and such non-conformity does not result directly or indirectly from the instructions (or lack thereof) of the client.