I’ve often argued with my clients. Not because I’m petty, or vindictive, or because I’m used to getting my way. I argue because I want to give my clients the best possible work.
If a client is paying you to write for them, you have an obligation to give them the best you’ve got. If that means a line or an angle the client has supplied doesn’t work, you need to tell them why — and be able to suggest better alternatives.
Not all clients take direction. As Tom Albrighton notes, no matter how much experience you have, as …
When getting to understand a client’s business, I always ask them about their USP (unique selling point). In short, I ask them the same question a potential customer will ask: “why you?”
Sometimes, particularly if their business plan isn’t fully formed, the client won’t know. So I help by saying it’s often one of two things: “are you the best, or are you the cheapest?”
The two types of consumer
There are two types of consumers in the world. There are those who want to minimize their cost no matter what. Then there are those who want to get the …
Last week I found myself doing some conversion optimization for a direct response company that markets the US equivalent of Cillit Bang. Great fun, and the potential to make a huge amount of difference — I never fail to be surprised by how few people take conversion optimization and multivariate testing seriously, so it’s great to find someone who does.
If your conversion rate is 2% but an alternate call to action increases it to 4%, don’t you owe it to yourself to test all possible variations?
But conversion science isn’t simply about design, flow, and, of course, making the …
Quick question. Have you ever used a QR code? Maybe you don’t even know what a QR code is. If you don’t, it’s one of those funny barcode things you’re supposed to take a photo of with your smartphone and it then points you in the direction of a website.
“Oh, like a link,” you say.
“Yes, almost exactly like a link, except you have to go through the rigmarole of standing up close to the QR code and taking a picture, et cetera.”
“So why not just have some text that says ‘visit http://allday.cc!’ instead?”
“Precisely.”
Okay, that’s an …
I’ve been lucky recently – getting far more offers of work than I’ve been able to take on. Of course, freelance work comes in fits and starts (I went six weeks last year without a single enquiry), but unfortunately freelancers aren’t like squirrels – most people want a copywriter today so we can’t store up work like nuts for the winter. So I’ve been giving it away.
What’s struck me as surprising is that every time I have suggested an alternative copywriter to a client, they have hired that writer – once, twice, three times – four times in the …
Unlike graphic designers – who clearly provide a service most people can’t perform themselves – as a copywriter, I’m often asked exactly what it is I can do that anyone who can read and write can’t. And I can talk about my extended vocabulary, my sales knowledge, my daring ability to start sentences with the word “and”. But really, there’s one vital thing I can do that most non-copywriting folks can’t.
I can pick an appropriate tone of voice.
If McLuhan’s oft-quoted phrase ‘the medium is the message’ is true, then how you say something is at least as important …
You can’t hurry love. But as a copywriter, can you rush creativity? Is it possible to have too many ideas? Or is more always more?
- Is it better to go to the client with just one idea?
- Is it better to go to the client with two or three of the best?
- …or does your client want to pick and choose from a hundred different options?
The answer depends on the client — and on how well you can read them.
Some clients want to be told what to do. They’re paying you, the expert, to tell them what will …
Wordplay can be a fantastic thing. Several years ago, in an effort to convince my not-entirely-computer-literate parents to migrate to Firefox from IE5, I renamed the desktop shortcut from “Internet Explorer” to “Internet Exploder” and solemnly warned them “if you use this program, you will destroy the internet.” I think they got the message.
Sometimes wordplay is subtle. Sometimes it’s not. The pun, that most maligned staple of Englsh language humour, can be both.
More importantly sometimes it works in copywriting and sometimes it doesn’t. Sometimes a pun can liven up a dull sentence and keep your client’s message in …
Editors. Hard drinking, hard smoking, hard to deal with. When I was just starting out as a journalist, my editor took ten seconds to finish his drink, stub out his cigarette, and offer me a few words of advice.
‘You’re a good writer,’ he said. ‘But your stuff won’t be great until it has a through line.’
It’s the best writing advice anyone ever gave me. And it’s advice I’m still using as a freelance copywriter today.
Whose through line is it anyway?
A through line is a single message, or set of messages, that’s repeated throughout your copy. Whether …
“Dear Sir (or Madam),
Unfortunately your application has not been successful at this time. Thank you for applying, we will keep your details on file for future reference.
PS, F**k you.”
It’s a letter we’ve all seen at some point in our lives. Whether it’s from a potential employer, a bank, mortgage broker, university, or other institution, the message is clear. We don’t like you. Go away.
Like most people, I’ve seen a fair few of these letters in my time. And, as I’ve become a better copywriter, I’ve noticed one thing that really bugs me about them — the …