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…
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…
It’s not uncommon for clients to ask how much a copywriter charges per page, or even per word (How long is a page? For that matter, how long is a word? Should you charge by the letter instead?). I always ask the client if a builder or an architect would give them a price per brick.
Using arbitrary word counts to arrive at a quote simply doesn’t work. The only thing worth quoting on is time and complexity. How many hours will this take? How exhausted will you be at the end of it? How much of my time is…
I caught up with another freelancer this week and we got onto the subject of “danger words” in client enquiries. The classic is the phrase “it’s only a little job” which usually means “it’s an ordinary sized job but I have very little money”.
It’s also worth counting the number of buzzwords a client uses in their enquiry. One recent enquiry opened with “we’re looking to engage with a copywriting solution”. This solution politely rejected the client’s offer to get engaged. Knowing in my heart of hearts we were incompatible, I was sure I’d be jilted before invoice day.
My…
In the ongoing quest to improve my work, I recently finished reading Robert P Cialdini’s classic book, Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion, looking for tips. Cialdini suggests there are six different ways to influence people / close a sale, and he lists them as follows:
- Reciprocity (People tend to return a favour, e.g. giving out free samples leads to greater sales)
- Commitment (Once people have already decided to buy, it’s much easier to raise prices with ‘extras’ at the last minute, a common technique used in car showrooms)
…
There are a lot of copywriting brief templates out there. Personally, I don’t rate any of them. Most of them focus on facts, figures, times, schedules, costs. Most clients will naturally include this information in their initial contact with their copywriter anyway. And most technical information is as easy to find as a quick google search.
Unfortunately, this information isn’t enough to help your copywriter do a good job. It’s only enough to help them do a generic job. If you want truly personal copy, you’re going to have to be prepared to get personal.
Can’t meet your client in…
Don’t worry about the dictionary definition. The Oxford Comma is simple. It separates out separate things. Without the comma, things are combined.
Here’s a simple, concise, and definitive argument courtesy of shortee.tumblr.com –