Catch of the day

 

Confessions of a Corporate Storyteller: my best copywriting secrets

Let’s face it, writing good copy is hard. Writing good copy in a content-on-demand environment (like a marketing agency or small business) is even harder. Even for the best copywriters, it is occasionally tempting to brandish your ballpoint pen like a sword and go bug-eyed at the thought of writing “patent-pending polyutherane upholstery” or “innovative LED light bulbs” one more stinkin’ time. As a six-year-old copywriter myself, I feel your pain, so I’m going to let you in on a few of my  own best copywriting tricks that will make your job infinitely easier. Trust me, I’m a Corporate Storyteller.

Walk like the tiger, talk like the tiger

When it comes to copywriting, it pays to go native. No, this doesn’t mean donning a loin cloth, though if that’s your thing, I won’t stop you. What it means is, you need to customize your content to resonate with the target audience. Until you walk like the tiger, talk like the tiger, and think like the tiger, you’ll never sell the tiger discounted cell phone services for a limited time. You may be thinking “Duh. I already know that!” but how often do you actually take the time to do it? If you’re honest with yourself, you probably spend about 70% of your copywriting life furiously copying and pasting the same sad headline (Free product samples for a limited time!) into all of your marketing collateral and then calling it a day. So next time you are faced with a blank computer screen, fire up your imaginary time machine and journey to the land where your target demographic roams. Let’s put this into practice.

How to go native: a walkabout

So you’ve got a big email campaign looming. You’ve got your offer, which invites people to earn extra money by monetizing their email lists. You’ve got three segmented demographics you’re targeting: a local NOW chapter, a group of environmental conservationists, and a media club.

Option 1 (the Non-Native Approach):Whip open your laptop and type “EARN EXTRA MONEY BY MONETIZING YOUR EMAIL LISTS,” in all caps, then sit back and watch the unsubscribes roll in.

Option 2 (the Native Approach): Create three “native tongue” headlines that cause the target demographics’ ears to perk up. Examples:

• Feminist Headline: “NOW Women: Earn more mad money with monetized email lists”
• Nature Headline: “Save trees, save for a rainy day by monetizing your paperless communications”
• Media club headline: “Mad as hell at advertorial content? Monetized email lists offer a sane alternative.”

See the difference? The moral of the story is this: whether you are indulging your curmudgeon CEO or your fast-talking New York stock broker, it pays to speak the language if you want to arouse interest (and open rates!).

 

Become a gold digger

 

The problem with most copy is that it barely scratches the surface. This is why a lot of marketing earns the name “fluff.” To write great copy, you’ve got to dig beneath the flowery surface (where words like “marvelous!” and “revolutionary” live) and get down to the good stuff: the hard-nosed, highly specific marketing gold that’s going to make your copy glisten with genuine appeal. One of the biggest parts of becoming a gold digger is getting your head out of the Roger’s thesaurus, abandoning your signature scowling writer posture, and pounding the pavement for marketing nuggets of wisdom. Yes, you might have to actually talk to people.

How to dig for good copy:

1. For internal copywriters, interview your boss about the product or service you need to sell.

2. For external copywriters, set up an interview with the client for the accounts you write copy for.

3. Take your account manager to lunch. Yes, I know copywriters and account managers are natural enemies like the snake and the mongoose, but do it anyway. Ask questions to gain insight into the client’s personality, style, quirks, concerns, etc.

4.Read the company website top-to-bottom. “About us” sections, testimonials, and company blogs are all great places to find hidden gems for marketing copy.

5. Google, google, google. It’s not enough just to find out how the company views itself. You have to find out what other people think too. Time to hit the Internet. Read press release articles, Wikipedia, check Gist, dig up anything you can find. Figure out what the public perception of the product is already, and you’ll know how to gear your copy accordingly.

6. Case out the competition. Read competitor websites, trade publications and marketing materials. This will help you lock the final piece in place, figuring out your copywriting angle: what your client has that no one else does.

As you can see, one way to beat the copywriting blahs is to stop writing for a while and go digging for great copy nuggets. If you’re sitting at your desk all day every day not speaking to a soul, you are not writing ass-kicking copy. You just aren’t.

 

Format Your Vary (Vary Your Format:)

Bored with your same blah html template or 3 column print newsletter? So is everyone reading it. So why not mix it up by varying your format? As the great Dr. Suess said, can you do it in a box? Can you do it with a fox? Why not try:

*a menu *a poem *a song *a mad libs form * a paper airplane *a crossword puzzle *a newspaper ad *a Valentine * a message in a bottle * a telegram *a wedding invitation *an origami crane

Note: These approaches work best when appropriate to the target audience. A pitch designed to look like a menu is perfect for a restaurant copy, while the paper airplane idea is great for presenting to an aviation company. But some of the other ideas work great for any client. Who couldn’t use more poetry, songs, or Mad Libs in their life?

Copywriters of any stripe can pull of this approach. Recently I saw a PPC ad for Valentine’s Day stationery written in the shape of a heart. If a PPC person can accomplish that kind of creativity in 50 characters, what could you do? Another time, in my past life as a bridal blogger, I received a code to try a wedding-themed video game. It was written as a wedding invitation, with fancy card and envelope and everything. I still have it. How many people saved your copywriting efforts? This is a great gut check to give yourself before sending your next press release or pitch off!

Make like Shakespeare and add some dramatic elements to your copywriting

If you’re still stumped on how to infuse excitement into your copywriting, fall back on the basic elements of storytelling. Here are some examples on how to spice it up so the townspeople don’t throw rotten fruit at you:

• Human emotion.“Mary used to dread her a.m. conference call….”.
• Sensory details.”One dripping hot day in July, a breeze from a window and a parched thirstiness in creator Michael Randall’s throat  inspired the prototype for Randall’s ice cube trays.”
• A narrative arc. “They said it would never happen.Today, 1000 screaming fans say otherwise.”

These types of dramatic elements are proven to pique human interest and immediately draw people into the story, no matter what the subject. Try one next time you’re stumped and you will be surprised how much more provocative your copywriting becomes!

Wake up and smell the headlines

As a copywriter who writes about the same few products every day, you are going to have days where you feel like there is simply nothing left to be said about your product-you’ve said it all, a million times. Well that might very well be true. When this happens, it’s time to look outward for inspiration. Maybe there’s nothing happening with your product per se, but there could be a trend or movement happening out in the industry that showcases your product in a whole new light. Time to put on your metaphorical reporter trench coat and go work your beat.

How to dredge up new story angles from “real world” sources:

1. Read industry magazines

2. Set up Google Alerts for your client’s product name, their competitor’s product names, and their key terms. Do the same for Twitter using a site like TweetDeck.

3. Sign up for the RSS feed from Linked In Answers for the industries relevant to your product, ie “direct marketing” or “technology.”

4. Make a news site your home page, then spend ten minutes or so scanning the headlines in the morning. Even general sites like Huffington Post or Slate can offer insight into cultural trends or current events that may relate to your product if you are reading with a “news nose.” Figure out how your product relates to the world at large.

Taking time to figure out “what’s new” can have infinite value for your copywriting. A headline may leap out that you that perfectly supports your value proposition and gets your typing fingers moving. Adding quotes, statistics and other hard facts can help ground your copywriting efforts and make a more credible case for your product. Also, adding a fresh news-infused headlines lets prospective clients know they’re not just reading the same recycled drivel (or at least tricks them into thinking that;) This is a great technique if you’re consistently reaching out to the same people and want to make it feel fresh.

Last but not least, my final copywriting rule for creating fresh content is never,ever talk just to fill space. I’ve given you my six best tricks for creating fresh content, and I’m not going to come up with a half-hearted seventh just to stick to convention. Hmm…or maybe that WAS  a seventh tip….tricky:)

 

copywriting, email lists, email marketing, Marketing