Part of this piece was on my LinkedIn account (the copy writing bits), it was “inspired” by some hard talk I had with my creative team (whiteboard and all)
So I am a writer (you can totally start a sentence with “so” by the way), as in I express myself – not solely, I also punch - through the written word. This craving, this need to squeeze my insides into existence started as a teenager. I fantasized – again not solely, there was Keanu Reeves - about writing this one book, the image of which still plays like a Reel inside my head. A vintage brown leather jacket cover, worn at the ends.
But way before my Hemingway/ Tolstoy identity theft years – because what are creators if not thieves, I steal people’s workouts and their brains at times - all I wanted to do was paint. I began to dip my toes into the world of canvas and color as a clueless 5 years old. I somehow convinced my old man to get me some oil paint and drawing pads larger than my head. There was this program on T.V I was obsessed with that taught painting, and I would be glued to the screen emulating every brush stroke.
As I grew older the size of my dreams and ambitions grew too, I wanted to be a university professor – regardless of the subject mind you – I wanted to save the planet, liberate women, join Arnold as a she-terminator, live on an island swarming with hunks where I’m the only female (more accurate to say the only kid), ya know all the things that the little girls who are made of sugar and spice and everything nice dream of daily.
As I walked through the wild journey that is my life, I kept the notepad and pen close, but the painting had to go, I gave up on the dream of ever becoming a painter, I swallowed it … then kept on climbing.
Now back to you LinkedIn nerds. I am a writer/author, not a creative writer however … too pragmatic for that. Don’t get me wrong, I love fiction, I read it and I sway with it, I am just not the sort to write it, until now anyway. I am also a copywriter, as in a homo sapien who writes to promote and advertise. I am also a content creator/ strategist as in that temptress who creates entertaining or educational material to be expressed through any medium or channel. Lastly, I am a marketing director. I know I am impressed myself, all in all, this makes up a bombshell skill set that big companies like to take advantage of and grow … at my expense that is.
Seriously, other than bragging, what the hell am I saying here? I just want to set a record first dudes, I know what I am talking about when I talk about writing. I may not have won a Pulitzer, damn it I’ve never won a free coupon, yet I know what writing is and is not and I especially know what copy/ content aka writing to sell is and is not.
Let’s begin with the boogie man that writing is.
Listen, if you want to write, and you actually give it a go, YOU ARE ALREADY A WRITER, period. There is no authority on writing, no writing police, and no high council were some people are anointed and others cast out and dodged into a read-only hell. The world’s best writers were normal folks like me and you. So you want to write? Just do it, but listen up YO:
Your writing is you, just like your voice, complete with tone, emotion, vibe ..etc. people get to know/ feel you not through grammar and punctuation (remember proper writing is a skill ANYONE can learn with a simple online course) but through the DNA and energy you spill into your words … THAT is what captures people’s attention. And just as the world’s best speakers and entertainers are usually not the most eloquent, the best writers are those who can alter your emotional state (I know I know too sciency a sentence), they make you cry, laugh, travel, fall in love ..etc. So be you, no matter how that you sounded, because believe me there is always someone out there who is just gonna go gaga for it. Never ever let anyone tamper with that. Edit for mistakes yes, proofread yes, alter no. I am a passionate person (Circassian + Arab = Greek fire); I think, i feel, I speak, I write – in that order. I cannot let anyone tone my words down, suffocate my feelings or extinguish my fire. The few times I looked for a proofreader I avoided “ice queens” like the plague and sought the eccentric sorts.
Now with copywriting, it is the exact opposite. Unless you are on a mission to bring down the client or company you work for, the rule is: copy/ content is not self-expression. It is not even writing, it is pure selling, pure marketing, it is about the client, what they want to hear, and giving it to them. Because a business that does not sell is a charity and advertisement/ social content that does not speak to your client is the copywriter’s personal blog. Therefore with copy, you are a marketer first and a writer … well fifth!
Rule number two: Your writing needs to reflect the Brand persona, its image, its vibe, and tone. So if you have a funky brand for example you cannot write copy that reads like a Victorian furniture store. First, no one will read it, second, it will harm your image, and third, it will tell your clients that you are a brand that is not sure of itself. I would actually prefer that any dude/ chick from the marketing team write a simple copy that is based on the marketing strategy than an ivory tower writer whose words are pretentious, robotic, and lacking in feel but can win a prize for best writer of the year.
Third, unless you are a Victorian furniture store, or an old gentleman’s club, your words and language should be relatable to your audience: simple for starters. People today don’t read Shakespeare not only because they don’t read in general, or know who the hell this dude is, but because no one can understand the poor fella. Don’t be the Shakespeare of the copywriting world. It’s a dark and lonely place there.
Whether it was brand awareness, a campaign or promoting a good cause, you are writing to sell, and just like you won’t recite a poem to sell shoes, you don’t write copy as if it was your college creative writing exam. Case closed.
To be continued …