Know-How Exchange : Copywriting

Dear A.Malaj,

Copyright refers to the legal protection of intellectual property
viz: protecting and upholding the rights of the owner or originator of said work against unlawful and unauthorized duplication or distribution.

I think you mean writing copy, as in crafting sales text for marketing and advertising purposes. If you mean the former, become a lawyer. If it's the latter, all is not lost but you have some work to do.

How does one become a writer? One reads, dear heart, one reads.

Reads?

What on earth is this chap talking about? Man’s obviously an idiot!

You could say that but you’d be wrong. Here’s why: By reading other people’s writing, you get a much better feeling or grip on the flow of written language. How so?

Well, the written word is not flat: it falls and dives; it has tides and pools. It rises and flies, and whorls back and forth with glee, hope, pain, humour, tears, and countless subtleties and hidden meanings.

Too many writers never see this. Many more never hear it. So their writing lacks life, emotion, and meaning.

Over the years, I’ve lost count of the number of people I’ve encountered
who say they can write. People with degrees (and advanced degrees), in English, marketing, journalism, psychology, paleontology, and with Lord knows what other “qualifications”. And although these people might have been “trained” to write or “educated” to write, they’ve lost sight of the need to read (if they ever had it to begin with), which means they’ve learned to ignore their reader, which is, I believe the sin of all sins for any writer.

This “not caring about one’s reader” approach to writing creates scribes
who, in truth, couldn’t write their way out of a damp paper bad with a pair
of scissors.

So, what does one “do” to become a copywriter?

First, start a swipe file: a collection of ads that talk to you, that reverberate with you for some reason. What makes them compelling? Why do they strike you as effective? Pull these ads apart and figure out what it is about them that makes them work.

Second, as I've written elsewhere in this forum, become a student of advertising. There are other posts on this site where I (and a good many others, many of whom make me look like a rambling, incoherent half-wit) have gone into this in greater detail. Hunt them down and read them. All of them. Yes, I know. That sounds like work, doesn't it? Tough.

Third, write ads. Goodness me, that's another challenge, isn't it? Yes, it is.

But the only way you're going to learn is by jumping through these hoops. Alas dear heart, there are no shortcuts to greatness. If there were, I'd be the billionaire owner of a tropical island right now and one of my tanned, bikini-clad "people" would be writing this for me while a second, third, and fourth were busily peeling my grapes, laughing at my jokes, and pouring me refreshing, ice cold, rum-laced concoctions with little umbrellas in them as the sun sets lazily behind the nodding palms.

Ahh! Oh. Sorry. Where was I? Oh yes, copywriting career advice.

Write great ads for ordinary, everyday products. Real products mind, not some made up nonsense. Above and beyond everything else, your writing must SELL the good, service, or product your ad represents, which means you ads must represent real things, the things people spend money on.

Write long ads. Write short ads. Write single ads. Write campaigns. Write headlines. Write body copy. But whatever you do, you MUST write and your writing MUST encourage people to ACT which means your writing MUST make people want to BUY.

This means writing to people in everyday language, language they're familiar with. And it means writing about the things that matter to them. Not you. The things that matter to them. Got that? Splendid. You'll go far.

But what does it mean, "writing to them"?

Dear heart, it means writing to people's emotions. It means addressing people's needs and pain points. And it means talking to people about the things that keep them awake into the wee small hours of the morning.

Worries. Fears. Doubts. Problems.

Why? Because, dear heart, people with problems want SOLUTIONS!

There are several books you ought to read:

David Ogilvy's "Ogilvy on Advertising",
Luke Sullivan's "Hey Whipple, Squeeze This", and Alistair Crompton's "The Craft of Copywriting", (which might be out of print),
Claude Hopkins book "Scientific Advertising"
John Caples and Fred E. Hahn's "Tested Advertising Methods_"
And anything you can lay your hands on by Elmer Wheeler.
Ditto for Joe Sugarman, Gary Halbert, Dan Keneddy, Neil French, Indra Sinha, David Abbott, Bill Bernbach, and Pat Fallon.

And that's just for starters.

Read industry magazines. Read awards annuals. Pull together a clutch of your own work (your book) and approach writers you admire and ask them for advice on ways to improve. Ask for a real brief and work hard to fulfill it. Offer to work on other stuff to show them what you can do.

Be persistent. Be professional. But don't be a pain in the tush.

There's a saying, from Bill Bernbach I think, that good ads drive sales and that great ads build factories.

Writing compelling copy isn't easy. It takes practice and skill. It takes toil, compromise, and heartache. And there will ALWAYS be someone who thinks (mostly wrongly) that their writing trumps yours. Sometimes, they’ll be right, and your work will improve because of their input.

In advertising and marketing, so-so writing lacks punch and bores people, if they're moved to read the copy at all. OK writing is still a little dull, but at a pinch, it gets the job done. Fine writing often uses lots of big words, often, with little effect. Good writing presents the facts and offers a compelling call to action.

And great writing?

Great writing raises the little hairs on the nape of your neck. It gives you goose pimples. Great writing moves people. It brings tears to the eyes and gladdens the heart. Great writing connects, grips, and engages the reader and makes them take serious action right this second. Not tomorrow or next week. Now.

Am I a great writer? No. Far from it; I wish and dream.

But a long time ago, a wise old man told me that great writing makes people do what you've just done. Read to the very end.

Good luck to you.

Gary Bloomer
Wilmington, DE, USA

I didn't read through the previous long post, so he might have said this.

If you're already good, start networking with local freelance designers and Web developers - they often get contracts that require copy, and if they aren't that good at it or don't have the time, it could be a win-win situation.

Your misuse of the term in your questions suggests that you might need some practice. So still do the networking, but offer to do the first few for free to get in the system.