Great copy looks outward, addressing the needs, cares and desires of the reader (the customer).

There are two stages to achieving outward-looking copy.

Stage one

The first stage is to accept that people don’t care about companies, or products*.

People care about themselves. People love to hear about how your company can help them, or save them money, but they don’t really care about how you design software, or structure your company, or hire staff, or floss your teeth.

Stage two

Now we can get on with looking outward…

It’s important that copywriters know their clients. And most copywriters do this well. We sit down with our clients and interrogate them, finding out everything we need to know about the business.

But those copywriters are only doing half a job. The business is only one half of the picture. The most important thing to consider when writing copy is the customer – your client’s client.

So when you speak to your clients, be sure to ask about their clients. Find out as much as you can about the people who will read your copy. Who are they? What do they want? What do we know about them and their needs?

And be wary of your client’s draft copy (if they provide it) because it’s likely to be littered with boring details like company structure, procedures etc. You need to weed this stuff out. Replace it with interesting, benefit-led copy that appeals to your reader’s deepest desires.

*There are exceptions. There are always exceptions.

Interested in becoming a copywriter? Here is my take on the skills required to make a living as a freelance copywriter. This is purely the result of my experience, and it’s worth remembering that other copywriters succeed by other means, and rely on skills that I don’t have.

Copywriting skills

Naturally! If you’re going to make a living by selling a skill, it should be one you’ve got. But don’t despair if you feel less-than-expert. As long as you’ve got an understanding of what you’re doing, a solid grasp of grammar, a degree of writing talent and a willingness to learn, you’ll go far. Besides, most copywriters only become great because they work past the stage where they’re not-so-great.

Versatility

You can specialise, and only seek copywriting jobs in your preferred industry/format, but you’ll still need to be able to shift gears and adjust to new subjects or clients. And being versatile enough to adapt to new challenges is hugely beneficial when you get started, and may be grateful for whatever opportunities arise.

Marketing nous

Your work is all about helping your clients with their marketing. But you won’t have many clients if you can’t do your own marketing. Unless of course you’re famous, or do something revolutionary that clients clamour for. But the reality of the copywriting world is that there are plenty of good copywriters out there, and when you get started you’ll need to raise your profile in order to succeed. My book Brilliant Freelancer includes an informative chapter on marketing (you can get a free chapter if you follow that link).

Personability

Copywriting projects vary wildly, and where one client wants you at arm’s length, others will value collaboration and want you in their office. You’ll need to be easy to work with, and good at fitting in with new people in new environments.  Your clients may want to meet you before you start work, so you’ll need to be friendly, cooperative and able to demonstrate that you know what you’re doing.

A thick skin

The copy you write for clients is not poetry or art; it’s a business tool, and it’s a tool that your clients will consider carefully before putting to work. So your clients will doubt, question and clarify anything they don’t like. And after you’ve obsessed over every word, a client’s questions or deletions can be hard to stomach. But you’ll soon learn to distance yourself from your copy, to view it objectively and consider its strengths and weaknesses, and to debate them without prejudice.

Web smarts

If you’re writing for the web, you need to ‘get’ the web. Watch what web designers and developers are talking about, because their discoveries and breakthrough build the web you write for.

What you don’t need to be a freelance copywriter…

You don’t need to pay for a copywriting course. You can learn it all from books that cost a fraction of training fees. Or why not do a few voluntary copywriting projects?  Or attend a workshop if a copywriter gives one, but don’t focus on formal education. Learn by doing.

Good copy is communicative, and good communication happens when there’s a rapport between the communicators. You can build rapport with your readers by creating a cordial atmosphere.

Here’s how you can write copy and make friends:

- Have respect. Friends respect each other. Don’t patronise your reader, or try to hoodwink them. Give it to them straight.

- Remember your readers are human. Your reader is an individual, a human being just like you. So address them directly.

- Be nice. You might be selling enterprise communication solutions (WTF?) but you don’t have to spout jargon.

- Be helpful. How can you help your reader? What information might benefit them? What links could you offer them to make their life easier?

- Use nice, friendly words. ‘Killer’, ‘eliminate’ and ‘destroy’ may seem appropriate when describing Mrs Crumbles Kiddie Café, but there are probably nicer words you could use instead.

Drivvel.com, the website that gathers the best copy from around the world, needs your help.

Are you…

- a copywriter, a designer or someone who works with words?

- interested in creating a community?

- able to give a little time to the Drivvel project?

Drivvel needs:

- a few regular posters to add great copy that they find (or write)

- help spreading the word

In return for your support you will be able to influence the direction of Drivvel and feature prominently on the site as part of the team. If you’re interested, please email info@drivvel.com

Thanks!

Easy is an important word for copywriters. It’s a word we can use and it’s a word we can heed.

Be easy

Your readers are more likely to follow your instructions, or be tempted to buy or vote, if you make it easy for people to respond.

Your copy must be easy to read, easy to understand and easy to act on. As a copywriter you must work through the ramifications of your words. If you’re asking readers to enquire by email, are you making it easy for them to do so?

If you’re giving instructions, are they correct? Have you tried following your own instructions? Is every other part of the business and website correct, and as you describe?

Lead your reader down an easy path, free of obstacles.

Use ‘easy’

Easy is also a brilliant word to use. People love it! It’s short, optimistic and encouraging. So never shy away from this humble, yet powerful, word.

People are busy. So get to the point.

This advice is so obvious and so commonplace that I hesitated to include it in this series of blog posts.

BUT… I realised that people often lose sight of what is really meant by this advice, so here’s my view:

1. Great copy gets to the point immediately, not just ‘quickly’.
2. Great copy puts the point first, at the start of the first sentence.
3. Great copy doesn’t let you miss the point, or allow it to get buried in a deep sentence.
4. Great copy doesn’t waste words on welcomes, greetings or platitudes.
5. Great copy doesn’t state the obvious.

As all good journalists know, you should tell people what you’re going to tell them, and then tell them what you’re going to tell them in more detail. Begin with the big point, the sexy whizz-bang nugget of fun that your reader wants to hear about. And then explain why your thing is better than competitors’ things.

I felt a need. A need to share copy and find inspiration. And my blog post on that subject generated enough positive comments to spur me to action. An lo, Drivvel was born.

Visit drivvel.com to see what I’m talking about.

How / what / why ?

Drivvel exists for a few reasons:

1: We need a place to find inspiration

Where can you go to find ideas to help you work with words? Drivvel is that place. It’s a place for copywriters, project managers, web editors, content strategists, designers and developers to fill their minds with winning ideas.

2: We need a place to show off

Wordsmiths are too often in the shadows. Let’s start showing off!

In time, Drivvel may serve other purposes. For now, it’s something everyone can use to share copy, and to find inspiration.

Thanks

Thanks to all of the good people who took the time to try out Drivvel when it was little more than an idea. Thanks to Jack Hooker for his initial design and development work. And big thanks to Aegir Hallmundur who created our logo and redesigned our entire look. And thanks to Relly who came up with our name!

Copywriters easily get wrapped up in rules, and lose sight of a fundamental part of good writing: being interesting. It’s no good offering benefits, writing actively and compellingly, addressing the reader directly and appealing to their deep-seated desires if your words are boring.

‘Being interesting’ is a vague challenge. What is ‘interesting’ anyway? There’s no simple answer to that question, but I think interesting writing can be defined as:

• Energetic – free of tired clichés and full of the writer’s energy. If you feel flat and miserable writing about something, that mood may carry over into your copy. Sometimes using a slightly unusual word or a familiar phrase (a cliché!) is enough to make copy interesting
• Different – sometimes being weird is all you need
• Appealing – it’s easy to write interesting copy if your clients have interesting products
• Humorous – making your reader smile is a good thing, though it’s tricky to get right
• Resonant – chime with your reader’s experience to get them on your side
• Honest – bullshit-laden copy is rarely interesting
• Timely – give people the right information at the right time. The question of timing and ordering content is one of the trickiest bits of being a copywriter. What should you say first? And then…?
• Appropriate. Similar to being timely – make sure your copy is also relevant to your reader. Help your readers determine if your content is appropriate for them with clear signposts and labels.

The website I had in mind when I wrote that post is up and running, and a few keen copywriters have been adding examples of copy.In a few weeks, once the big wrinkles have been ironed out, we’ll go public!

So what’s this website for?

• It’s a place for copywriters to share great copy. Scratch that. It’s a place for anyone to share great copy. Anyone interested in building a better web, or anyone interested in marketing and advertising, can share great examples of words in action.
• It’s a place for copywriters, web workers and marketing types to find inspiration
• It’s a place for copywriting to be discussed and considered
• It’s a place for copywriters to show off their own best work – and maybe even find clients

If you like the idea of having a dribbble for copywriters, send me your email address.

In this blog post series I consider some of the finer points of copywriting – the little things that make a big difference; the tricks and touches that lift copy and make it more persuasive, better at selling and more likely to create a good impression.

How to write active copy

Great copy is active, not passive. Good copy is about doing things, and the strongest, clearest way to explain an action is to put the actor centre-stage.

Here are some examples of the passive voice getting in the way:

“There are first-class web design skills at Digital Solutions”

“More surfaces can be covered in less time with Whoople Paints”

“We were awarded the FML Award for 2011 by Spoxk Magazine”

Put the actor first, at the focal point of the action, to create sharper sentences. Here are the same sentences in the active voice:

“Digital Solutions offer first-class web design skills”

“Whoople Paints cover more surfaces in less time”

“Spoxk Magazine awarded us the 2011 FML Award”

Active vs passive

Writing in the passive voice isn’t always wrong, but the active voice can make your copy more direct and clear.