Owning a top-of-the-range camera doesn’t guarantee you’ll be taking award-winning images. By the same token being a cunning linguist doesn’t mean you can call yourself a copywriter.
Copywriters are part of the creative family but are often unsung heroes due to their sometimes timid nature and quiet work ethic.
Their work however can often be pure genius.
Transforming a bunch of words into meaningful, carefully constructed content is not easy so we spoke to Wendy from Apricot Zebra Pty Ltd (http://www.apricotzebra.com.au) about how a copywriter can perform such miracles!
What makes a good copywriter?
A love of words and the fun you can have with them. A collaborative spirit. A flighty imagination. Empathy. The ability to listen. A lack of pretension. The ability to create a feeling through words. An interest in how people think.
Where do copywriters fit into a creative project timeline? At what point should they be engaged?
Copywriters are flexible, so you can fit them in anywhere, but the earlier the better for creative synergy. It’s more efficient when everyone gets up to speed at the same time.
How much of a difference can copywritten text make?
Great design with mediocre text is like a room with the heater on but all the doors and windows open.
How do you define good copywriting?
I don’t think you do. You know it when you see it. The best copy has perfect rhythm and pacing and it makes the target reader react as intended.
Are there golden rules to good copywriting? Less is more?
Less is (nearly always) more. Conversational is better than clever. Your target audience is one specific person. Have fun with it. It will take two to three times longer than you think it will.
Is there a formula for successful copywriting?
No formula! But there are some minimum requirements. You need to know who you’re writing for. You need a sound structure, at least as a starting point – even a single paragraph of copy has some kind of story arc. And you need to work out the internal logic. Then you rewrite again and again until you can’t see any of that framework but it’s still there. Then you polish every word.
Coffee and jelly beans help.
When a client is considering using a copywriter, what should they be aware of?
It’s very unlikely that they will love the first draft.
What are the common pitfalls clients encounter when writing their own copy?
Too much knowledge and not enough perspective.
What influences your copywriting?
The current shapes of conversational language and design. For a specific job, all sorts of visual and verbal cues from talking to the client and getting a feeling for the brand.
It’s not like writing a story, is it? You generally have a starting point – i.e. speaking to a client beforehand to get background information.
It’s a true story based on factual information from the client. Then after I’ve written it I take most of the details out and just leave the feeling.
Can you suffer from writer’s block?
Always. I actually got writer’s block while trying to answer this question. That isn’t a joke.
Words of wisdom?
Get inside their heads and make them dream.
Are there any myths about copywriters that need to be laid to rest?
The myth of invisibility, perhaps.
Describe a dream project
All the copy has to be in a strict poetic form – haiku, sonnet etc.
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