Dangerous Thinking

Please bear with me on this one. Most of my posts here are practical or seek to answer questions that have come up when I’m talking to clients, prospects or colleagues. This one is a little more, shall I say, theoretical – about the nature and process of writing.

Triggered by a Tweet by fellow SEO copywriter michellereno that asked what inspires (copy)writers to write. I believe she has also posted a blog entry.

I’m not sure inspiration is really at the core of my writing – see the third paragraph on this page of my personal blog.

And here’s another angle on the same thing. Some years ago, I found a quote attributed to composer Igor Stravinsky:

The more constraints one imposes, the more one frees oneself of the chains that shackle the spirit.

Although some people disagree with my interpretation, what he’s getting at seems so obvious. It’s about having a routine, a process that nails down the trivia and frees you up to produce what matters.

I believe in process for copywriting. Not only does it deliver when it needs to, but by going through briefing, research, key phrase selection, copy plan, drafts and revisions I have the process under control. I move forward in manageable stages sure that what I’m doing is correct.

The solid grounding gives me confidence to produce good copy.

Update: You can find Michelle on inspiration for writing on her blog.

Ask is using negative advertising on the London Underground, according to Larsz on Flickr.

Ask may capitalize on a groundswell of anti-monopolistic feeling, but the danger as with any such knocking is that it will backfire.

Great copy – whether it’s optimized or non-optimized – shouldn’t follow fashion mindlessly.

Over the past week, I’ve received eight pieces of marketing telling me the company is ‘passionate’ about whatever they do – a company that sells outdoor equipment is ‘Passionate about the outdoors’, a financial services company was ‘passionate about saving me money’ and blah and blah. Someone on a quiz programme was ‘passionate about cooking’.

The word is getting almost meaningless. It’s certainly languishing in cliche-land.

You mustn’t just say what you think is fashionable – you’ll get swallowed in so many similar propositions (oops, I almost said ‘your customers won’t be able to see the wood for the trees’). You must instead appeal directly to your customers and prospects.

Go on. Do the hard work and start reaping the rewards.

When I’m asked to assess copy on a client’s Web site, here are some of the most important things I look for:

1. Does it read well? Obvious, but vital, when so much content is patently rubbish!

2. Does it accurately reflect the client’s products, services and strategy?

3. Are the benefits clearly expressed? Or, more fundamentally, do I understand what the site is about?

4. Is there enough copy for SEO purposes? 200-300 words on a page is a sensible amount.

5. Does the copy support the site’s SEO strategy? Has it been constructed to give leverage to the chosen key phrases?

6. Does the copy keep the visitor on the site? Have a look at the site logs and see where the exit (bounce) points are. How many pages are visited on each visit?

How does yours measure up?

I bet you’re already groaning at the naivety of Emerson’s words. Back when I was foetus copywriter, it was one of the great un-truisms of the industry. Of course you need to let the world know about about their wonderful new mousetrap, that goes without saying, doesn’t it?

So why do so many companies (even large ones) invest so heavily in their better mousetrap and keep schtum about it? I’m talking, of course, about the money poured into Web sites, corporate identity and so on. Yet somehow at the same time, omitting to plan for a realistic budget for promoting the thing.

If you build it, the chances are they won’t come. There’s so much competition out there for both organic (natural) search and PPC (pay per click) that just about any site – established or new – needs to invest seriously in SEO/SEM, or few people will ever find their way there. And low traffic means low profits.

Internet marketing is as serious an undertaking as any other part of the marketing mix, and in an increasing number of cases requires a similar level of investment.

Unwelcome news? Maybe. But if businesses are going to be successful on the Net, they must understand the extreme competitiveness of the online marketplace. I’m afraid too many are simply failing to face up to reality when they put their plans and budgets together.

Crime writer Elmore Leonard’s Ten Rules of Writing… is subtitled ‘Being a good author is a disappearing act’.

Read the piece. It’s good. Not good in detail about marketing writing (SEO copywriting, direct marketing or any of those things I do), but the thrust of Leonard’s article is absolutely spot on.

Why? Because 95% or more of the time the material I write for clients has no writer’s voice, and 100% of that material does not have my voice. At its best, copywriting is ego-less, transparent and doesn’t draw attention to itself – it will draw attention to the product, service or even the client, but never to itself.

It should be a painless, compelling and straightforward read, for many of the reasons Leonard applies to fiction writing.

Being a good marketing writer is also a disappearing act.

Only the Interflora marketing department hasn’t worked that one out, it seems.

They sent me a promotional e-mail today with the headline:

Size really does matter to your Valentine

would you believe? What a clunkingly inappropriate and lazy double entendre.

Come on guys, can’t you be a little more subtle in wooing my business?

I received this earlier today:

Hi David,

Just a short note to express how thankful we are for your hard work on our new range of literature – you analysed our business from the bottom up and gained an in-depth understanding of what we do, as well as how our applicants perceive what we do, in order to simplify and bring the copy up to date.

We have received excellent feedback with many applicants expressing immediate interest in our plans, which previously took longer to achieve due to the old literature being quite wordy and not answering all their questions. Having this new copy now means we have been able to cut back on print costs as we are needing to send less out because applicants now understand our plans better. It also means the applicant now only receives one simple guide in the first instance, rather than several leaflets in one pack that had proven to be too confusing.

Having cut print costs and also seen an immediate increase in levels of applicant interest, we would happily recommend you to any companies that would like to revise and improve their written copy in any format.

Many thanks once again and best wishes.

Yours sincerely,

Sophie Gist
Marketing Coordinator

Economic Lifestyle | Bringing Retirement Dreams to Life

Headlines must get the reader to go further. The most powerful say something personal and compelling; the worst just invite the reader to switch off.

One of those just arrived as the subject line of an e-mail newsletter – ‘An irresistable special offer’, it said. A little voice in my head said ‘I can resist it!’ as I punched the Delete button. God knows what they were trying to sell me.

Always look for the obvious response when you write a headline or subject line.

Sometimes I wonder what is in the mind of retailers when they put words on packaging.

Sainsbury’s have excelled themselves with the stultifying:

Great when peeled

on a bag of bananas.

How many people really need to be told that the experience of eating a banana is to be improved by peeling the damn thing?

If it doesn’t add anything – please don’t write it.