Nottingham Copywriter

Whose responsibility are 'the messages'?

2009-06-30T13:22:00.000-07:00

Long ago, back in my days as a wage slave, I remember being regularly told by a senior partner of the firm I worked for in a (somewhat junior) marketing role that it was my job to get 'the messages' right.

What frustrated me was the fact that he seemed to be abdicating responsibility for knowing what 'the messages' should be. Certainly, a marketer and copy writer should be abe to craft 'the messages' about the business in a way that conveys their meaning clearly in ways that are relevant and appealing to the target audience. But I really had to question the idea that an owner of the business doesn't have responsiility for knowing what 'the messages' should be to start with.

Key marketing messages need to convey what the business is about, its values and ethos, the benefits and advantages it offers its customers, and ther personality of the business. If these are not the concern of a business owner it hardly seems fair to place the responsibility onto an employee. (That said, this was an outfit who thought it appropriate to expect me to craft them the words for an equal opportunities policy as an alternative to actually having an equal opportunities policy so there was no point me being surprised).

When my copy writing services are called on I generally face one of two scenarios:

A clued up client who knows what 'the messages' are but is aware that they need some help in conveying them clearly for their customers and other audiences.
A client who really doesn't know what they want to say and hopes a copy writer will decide for them!

The first is a straightforward situation; a marketing background can make the task even easier. The second is one that calls for some business and marketing input - but that really is a separate task and often quite a significant one - what started out looking like a copy writing assignment can become a review of their entire marketing strategy and that, of course, an entirely different task but one that might well be necessary to enable 'the messages' to be written at all.

Francine Pickering
Copy writing from a marketing point of view

Keeping it simple, keeping it clear - copy writing for translation

2009-05-24T12:19:00.000-07:00

Another interesting copy writing challenge - a sales brochure for a translation company.

An important part of the brief is that the brochure will need to be translated into other languages (obviously!) so I need to avoid any culturally-specific expressions, metaphors and such that won't translate with the same meaning or with an easily identifiable equivalent.

Not that I'm prone to flowery excesses but it's added a different level of discipline to keeping the meaning clear.

Francine Pickering
Clarity Marketing Ltd.

What difference can persuasive copy make?

2009-05-18T14:30:00.000-07:00

This past few days I've been writing copy for a GPs' practice - re-writing a practice newsletter and putting together the first issue of their refreshed newsletter. The work is part of a wider range of marketing consultancy that I'm providing and it's proving to be an interesting exercise.

I attended a meeting of practice manager, doctor, nurses and health assistants to discuss their series of health promotion campaigns and how we can feed these into the various communications channels we'll be using. They voiced a concern about how it was possible to get more of their patients involved in these campaigns and the role that the communications tools would play.

My task will be to make these pieces, as I put it at the time, "less instructional and more persuasive." Whether they will have a noticable impact on getting the harder to reach elements of their pateint base involved is yet to be seen. It will be an interesting one to watch.

Is This The World's Worst Strapline?

2009-05-03T10:53:00.000-07:00

A little while back I picked up a leaflet which, I suppose, was intended to promote a local business. The strapline on the front read:

"Delivering sustainable improvements to your business with cost effective and bespoke solutions to your specific needs."

In how many ways is that wrong?

1. It doesn't actually say anything meaningful;
2. It goes on too long;
3. Don't we all do that?;
4. It really, really doesn't say anything meaningful.

A good strapline needs to be snappy and convey something about the brand - its values, its personality, maybe even what it actually does and for whom. Above all, it should differentiate your brand from your competitors. If you can put your logo next to competitors' logos and it still makes good sense, then it's just not spelling out what's different about your brand.

For the record, the rest of the leaflet didn't really enlighten me much about what the business did - no prizes, though, for guessing that it was IT related.

And...

2008-11-25T14:23:00.000-08:00

To begin a sentence with "And..." or not?

It's funny but some of the people who tell me they are keen to overcome their stuffy image by having their copy written in a friendly and conversational tone of voice are the fist to object if I ever try to sneak an "And..." past them. They'll insist that the sentence should begin with "In addition..." but I've never yet heard them say that in friendly conversation.

What do you think? Is "And..." a grammatical aberration that should be banned from business copy for ever? Or is it the perfect way to avoid the stuffed shirt formality that affects some professions?

All Children Need

2008-05-23T08:40:00.000-07:00

OK, so this post is nothing about copy writing. I tried to think of a clever link but couldn't. And, frankly, it would just be a distraction if I did. There is a case for not being too clever in writing copy.

Yesterday I evening I had the privilege of attending the launch of a new song by Nottingham group Dumhi which will be raising money for Children in Need. The live performance was great and we had a preview of the song and video.

The song, All Children Need, raises awareness of the of the issues facing disadvantaged children and it's a great tune too! Give All Children Need a listen and, if like it, download it - ALL profits from the song will be going to Children in Need.

Fat Chance!

2008-05-05T03:07:00.000-07:00

Out in town on Saturday evening, I called into Fat Cat for a drink. Behind the bar was a sign:

"If you appear to look under 21 years of age please don't be offended if we ask you to provide ID."

Fat Cat, fat chance! I'm too busy being offended by the nonsense on the poster to be offended by being asked for ID.

What is the difference between looking under 21 years of age and appearing to look under 21 years of age? Perhaps it's to do with the level of lighting in the place. Turn it down far enough and maybe even I would appear to look under 21!

Still, at least they didn't write "year's of age" so I was able to enjoy my glass of wine with relatively little distress.

Effective Copy for Websites - a precis

2008-04-29T12:33:00.000-07:00

If you can't make - or don't want to make - the ebusiness network event on 16th June, here's a quick summary of what I'll be talking about...

Good web copy needs to address three crucial areas of effectiveness: searchability, usability, and readability.

Searchability is about how easy it is for search engine spiders to find your site.
Usability is about how easy it is for human beings to find their way around your site once they get there.
Readability is about how easy it is to understand the information on the page.

Addressing these three elements also involves finding the right balance of writing for search engine spiders and human beings. Which sounds like it might be very complicated.

In fact, whilst there are occasionally decisions to be made as to where to place the focus - do I write this bit for search engines and live with a clunky sentence or do I write concisely but elegantly for human eyes? - the fact is that there is rarely a conflict. Good web copy is good web copy.

So there! You don't have to go to the ebusiness network event. But, if you do, you'll see plenty of examples and hear more detail about just how to do write Effective Copy for the Web. Will I see you there?

Good web copy - talking about writing

2008-04-21T12:22:00.000-07:00

Many thanks to Kiran John for setting up a new network in Nottingham for businesses that are solely or mainly web-based - and it's not online.

Meeting regularly at Blades Cafe in Lady Bay, the ebusiness network will present speakers on a wide range of topics related to ebusiness, the aim being to tackle tightly defined subjects in a bit of depth.

I'm pleased to be speaking at the second event on 16th June on the subject of Effective Copy for the Web - for Searchability, Usability, and Readability. Copy, you might say, that is as appealing to human beings as it is to spiders. You can find out more - and book -online, of course. Find out more about Effective Copy for Websites.

Also check out May's event - all about finding inventive ways of getting inbound links to your site. Got to be good!

Keeping it Consistent... Part I

2008-02-11T13:28:00.000-08:00

Many businesses are very happy to invest in ensuring that the visual aspect of their marketing communications is consistent, keeping their logo in the same position across all materials, using a selected palette of colours, and so on. But then they let themselves down by taking an inconsistent approach when they write their copy. The tone of voice they use in their business and marketing communications matters as much as the way these things look.

One reason this situation can occur is when different members of the business have written different bits: different pages of a web site, different sections of a brochure, different case studies which are then put together in the same pack...

At best this gives the reader a sense of unease. Something they can't quite put their finger on but which just doesn't seem right - or consistent. At worst, it highlights the shortcomings of the writers involved. Those with a clunky style, those who waffle, and those whose spelling, grammar, and punctuation leave something to be desired.

If you're prepared to invest in the design aspect of your marketing, is it really worth letting yourself down with your words?

The Marketing Hat... The Customer's Shoes

2008-01-22T01:28:00.000-08:00

Some years ago, when I was working for a large firm, our manager was inclined to start a sentence with "With my marketing hat on..." So often did he do this, we bought him a Marketing Hat.

What he meant by this was that he was putting himself into the mindset of the customer, not that of the business, looking at an issue from the outside in, not the inside out. Any good copy writer should be able to do the same, speaking the language of the customer.

But a professional marketing perspective on your copy writing issues will also take into account your marketing strategy and objectives and the role that the piece of copy will play. Is it a tactical piece of direct response copy which needs to draw in customers quickly? Is it about conveying your brand values in your annual report? Is it part of your strategy to increase your web presence? And how do you make all these things (and more) tie together as a cohesive whole rather than come across as an assortment of bits and pieces.

By understanding your business and marketing strategy - and the bottom line issues that you need to address - a marketing copy writer will do more than dress your message up with nice words, they will contribute towards meeting your business goals.

Making sense of the intangible

2008-01-10T12:37:00.000-08:00

I had my brain picked today by someone with a copywriting problem which is common for any business selling services - that of how to make the intangible service real to a potential client.

The problem with creating promotional literature or web sites for services is that, often, you are completely reliant on the words. With a product you can show a picture (which, as the saying goes, is worth a thousand words). But unless a service has a distinctive visual aspect to its delivery (think teaching Nordic Walking!) there's a real need to get your words right.

If your service is unusual or new to market it's hard to get your potential clients to see how it relates to their needs, especially in the case of my brain-picker where the results that are delivered are highly specific to the particular need presented by the client that's it's impossible to spell out the benefits in generalities. So what do you do?

In this case, the individual was trying to break into new markets so already had a base of happy clients which presents a couple of opportunities. Firstly to extract a few good testimonials. Not just the general praise that these sometimes contain but some which would give a bit of context to the results achieved, so giving readers of their promotional material a few real-world 'for instances'.

Secondly, they could be persuaded to give some feedback on intial drafts of the copy to establish whether it really captured the aspects that had excited them about the service in the first place - it's got to be better than second-guessing.

Uncreative writing?

2007-10-19T01:19:00.000-07:00

I often speak to clients who regard copy writing as a type of creative expression. Their complaint is "I can only write in a very boring fashion. What I need is a creative approach." And they're usually right, an injection of imagination rarely does any harm.

What they don't see so readily is the analytical side to the discipline: the mapping out of key marketing messages, the structuring of a framework for communicating them across whatever it is they need writing, the checking off that all points have been covered.

Copy writing really is a combination of logical thinking and creative flair.

Professional copy - cost or investment?

2007-10-08T03:08:00.000-07:00

Of course, I'm going to say you should invest in a professional copy writer. I would, wouldn't I?

But the damage done by badly - or inappropriately - written copy can be more costly than bringing in some professional help. The trouble is, you might never know how much damage has been done if it simply takes the form of potential customers chucking your leaflet in the bin or clicking away from your web site.

Whilst the worst excesses of badly written copy are easy to spot, what about inappropriate copy? I've just been doing a small peice of work 'translating' copy that would have been OK for a trade audience, who would have been familiar with the jargon used, into something more consumer-friendly. What would have worked in one context would have been inappropriate and ineffective in another. A jargon-free, benefits-based, friendly piece of copy will work much better.

Don't speak to me in that tone of voice!

2007-09-19T00:09:00.000-07:00

It's a copywriter's job to convey the right tone of voice for their clients. But what tone should they take for themselves?

I recently found the web site of one copywriter which came across as very 'blokey', if not a little aggressive. A bit 'Top Gear', if you know what I mean. Which is not necessarily a bad thing (especially if you write Jeremy Clarkson's scripts) but I could imagine some of my clients being rather perturbed by the prospect of sounding like that themselves.

And yet, if you opt for being bland, you fail to the job for yourself that you claim to do for others. So what do you choose?

I guess it comes down to a balance between being true to your own personality and not scaring off potential clients. I'd like to think that I manage a combination of being friendly and 'to the point', and that's there's nothing too scary about me.

Me, me, me

2007-09-14T02:48:00.000-07:00

I've just been editing some copy that had clearly been pulled together from a number of different sources. How could I tell this? Because, tucked away on the back page, was the Good Bit, clearly defining the benefits of the product and who it is who would benefit from it.

But it was preceded by three pages of 'all about us' waffle. If I didn't have a vested interest in reading through the lot (I was getting paid for the task, after all) I would have given up half way through page 1 because none of what I read at first explained why the product was relevant to me. And because time is precious and I don't feel inclined to spend it wading through the waffle on the offchance that there might, eventually, be something of interest hidden away.

At some point, of course, there may well be a need to explain who you are and what you're about. It builds your credibility and backs up the claims you make about your product or service. But the fact is that people are grabbed first of all by the information that speaks to their needs.

The out come of this project? A two-page document (cheaper to produce than a four-pager) with the clear benefits up-front.

A Quart out of a Pint Pot

2007-08-30T00:53:00.000-07:00

Some years ago, I worked for a professional services firm in the construction sector, writing and compiling their proposals and responses to requests to tender.

Their problem was not about trying to squeeze too much into too small a space. Rather, their habit was to pad out what they had to say in order to impress. Big = impressive, obviously.

What they had been submitting was disorganised, repetitive and full of waffle and that strange kind of 'legalese' that people use when they want to sound clever. Was this helpful? Think of their audience.

Swamped by responses from all quarters,
All of which say much same thing, on a general level at least,
Inclined to use their first sifting of documents to reject them rather than include them on the long list,
Pressed for time, with strict deadlines to meet.

So where is the logic in making it as difficult as possible for the client to put them through to the next round? Why make the process that bit more like hard work?

Simply by restructuring the proposal documents in a logical fashion (with the bits that addressed the clients concerns at the front, not tucked away as an afterthought) and, in the process, eliminating the unnecessary repetition, it was possible to cut the size of the document by at least a third.

By shifting away from an obsession with quantity of information to a clear focus on the quality, we were making it much easier to be selected in instead of rejected out of the process.

(As an aside, it also made these documents much quicker to print and produce which, given the tendency to leave these things to the last minute, meant a much better chance of submitting the things before the deadline).

A Quart into a Pint Pot

2007-08-29T01:17:00.000-07:00

Over the past few years I've been giving marketing advice to new businesses, strapped for cash and inexperienced in business. There's no way they'd be paying for the services of a copywriter; it would be all they could do to find the money to design and print their first brochure or leaflet.

Which usually led to a classic start-up error. Trying to cram as much as possible, for as many people as possible, onto one small piece of paper. The result? A confused piece of promotional material that, in trying to be all things to all people, inevitably failed on all fronts.

The 'logic' behind this decision is rooted in fear. Fear that, by excluding one fact or by not addressing one tiny part of the target market, they'd lose out on business. But by confusing your audience the real risk is that you'll lose them all.

A targeted approach to planning your promotional campaign, with copy to match, is much more likely to hit the mark. Think sniper, rather than scatter-gun.

Questions, questions

2007-08-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

Once upon a time, many years ago, I worked with a woman who had a reputation for being, shall we say, overly inquisitive.

"I'm not nosey," she'd say, "I'm just an interested person."

In business, you'll find that your customers, too, are "interested people", forever wanting to know more about your product or service. How does it work? Where get I get it? How much does it cost? And, of course, why should I buy it from you and not somebody else? One way or another, you'll need to answer these questions to make a sale.

Which means that what you should be looking for in a copywriter is another "interested person".

Some of the questions I ask - and I ask plenty - might not always seem the obvious ones for the immediate task in hand. But with a long-standing background as a marketer, I can bring a perspective that combines the customer's point of view with the sales process and targets that you want that piece of copy to help you achieve.

Copywriting. An art and a science?

2007-08-24T09:30:00.000-07:00

Copywriting is certainly a discipline that needs a range of skills.

Logical skills such as identifying the core messages that you need to communicate, planning out the structure of what will be said, and understanding which are the buttons you need to push with your audience.

And creative skills to communicate clearly but with imagination and flair.

The right balance is essential.

So yes, an art and a science.