16 Feb COPYWRITING – ALL ABOUT WORDS …
Everyone can write! Right? Well … some perhaps not as arrestingly as others. Or as creatively. Or judiciously. Or concisely. Getting to the point, the job of the copywriter isn’t always as easy as often thought!
We ruminate over single words. We labour over sentences. And it can take hours to find just the right four words for a catchy one-liner. Seriously.
Like, right now, I don’t know whether to use “numb” or “blank” to describe my brain figuring out what the next sentence is going to be …
- Got it: in a creative studio, the job of the copywriter is to “marry” the graphics with the message. Our words enhance the visual content, so that the readers see the full picture.
Of course, depending on the medium, we need to hone our skills. Context is everything. Websites call for keyword-rich copy that isn’t wordy or repetitive. Above-the-line adverts require tight, clever punchlines. Editorial gives us an opportunity to be a bit more verbose. Blogging demands a personal voice. And so it goes. And – add to that the audience demographics. A print ad for niche financial services aint gonna go down well in SMS-speak, and a website for wedding planners needs to be pretty and practical rather than prescriptive.
(See what I did there? In addition to being descriptive I used alliteration and it’s attention-grabbing – clever, huh?!)
Good writing is about more than just knowing lots of good words. It’s about being able to convey a specific message via a targeted medium to a particular audience in a way that’ll make them sit up and take notice. And remember what you’re saying. You know that new ad, the one with the sexy chick and the car – the one where she’s saying … um … what was it again …? Know what I mean?
The marketplace is glutted with messages. Consumers are inundated with campaigns every which way they look, and the trick for communicators – designers and wordsmiths working together – is to create something that stands out. Something that speaks to the consumer in a meaningful way.
Which takes me right back to my opening premise. Not everyone can do it right.
But the joy of the craft is that us copywriters get paid to do what we love – play endlessly with the English language. Go figure. (And, bring it on!)