Ink That Sells
When a client requests information on the wherewithal of professional copywriting, it is typically from a position of ignorance. They simply have never received an educated explanation of the value of professional copy writing. They have not experienced what they do, how they do what they do, how long it takes to produce, or what its value truly is.
It’s a fair statement that the professional copywriter is an often-misunderstood role. In fact, if you were to ask the typical business owner, they’d probably admit they don’t really understand what all is involved with the term “copywriting.” For the record, emphatically, copywriting is ink that sells.
Ink that sells is how many well-trained professionals earn a life others long for. While the top of the heap like Dan Kennedy seem to be workaholics, a majority of them are underpaid, overworked, and frankly under-appreciated.
There are writers that work for pennies a word, and those that charge more than the price of a modest home for a single sales letter. That’s the marvel of copywriting. Skill plus availability, talent plus market need is how the prices get set. To say that a sales letter isn’t worth $100,000 would be an unfair statement.
When buyers are tugging at your pants leg, tapping you on the shoulder or calling your name incessantly, there is only so much time that exists. Time and demand drive markets of all kinds, and copywriting is no different.
To gain an understanding for all players, there are multiple roles the copywriter plays. There are some misgivings, and there are also more than enough myths surrounding the copywriting individuals and their contributions to a marketing project.
Role # 1
Copywriters are the wordsmiths of a marketing project. Their role is easily defined, but often misunderstood. The only responsibility is to understand the project, its intended outcome, the voice, tone, and avatar of the audience, and do what they do best. Write the correct type of copy for the project.
There isn’t just one type of copy either. Actually there are four, but before I digress too much, we’ll get into that in a little while.
More times than I care to mention the copywriter is unknowingly expected to not only produce the correct style of copy, they are forced into a situation of being asked to control the entire project. That would be wrong.
Often the copywriter is pressured to assume project leadership, management, and planning, which again, is well outside the parameters for which they are hired.
When placed in positions such as these, it is expected for the copywriter to have an expert knowledge of the micro and macro economics of the project, prepare and execute the business plan and marketing plan. These “expectations are unreasonable” in my thinking.
For the record: Buyers of copy don’t realize the responsibilities of the writer, so they assume everything mentioned is part and parcel for what they are paying.
After all, good copy isn’t necessarily inexpensive, as a buyer of it would articulate.
In reality, buyers of copy don’t know how to buy, and copywriters do not know how to sell copy. So, you see, there is a direct and distinct conflict from the onset.
Role # 2
Consider the copywriter is the lead character/role in a film. She/he may be the lead role, but she/he is NOT the executive producer. It takes an executive producer to pull all of the disparate parts of a film together. There is the lead and supporting roles, the film crew, back lot crews, and so on.
A copywriter is often expected to play that extremely important role of executive producer, but that is not within the bailiwick of the wordsmith.
Often, the copywriter is placed in a position that the only way to move the project forward is to succumb to the position of leader, manager, planner, on top of what she/he is paid. Faced with this potential outcome more times than not, the copy specialist if forced into those types of situations.
In reality, the copywriter is but a player in this activity. There must be someone calling the shots, as well as heading up the copy team. That Chief Copywriter holds the responsibility of interacting with the client and is positioned to ensure the wordsmith is following the storyboard so to speak and doing everything as agreed on and planned. They are NOT there to be the executive producer. When they are the entire project is compromised.
Role # 3
The role of the copywriter is part of an ensemble of creatives and others to actually provide what has been asked of them. The project chief discerns what is appropriate for graphic design that correlates and supports the copy.
However, data is where it all begins. If the math isn’t correct, the image and copy won’t make any difference. The breakdown and process flow first from data, followed by copy, backed up by graphic design. These positions must work in harmony for an on-time, on-budget project delivery. It is unreasonable to expect anything different. There is no over-arching expectation for mixing and matching players in this lineup, they must be allowed to do their assignments as they know how and what to do. After all, they are professionals in their area of expertise.
If a copywriter is to be hired, leadership (the executive director – client) must have the ability to articulate the plan, produce a clear scope of work document, and then seek the copywriter best suited for the project. It is certainly not the responsibility of the copywriter to figure it out on their own.
Copywriters perform a valuable service, not simply putting thoughts and words on a paper. They interpret all of the information shared, along with their own research and experience they draw upon to create their asset. It might be copy for an ad, a sales letter or product brochure, or any of a dozen other forms of copy needs. Regardless of which media it is distributed, it is still copy, not merely content.
Copywriters deserve their opportunity to earn a respectable living from their talents, much like the business owner who is seeking to hire one does. Let us give the respect the profession deserves through understanding, appreciation and respect for their craft. A copywriter is an individual that serves clients in a professional manner, much like any other quality company.
When all parts of a marketing project come together, each member on the team, copy chief, copywriters, graphics, must act in concert as skilled professionals to keep the wheels of the economy moving forward. That is not always the case.
I’d like to share with you some wisdom imparted by one of my mentors, Dr. Paul Zane Pilzer.
“ Companies become rich because they find a way to serve others better. And if someone at your company is not serving your customers, it hurts more than your company; it hurts America.
Paul Zane Pilzer
Copy Myths Get Busted
In the spirit of greater understanding, I’d like to take an opportunity to recognize one of many services we offer at eLaunchers.com. The copy writer often is one of the most misunderstood positions in any organization, mainly due to the lack of clarity on the part of clients across all industries.
Writers of copy are a different breed than those who are novelists, journalists, technical or scientific writers, and just about every other form of writer. Copy writers are unique.
A lot of disinformation can be found all over the internet regarding the value of copywriters in general. There seems to be a lack of knowledge regarding the industry, and what their particular skill sets bring to the world of marketing and advertising.
Since decades prior to the days of the Madison Avenue Advertising firms, copy writing has been with us in one form or another. This unsung hero can shift an entire enterprise from a loser to a winner on a single campaign. A professional copywriter is in high demand, and businesses and organizations are constantly on the lookout for the next great David Ogilvy or Claud Hopkins.
But copywriting as an industry is much older than what has been touted as the golden years of advertising. The first recorded professional copywriter was E.E. Calkins, in 1868, just four years after the Great Civil War. He is known as the king of the soft sell. But there are many, many pros in an industry that seems to stay under the radar of most of the citizenry.
A man by the name of Joe Sugarman crafted some pretty amazing copy that allowed him to sell more pocket calculators than Sears Roebuck. He went on to outsell all sorts of products using direct mail out of his basement. His copy was exceptional, his customer service award-deserving.
By and large the lack of information and misinformation spread across the net and in books has not created a proliferate industry despite many efforts of firms like the Artists and Writers Institute, Author’s Institute and dozens of other more specialized writer’s associations.
Because of this information black hole, I would like to dispel some of the myths and misinformation regarding the writing of copy.
Myth I – Copy is Copy, is Copy. There is Only One Type of Copy, and That is Content
Content and copy are two very different forms of writing. Whether it be the printed word, spoken word, visual word, it’s all copy. Content has a short shelf life, whereas copy can not only hold its value over the long-term, it is often so well that it can be evergreen.
There happens to be multiple forms of copy, as articulated here. As stated, there is persuasive, aggressive follow-up, Long-term nurture, and sequential, visual, descriptive copy.
A professional copywriter is well-versed in crafting all four variants, although they might hold two or three of them in mild contempt. Those proficient in type 3 and 4 are more content-oriented than type 1 and 2, persuasive, attraction, aggress follow up. If hiring a copywriter, don’t expect them to write everything for you. You’ll need at least two copywriters to handle a small business workload.
Copy is used to persuade, to attract, to produce an immediate action, as content is more apt to inform. Copy evokes strong emotions, resonates with the targeted audience only, causes an attachment, whereas content educates, informs, builds relationships.
Copywriting’ s four variants stand on their own merit. Content per se is limited to only two variations. That would be originalcontent and curated content. What the writer producer generates as a blog article, eBook, case study, white paper. Curated copy is copy “quoted and featured within original content to better support a point being made. Every hear the axiom “Content is King?” As far as I am concerned, it’s copy that wears the crown.
Myth II – Anyone Can Write Copy
This myth is definitely capable of getting under a copywriter’s skin. Nothing could be further from the truth. Copy is specialized messaging, while all other written or spoken monologues or dialogues are not necessarily geared to produce the expected result a buyer hopes.
Not only is this myth illogical it is not even true. There are millions if not billions of direct mail pieces making a home in landfills across the globe. They not only proved to be incapable of producing a result, they failed on more fronts than people are aware.
There are also college-educated, master’s and Ph.D. graduates that don’t possess to write logically and completely. And I’ve come across several that can’t spell if their life depended on it. Writing is a gift, not an inherited or easily learned skill.
Professional copywriters pour over their work sometimes for weeks before they even perform testing on the messaging. A/B testing is a critical element in direct response marketing where changes, improvements and adjustments are made to a piece in order to find out which version performs better than all others. That is known as the “control” version. This version of the copy piece will be used to engage and induce action until it no longer works, as mentioned in myth 1.
Myth III - Copy is Expensive and I Can’t Afford It
That all depends on for what a copywriter is being considered. If it’s for writing your grocery list, a blog article or even a white paper or eBook, you’d be correct. Marketing copy is an investment, not an expense. To think otherwise is done out of ignorance.
If the expectations are to persuade, attract, cause an action or reaction, generate revenues, or retain, then I’m afraid the myth doesn’t make any logical sense.
Effective copy is specifically used for the rationale stated here. If your objective is to generate revenues or at least create an action in pursuit of an opportunity to generate revenues, then the only logical thing to do is to find a copywriter that can pass muster and produce copy that is crafted to meet or exceed your objective.
Have you ever heard the idiom, “You Get What You Pay For?” Nothing could be truer than in the case of a quality copywriter. But there is another creatively worded piece of the same idiom, “But You Don’t Get What You Don’t Pay For.”
To expect a quality copywriter on the cheap is a misguided hope that will unlikely ever materialize. If you seek quality work, you’ll pay for quality work. If you want quality work but will not pay for it, well….
Copy designed to generate a Return on investment should do exactly that. No, there are no guarantees in this business, but there are historic statistics that prove good copy produces anywhere from 2-4% return to as much as a 48% ROI. For every dollar invested in a direct response campaign should generate approximately 2 to 48 dollars in return. That broad spectrum of returns is exceptional, but realistically a $2-10 return is likely.
So, knowing that, this myth is illogical.
Myth V - But My Business is Different From Others, Marketing “Copy” Just Won’t Work
In all fairness, the first part of this myth is true. No two businesses are exactly alike. Each business, regardless of industry sector, sub-sector or specialty is different than the same type down the street or across the globe.
That being said, there are for more similarities than the untrained eye can see. Direct response copy has been proven to work across more than 300 industries in more than 16 countries. Thousands and thousands of businesses of every ilk successfully employ professional copywriters to grow their businesses and practices every day of the year.
Comparing one business against the other will always create an impression of dirrerence. Of course they're different, it's like comparing apples to oranges. However, they are more alike in other ways.
For example, there is a business in Florida that specializes in house-monitoring for seasonal homeowners (snowbirds) that uses direct response marketing copy. While the typical home monitor company averages $40-50 a month to check on as property, the one of which I am speaking averages more than $275 per home and he has a waiting list of owners that want his services.
Another company in Kansas is a clothing store that uses the same direct response copy using the same strategy but different words in the copy, but the same, identical approach. His average sale is more than $490, whereas his chief competitor averages less than $140.
The same premise, two very different businesses using the same marketing copy format. Yes, the verbiage is different, but both are written to attract and persuade, create an immediate response, and build loyalty and future repeat sales.
Myth V – It Takes Longer to Explain Just to Get a Copywriter Up to Speed, It’s Better if I Just Write it Myself
Here’s where ignorance rears its ugly head once again. With time as the only non-renewable resource, is the business owner’s time being put to its most productive use attempting to write marketing copy than working on his business? Of course not.
Secondly, would the quality of the copy the owner crafts of the same level as a professional? More than likely not. Will the owner’s copy generate a positive ROI? Doubtful.
Third, Does the owner have any expertise in crafting the proper message in the proper format, for the desired outcome in a reasonable fashion? Unless he has a side hustle writing copy for others, I’d say no.
Lastly, in a judging, which piece of copy has a better chance of ever being used again, or become evergreen? Thumbs down on this one. NOT the owner.
Myth VI – Copy is More Art Than Anything Else
Every trained copywriter would strongly object to this criticism. Effective copy is a combination of art and science. While it is a skill that comes from the pen, the psychological education the copywriter utilizes to understand buyer behavior, the demographics and psychographics combined with wordsmithing make this individual a highly-paid and skilled contributor.
As mentioned earlier, the copywriter must have a firm grasp of the industry sector, the business’ competitors, the operational specifics of the hiring person’s company as well as the jargon.
Said copywriter must also possess the skill set to delve deeply into the mind of the target audience, once verified. This copywriter must have the skill set to craft not only a message and offer to resonate with as many of the audience as possible without being salesy, sleezy, pushy, needy or arrogant.
The psychology of the audience takes years of training and understanding to be able to ferret out the hidden pain points the target avatar is feeling, understands what may be keeping the target up at night, and have the ability to address them with the ONLY SOLUTION in the marketplace. That is much more than art. It’s psychology, human behavioral intelligence and advanced abilities to balance the emotional and logical inner mindset of the intended message recipient.
Myth VII – Marketing Content is Copy. We Already Have Writers
Knowing the difference between writers and copy writers is like knowing when it is raining and when the sun is shining on a clear day. They are two completely different things.
While content writing is a specialty all its own, the skill set is not comparable to that of a professional copywriter. Content is typically geared toward information, education, fulfillment, knowledge transfer, and that of creating interesting bits of information. Content is a short-lived piece crafted to share specific information.
Copy on the other hand is a much more involved skill set that requires a working knowledge of human behavior, psychology of the buyer and the science of understanding the role copy plays in the mix of data, graphics, and the organization’s complete makeup, in addition to their objectives. Good marketing copy has the ability to become an evergreen marketing asset. That is, to be capable of being used repeatedly over time with positive results.
While a good content writer can research at length in an effort to produce content that she/he may not possess sufficient knowledge of, a copywriter must have already studied psychology, behaviors, persuasion, attraction and the format required to effectively get the objective highlighted without resorting to any sales pressure. The copy must have the legs to stand on its own, sometimes for years ahead carrying the same values to the copy’s buyer.
Myth VIII – Copy Should Be Included in all the Projects Offered
This myth stems from a variety of beliefs and misunderstandings of the buyer of copy has insufficient knowledge on the subject. As mentioned earlier in this document, the mathematics simply cannot allow copy to be an included item for several reasons. I’ll enumerate some of the most pertinent here:
- Based on which variant of copy style (persuasive, aggressive follow-up, long-term nurture, or sequential, descriptive)
- The level of the copywriter available (they do not all charge the same based on their quality)
- The level of control and autonomy allowed the copywriter vs “over my shoulder” supervision or oversight
- - The availability of the copywriter balanced against the project deadline
- - The level of research required to perform effectively
- How much value the copywriter brings to the project
- The scope of the project and scope-creep add-ons
To think that marketing of any kind is an all-inclusive deal would be like expecting a truckload of gifts on Christmas morning just
because it's a day where gift giving occurs.
Conclusion
I am confident that there are more myths and misgivings surrounding the writing of copy, the Ink That Sells, but these 8 great myths have hopefully forever busted.
When your organization is considering hiring a professional wordsmith, consider the copywriters here at eLaunchers. We boast of quite a stable of professionals that can meet the most discriminating of buyers for any type of project.
For more information about how eLauanchers.com can assist you in utilizing award-winning copy, reach out to https://elaunchers.com/client and book an appointment for a call and I’ll be happy to discuss your project and how we can help.
