A copywriter is someone who writes sales copy. It’s part of marketing and advertising, part of business, and persuading people to part with their money.

Like all of business, however, there are good, honest elements to copywriting (persuading people of the real value of a product or service) and there are the less savoury aspects (conning people into buying c**p).

I’ve been lucky, in that most of my work is done in the business-to-business field, where the less savoury side of copywriting doesn’t rear its head too often. I also turn clients down if I don’t trust them or approve of their business methods.

One area of copywriting that I’ve always steered clear of is the ‘get-rich-quick’ scheme. I’ve just today had to turn someone away, who was pleading for help in getting his business venture off the ground.

He’d already been rejected by 55 other copywriters, and he was desperate for me to help him.

Don’t throw good time after bad money. Move on.

Now, swallowing my pride, and refusing to get narked at being number 56 on his list (as you can see, he needs help with his marketing…), I offered to take a quick look at what he was planning to do. My worst fears were confirmed. He is involved in selling products offered by one of the many internet marketers out there. He is selling information products about business opportunities. He insists this is not a get-rich-quick scheme.

I can’t be bothered arguing with him. And I wished him every success. But I had to say ‘no’. Partly, this was self-preservation. He wanted a sales page like this. In return, he was offering 5% of sales, with no up-front payment. That’s not very generous, to be honest.

But I also have a problem with this whole area of business.

There are so many people out there on the internet selling information products about how to set up in business. They sell this information to their customers. All the information seems to amount to is a guide to doing exactly the same thing – the student is encouraged to set up their own business, selling information products about how to set up in business.

Really. I’ve never bought one of these, so tell me I’m wrong by all means. But from what I can tell, that is the whole of the business model. They make it sound exciting (that’s why they need copywriters), and they sell a dream. But the poor student is left out of pocket, and trying to get a business started in a hugely competitive field, with a second-hand, third-rate product.

My advice? Don’t throw good time after bad money. Move on. Because there’s a name for that particular business model. It’s called a pyramid scheme. And even if you do make money out of it, it won’t be good for your karma, your peace of mind, or your reputation further on down the line.

Related posts:

1. How to write your own sales copy: a 5-step formula
2. Keep your copywriter happy
3. Is your idea of copywriting too narrow?

If you want to make a documentary film, you need funding. This may entail persuading other people, such as TV companies, to stump up the money in advance.

They’re only going to do this if you can convince them that you know what you’re doing; you have a great idea; you can make it work; you’ve planned it properly; and most importantly of all, that it will pull in an audience.

The documentary proposal or treatment is, therefore, a sales document. For copywriters, this is a potential source of work. For film-makers, it is a necessary evil and something they will have to complete, one way or another. Either they do it themselves, or they pay someone else to do it for them.

But what should a documentary proposal contain?

A synopsis

This is the most important section – this is where you summarise the overall project. It needs to sell, and hard.

The audience

State clearly your anticipated audience. ‘Everyone’ is not sufficiently specific. You need to convince the TV company that you can pull in an audience for this programme, and that they will sit through the film with you all the way to the end. If you’re making a series, you need to convince people will keep coming back for more.

The big idea

What is the programme all about? WHat is different about this programme? What new ideas or information will it contain? What is the programme’s main goal?

The conflict

You need conflicting views to be brought out during the programme, otherwise it will be dull and lack drama. Even a factual documentary tells a story. Outline the conflict, in ways that the buyers and planners working for the TV company can easily understand.

Structure

A paragraph or two on how you intend to structure your film.

Resolution

How will the programme end? Where is it heading?

The presenter

Who is the presenter? Why has he or she been chosen? What special qualities do they bring?

A treatment

Documentaries rarely if ever have a script. Film makers can’t control what will happen when the cameras are rolling. They are not working with actors and cannot dictate what their subjects should say.

Instead, you should include a treatment. This might describe in detail the people who are the interviewed, the places the programme will visit, the topics to be discussed, the areas of conflict which will help to bring it all to life.

The treatment will usually be written in the present tense. So: ‘The programme opens with the presenter standing in front of the Taj Mahal. He tells us about….’ and so on. Treatments are usually a narrative, and do not use technical language or jargon. There is no need for camera angles or similar detail. It is an outline of the content, and the emphasis should be on making it as interesting and compelling as possible. The people with the money want to know that this programme will be interesting and engaging to a wide audience – usually s that they can sell advertising and so turn a profit on the whole deal.

Length

Be clear and precise about how long the programme will be. If there are options to make a long or short version, say so.

Budgets

If you know how much money is needed, this is the place to include the details. If you have no idea, then it will be much harder to get funding.

Production timetable

If you know this, or at least have an idea, it’s a good idea to include it. It shows you’ve done some proper planning.

Biographies

This section should include detailed information to demonstrate the competence and talent of all those involved. The director and producer should be included. Other people you may want to present in detail here include the presenter, any technical or scientific advisors, and possibly some of the interviewees and subjects featured in the programme.

Make it sell

Making a film or programme is a time-consuming and expensive business. It’s worth spending some extra time and / or money on the proposal to make it as compelling and convincing as possible. As a copywriter, I would argue that this is a job for a professional. But it certainly can be done by the film makers themselves, providing they have the time to commit to getting it right, making it sell their idea effectively, and giving the buyers and planners enough information to make a decision in you favour.

Related posts:

1. A case study is a story – and that’s powerful marketing
2. 7 surefire ways to write an opening paragraph
3. My dog can write better copy than you

What are you offering your customers? Is it value? Stop. Think again.

Whether you are creating a marketing campaign for a major company or just trying to sell some information products off your blog, it’s too tempting to reach for the easy offer – ‘value.’

But it’s worth remembering the words of wisdom from Harry Beckwith in his outstanding book on marketing Selling the Invisible: A Field Guide to Modern Marketing.

If you’re in any way involved in marketing or running a business, no matter how big or small, it’s a book that should be on your shelf. (And ideally you ought to take the time to read it as well….:))

I’ll be dipping into it now and then on this site for insight. But for now, consider this:

If your primary selling position is good value, you have no position.
Value is not a competitive position. Value is what every service promises, implicitly or explicitly. It is fundamental to survival.

He continues:

If good value is the first thing you communicate, you won’t be effective.
If good value is your best position, improve your service.

You could be charging $1 or $1,000 dollars for what you do. Either way, the clients and customers expect good value. It’s a given. You have to offer something more.

Related posts:

1. Is your SEO copy bad marketing?
2. When is a ‘business opportunity’ really just a pyramid scheme in disguise?
3. How to write your positioning statement

If you’re paying a copywriter to do a job, you may not care about keeping them happy. On the other hand, if they are happy, they’ll do a better job and work more efficiently, which will help keep the price down.

So how can you help your copywriter to produce excellent work and keep them happy into the bargain?

Plan ahead

Try to build at least some time into the project for the writing.

Get the brief right

Give your copywriter a good brief, and they’ll be off to a flying start. Supply as much background material as you can. The brief which says “there’s lots of information on our website” usually starts the alarm bells ringing. It’s amazing how few people in business have really looked at their websites and analysed how little information is there.

You may not have much information, however, and you may employing a writer so that they can go and find it – perhaps by interviewing product managers or chief executives. That’s fair enough. But there are still plenty of things you should try to include in the brief – or at least find answers if the writer queries them.

The customers are the ones that really count.

This should include a guide to your marketing positioning, your brand and so on. Who are your customers / clients? What makes them buy? What messages do you need to get across?

If possible, dig out product / service descriptions, reports, whatever you can find. Most copywriters like to get as much information as possible: they can sift through it, that’s their job.

The other dreaded bugbear, however, is the PowerPoint presentation. These usually contain nothing. They might be useful in sales, because there’s someone there talking over the slides. But for copywriters, they are usually next to useless. The same goes for mission statements. Don’t bother.

Ask people to respond

If the copywriter needs to talk to people in your company, but they never respond to phone calls or answer emails, things can get a bit frustrating. In fact, the job can stall.

Approvals

When you get the copy, remember to look at the bigger picture. Bear in mind that the copywriter is pitching this material for your customers and clients – not your sales force or managing director. The customers are the ones that really count. The language has to be what they will respond to. That’s part of the reason to employ a copywriter – they understand this stuff.

The copy will usually need tweaking and refining. This is normal. Make sure the core messages are right first, before getting too engrossed in sentence structure. When it’s time to give amends to the writer, try to make them co-ordinated. Ten conflicting set of track changes in a word-processor file will spoil anyone’s day.

Give it back

One of the most common mistakes in marketing is to allow all-and-sundry to make last minute changes to the copy, without ever consulting the writer. Horrible sentences get shoved in regardless. The tone of voice is wrecked. All that care taken polishing the flow and creating a coherent sales message is wasted because someone decides to cut and paste a sentence without even re-reading the piece as a whole. You’ve paid a writer, so if at all possible, get them to have a final read through.

Pay up

Like everyone else, copywriters like to get paid for their work. On time, if at all possible.

Keep the copywriter informed

If you really want to keep your copywriter happy, send them a copy of the finished product, if it’s a brochure for example, or at least a little message that the website is live. Give praise where it’s due. Give feedback, if that’s more relevant.

Keep it coming

More work would be nice. Lots more lovely work.

Related posts:

1. How to brief a copywriter (part 1)
2. How not to brief a copywriter
3. Is your idea of copywriting too narrow?

Writing copy that concentrates on keywords too much can become very bad marketing. Why? because it tends to focus on the features of the product or service too much, and not the benefits to the user. That’s bad marketing.

The customer may be searching for “lawn mowers”‘ but what he wants is short grass

It’s something you have to be aware of whenever creating copy for your website. You have to achieve a balance between writing for people or writing for search engine robots.

For example, when a copywriter creates his own website, he’ll use the word “copywriter” as often as humanly possible. So, he’ll end up writing about himself, the copywriter, and the copywriting that he can offer. Features of the service. But any copywriter knows that you need to turn the features into benefits for the customer. It’s good marketing.

The copywriter should be explaining how he can increase sales, attract customers, save the client money, provide exceptional service and so on.

The same applies with lawn mowers. The customer may be searching for “lawn mowers”‘ but what he wants is short grass, great value and delivery by Tuesday.

If you’re a graphic designer, clients won’t search for “professional image”, “design impact”, or “creativity”. They search for “graphic designer.” So your copy has to keep mentioning “graphic designer” this, “graphic designer” that. But that’s not a benefit.

What’s the solution? Balance.

How important is Google?

You need to know how important keyword searches are to you. If most visitors come from other sources – perhaps through a direct mail campaign, Internet advertising clicks, or because they are a regular customer and have you bookmarked, then your copy should focus more towards good marketing, with less emphasis on search engine robots.

But if Google searches are everything to your organisation, then play the game by their rules.

Remember the customer

Carefully written copy can at least try to play both games. You can keep using keywords, but always bear in mind that you need to bring the focus back onto benefits for your customer.

try to play both games

It’s not easy, but it’s what good web writing should be about: keeping one eye on the search engines and pleasing them when necessary, but always bringing it back to people, to customers, to benefits. Because that’s good marketing.

Disclaimer: This post is based on an original article I wrote about 18 months ago and circulated around several of those ‘article sites’. So you may have seen something similar elsewhere. But this is my work.

Related posts:

1. Do you know the magic word?
2. 7 golden rules of marketing – how to be sure your copy works
3. A case study is a story – and that’s powerful marketing

If you’re marketing a business, service or product, then it helps to have a positioning statement. This is a summary of how you wish to be perceived. It serves as the basis for defining who you are.

You can create one by answering the following seven questions:

1. Who are you?
2. What business are you in?
3. Who do you serve?
4. What are the special needs of the people you serve?
5. Who are you competing with?
6. What makes you different to those competitors?
7. What unique benefit does a client derive from your service?

Once you’ve answered these, hone them down into a single sentence if you can, one that summarises who you are and the service you offer.

It may not be something to set the world on fire as far as an advertising slogan goes, but it helps to keep your marketing efforts on track, by defining what is special about the business service or product in question.

Related posts:

1. How to write your own sales copy: a 5-step formula
2. Good value isn’t enough
3. When is a ‘business opportunity’ really just a pyramid scheme in disguise?