We have all been at a party or a get-together and met someone who cordially asks “So, what do you do for a living?” When you reply, “I’m a copywriter,” you are met with one of two reactions: a mildly confused yet impressed nod or a look of total confusion accompanied by a number of follow-up questions that you never seem able to answer simply.
The easiest way I have found to clarify this is to ask the inquirers who they think writes the articles, Flat Abs in Ten Days or Seven Ways to Impress your Man. Someone has to be producing all the content you are reading on a daily basis. So, the question you should ask yourself is, “What am I writing for?”
You may find that by determining this, you are better equipped to explain your role to others.
The Copywriter’s Voice
Copywriters are writers. We are writers but not in the traditional sense that suggests we produce novels and poetry. But we write every day. We also proofread and edit and then write some more. We write the following:
Emails
Blog posts
Social media content
Website copy
Your client comes first and their needs are your priority. You should strive to meet their standards and exceed their expectations. The best way to do this is to remember that you are working for a client but it is your own voice that makes your writing interesting. Successful content marketing depends on your ability to strike the right balance between inserting your personality and representing the client’s brand.
Copywriters perfect the art of channelling the client’s request into their own masterpiece. This is similar to the way in which an actor reads a script and produces his or her interpretation of the character they are playing. The scriptwriter is still represented as the same person with the same style, only the thespian makes the story something different by bringing the character to life.
Call to Action
When you have finessed your voice to correlate with your clients’, you should refine your call to action and let it ring through your writing. Write to entice and essentially engage the reader. Try to get readers to linger long enough to not only read everything but also to click on a Contact us or Subscribe button. If you can write in a way that gets flighty internet users to ignore the urge to move on, you have won. Write to engage, write to inform and write for you.
