"Read Me: 10 Lessons for Writing Great Copy"

Table of Contents

Intro Notes ................................................................................................................................. 2

Chapter 1: The Big Picture ....................................................................................................... 3

Chapter 2: The Right Way to Write (Process) .......................................................................... 4

Chapter 3: Memes, Memory, and Sticky Lines ....................................................................... 6

Chapter 4: Orwell's Advice ....................................................................................................... 7

Chapter 5: Don't Solve the Client's Problems, Solve the Customer's .................................. 8

Chapter 6: Stories ...................................................................................................................... 9

Chapter 7: On Brands ............................................................................................................. 10

Chapter 8: Figures of Speech ................................................................................................. 11

Chapters 9 and 10 ................................................................................................................... 14

Gallery ...................................................................................................................................... 15

Intro Notes Authors Roger Horberry, Gyles Lingwood Subject Copywriting techniques and exercises. Purpose:

1. To describe the art and craft of copywriting and the skills you'll need to succeed. 2. To explore an underappreciated theme, which they call "brandwriting."

Structure Ten lessons, each with writing exercises and commentary from professional writers. Here are my notes on the passages that struck me (not a formal overview of the book).

Chapter 1: The Big Picture Who says long copy has to go on ads? The marketing mix is broad -- long copy is alive and well and living on websites, brochures, packaging, shop windows, interior wall spaces, brochures, postcards, etc. ... Tenets:

• Writing is for doers. • You have to get the thinking right first. • Copy is an ongoing conversation. • The brand is the focus. • Learn from everything. Steal from everywhere.

Chapter 2: The Right Way to Write (Process) "First write it straight, then write it great." Luke Sullivan Step 1: Research Find a way in to the personal truth of your product. Research with the brief, but a brief might not be a brief at all. I could be a chunk of an email or a slide deck. What you need to know:

• nature of the job • audience (what are their hopes, anxieties, dreams, etc.) • problem you're trying to solve • big idea you're trying to build on/campaign theme • key messages, if any • tone/personality • deadline • where to go for further information

If you don't have a brief, write your own. Step 2: Plan Identify the problem your readers are facing. (In some cases, e.g. with an art gallery, this may be a need.) This is where you get the thinking right. How? Journal. Have a conversation with yourself. Ask who, what, where, when, why. Step 3: Write Write like you speak. One tip: create a core story doc that contains everything important about the subject. This can be repurposed in many ways. Step 4: Review

If in doubt, cut it out.

Chapter 3: Memes, Memory, and Sticky Lines A slogan, or sticky line, is worth repeating, worth remembering, and written in a way that makes it memorable. Tips:

• Create an emotional connection. (Make it about "you.)" • Say it strange. E.g.: "Think Different." • Tell them something they don't know. "At 60 miles an hour, the loudest noise in

this new Rolls-Royce comes from the electric clock." • Tell them a story. • Have something to say. No puffery. Lead with the difference-maker. • Compare and contrast. Before and after. • Prove it. Use numbers. • Don't play it safe. • Keep it real. Use concrete images.

Checklist:

1. Is it surprising? Nike: Strut like a fish. 2. Does it pass the "as opposed to what?" test. E.g.: "Helpful banking." 3. Does it pass the "so what" test? 4. Has it got real personality? 5. Does it leave a striking image? 6. Is it interesting?

Chapter 4: Orwell's Advice From "Politics and the English Language." Ask:

What am I trying to say? What words will express it? What image or idiom will make it clearer? Is this image fresh enough to have an effect? Could I make it shorter? Have I said anything that is avoidably ugly?

Rules:

Never use a metaphor, simile, or other figure of speech which you are used to seeing in print. Never use a long word where a short one will do. If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out. Never use the passive where you can use the active. Never use a foreign phrase, a scientific word, or a jargon word if you can think of an everyday English equivalent. Break any of these rules rather than say anything outright barbarous.

Chapter 5: Don't Solve the Client's Problems, Solve the Customer's If copywriting is about audiences, then audiences are about content, expression, identity, and self-interest. Content Solve the customer’s problem or need. Bring the benefit to life, to their life. Start where your readers are at. Expression Create a distinct voice for your copy. Ask: Who's voice do you want the reader to hear. Identity Get a clear picture of your reader. Write to one person. Tip: Think of one person who embodies the audience, then write like you're writing a letter to that person. Empathize with that person, with their struggle. Self-Interest The reader is asking "What's in it for me?" So: Explain the benefit, not the features.

Chapter 6: Stories Definition: Brand stories often include features associated with literary stories. E.g.: a hero struggling against a villain toward a happy ending. A brand story should be clear, compelling, and build around a strong central idea. And it should include struggle. Stories can be creation myths. Note, you don't invent them, you can only uncover them. Stories can be about "you." For example, you can take a description of a product, and turn it into a story about how the reader benefits from using the product. Verb it. The seven basic plots:

• Overcoming the monster. • Tragedy. • Rebirth. • Loser to winner. • Quest. • Voyage and return. • Comedy.

Chapter 7: On Brands 3 ways to think about brands:

1. Names and logos. 2. What you do and how you do it. 3. Promises and expectations.

Or, simply, a brand is your reputation. How do you effectively write for brands? Make a personal connection with readers, which gives you the chance to create an appealing personality, which allows you to create significant difference. Brand components

• Big idea or essence. E.g.: Apple's is "different." McKinsey's is "rigor." • Values. • Vision. • Personality.

Brand expression

• Design -- identity system. • Names. • Figurehead or public face. • Staff behavior. • Products and services. • Language/copy. • Product design.

Chapter 8: Figures of Speech Metaphors and similes. Tip: Make crazy comparisons. Hyperbole. Tip: Exaggerate extravagantly. Chiasmus. E.g.: When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Tip: Flip parts of a common phrase around. Parallelism. E.g.: Eye it, try it, buy it. Tip: Try repeating a word, phrase, or rhyme. Puns. E.g.: Leader's digest. Alliteration. Oxymoron and paradox. Irony and sarcasm. Aside: Luke Sull ivan on Anne Lamott One of the best pieces of creative advice I was ever given. Anne Lamott is the author of one of my favorite books on writing – Bird By Bird. The title itself is one of the first lessons Anne gives us, in which she recalls having to write a long report about birds for school. She was daunted by the size of the project and finally in frustration asked her dad, “How am I ever going to write this?!?” And her wise father answered, “Bird by bird, Anne. Bird by bird.” And so it goes with all of our creative projects, be it writing, art, or film. Creative projects are daunting. In fact, the more we care about a project, the scarier it is, the larger it begins to loom over the measly 24 available hours in our day. Setting out, we begin to see all the wonderful angles we might explore, all those interesting byroads, and the creative mind, it runs down the road ahead of us, sees other wonderful roads which start to fork away, oh wow, they go in all directions, they multiply, they go fractal, kaleidoscopic and … we freeze. We tighten up and pull back. This is when resistance to writing usually kicks in. Happens to me all the time. In fact, the way I procrastinate is to “do research.” Well, gathering material and backstory may, in

fact, be an essential part of the problem-solving process, but I use it as a crutch or, rather, a hidey-hole. “I can’t possibly begin to write this! Don’t you see how MUCH there is I don’t know?” Recognizing that we are indeed resisting work is the first step. So we take a deep adult breath and tell ourselves, “It’s time to start, dear.” Start … okay. Fine, start … but how? This big-ass project? It’s still here, spilled all over my desktop, its file folders obliterating the once serene screen-saver picture of the lake, the lake I’m never going to sit next to because of this damn project. Fine! I’ll start! But where? Where do I start? And again, Ms. Lamott comes to our rescue with another piece of calm and loving advice. “Start from where you are.” Wow. When you think about it, how can we start anywhere else? We have to start from here. And yet most of us want to somehow maaaaybe just think our way down the road a piece, not far, you know maybe start mapping out the journey, just sorta get a grip on this dang thing, maybe also get the 30,000-foot view of all the different roads and, dammit, LET’S SOLVE THE WHOLE STINKIN’ THING RIGHT NOW! And again, our mental wagon train grinds to a halt before we even start west. “Start from where you are.” So, this is the piece of advice I have most loved. I remember using it recently while writing a book. A book seems pretty daunting, no? Well, it was for me. There it sat in my computer, non-existent, completely unwritten, with different chapters all screaming for immediate attention. The thing is, there was one scene I’d recently been thinking about. I couldn’t wait to write this particular scene but the problem was this scene was from smack dab in the middle of the story. I can’t start there. Can I? And I did. I started exactly there. This scene, from waaaaay in the middle of the story, was the part I was most excited about writing, which made it exactly the right place for me to pick up the big project. I could worry about the opening chapters later. I could worry about the end later. But simply by picking up this one part that interested me, I

was able to keep at it, to stay bent over my keyboard for the longest time; and enjoy doing it. Thanks, Anne. And now I pass it on to you guys. See that part of your big project that’s the most interesting piece? Start there.

Chapters 9 and 10 9 is a use case. 10 is about habits:

1. Be curious. 2. Connect with other creative people. 3. Nurture resilience. 4. Sell yourself. 5. Work smart. (Tip: copying content longhand is a great way into the brand.) 6. Be pragmatic. Get something down. Iterate. 7. Have fun.

Gallery Waterstones

Economist

Waitrose

Innocent Drinks

Hoxton Street Monster Supplies

Red Brick Beer

Dixons UK

Barnados

VW

Toronto Humane Society

Tate Gallery

Uhu Super Glue

Metro Australia