Copywriting. Hmm. Is it to do with patents? Is it writing jingles? Is it like journalism? When people ask me what I do, I say I write adverts, because that is the easiest answer. A good writer has a whole range of skills. Some of mine are listed below.
Communications strategy
Do you need a leaflet? Do you need a website? An ad? If these are the kind of questions you are asking yourself, go back a step and ask instead: what am I trying to say? Who do I want to say it to? I have worked with many clients and small businesses on these problems.
Concepting
This is coming up with the Big Idea. For a piece of communication that really grabs people’s attention, you need a Big Idea where the words and the design work together. I have concepted with art directors in many leading digital agencies including Dare, XM and FullSix.
Copywriting
This is the bread-and-butter stuff. Once you have a strategy, and you have your Big Idea, I sit down with all the relevant information and write on brief, to the correct length, by the deadline, to ensure the words work as hard as possible to get your message over.
Advertorial and editorial
Often, the solution is an advertorial, which requires the message to be couched in editorial language. I have written whole magazines and longer editorial pieces to frame the message in just the right way.
PR
A good PR agency with a fat contacts book is invaluable. However, the written word is sometimes not a PR agency’s strong point. I have worked with clients to write case studies, press releases and boilerplates that won’t let you down in front of journalists.
Editing
If you already have a mass of information, rather than writing fresh copy it is often my job to pare it down. By focusing ruthlessly on the target audience and key messages, I can extract a coherent and compelling text from a disorganised jumble.
Sub/copy editing
Depending on whether your background is in newspapers or publishing, this is the stage where no substantive changes are made to the piece, but you go through to check the facts, iron out the grammar, correct the spelling, check for consistent use of language, and improve the general flow of the text.
Proofreading
Do you know your its from your it’s? Your complement from compliment? Your disparate from desperate? Your deprived from depraved? Spellcheckers are invaluable, but only an eagle-eyed proofreader can pick up some spelling mistakes, typos, missing punctuation and other tiny errors.