Writing and copy writing
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As someone with an interest in words and stringing them together, I am sometimes volunteered to write copy for things at work. In theory this should be straightforward. I've worked here for eight hours a day, five days a week, for over two years. I can say with a modest degree of conviction that I understand my role and what the company does. But still if you ask me to write about it, you'll get to watch me struggle.
Writing comes in many different forms. Writing fictional stories is very different to writing an instruction manual. Writing a history book is different to writing a newspaper article. And writing marketing copy is different to more or less everything else. There are common elements across them all, not least a grasp of the language in which one is writing. The differences arise, however, in how the language is used.
Language, spoken or written, can be used to do all sorts of things. It can inform, instruct, guide, offend, appease, comfort, convince, dissuade, anger and illicit any number of other emotions and responses. Getting the right response depends on how the language is used. Used incorrectly, a message that is intended to achieve one result could in fact achieve something entirely different. How often have you heard of somebody taking what was said to them the wrong way and getting upset or annoyed?
I can write fiction. I'm not published, but get how it works. I'm also fairly good and writing instructional copy. Both of these require different writing disciplines. One describes a scene and the events that are happening in it. The other walks somebody through how to do something. Both rely on descriptive writing. Neither relies heavily on provoking an emotional response from the reader (though obviously if you can achieve that with fiction, it will do wonders for your story).
Marketing copy is all about obtaining an emotional response or connection. Anybody with half a brain can describe a product or service in a series of paragraphs or bullet points. The ability to convince the reader that the same thing has value for them is a very different skill. Simply describing an item is a very disconnected way to promote it. You're playing to the possibility that one of the features you describe might just be something the customer already believes they need.
I can write about what something is. If I understand it well enough, I could write about what it does. I might even be able to explain why it does it. What I can't do is make you want to buy it. Marketing copy has to tell you why that something is important to you. It's about making you understand how it might benefit you and why you'd be better off having it in your life. In short, it makes a connection between the reader and the product. It's this use of language that I struggle with.
Writing marketing copy isn't easy. I know a lot of marketers that can't do it at all. But it works both ways. I am one of many writers who can't market. Good marketing is a rare skill. Despite having no particular interest to pursue it as a carrier option, I'm envious of anybody who knows how to do it well. But given the choice, I think I'll stick with the kind of writing I understand. In short, I'd rather create a world than sell one.