How did you make
this copy come to life?That’s a question copywriters love to hear. My response: Awesome content requires extraordinary patience and a red pen.
If you've experienced either the privilege or the pain of my writing process or have had me edit your work, you understand. For everyone else, allow me to explain.
Creating captivating copy rarely happens overnight. Developing content that gets noticed, remembered and shared is a bit like composing music. It's likely that the finished work went through several iterations before finding the right cadence for its intended audience.
Most writers have rituals for turning a blank page into content that sings. Here's advice based on my routine:
Conceptualize. Whether it’s authoring a
website landing page or a grant request, I begin by nailing down the theme and the essential facts that need to be conveyed.
Shut down mode. While multi-tasking is admired, I'd never get past authoring the first paragraph without first turning off
email.
Just do it. Getting started can be intimidating, even for the most accomplished copywriters. Give yourself permission to simply put words on the page. This is not the time to start critiquing your work. There are plenty of opportunities for self-admonishing later in the process.
Create distance. With draft one saved, walk away. At this point, I sometimes catch myself hoping that the
content will mysteriously find its stride in my absence. While this has yet to occur, I usually come up with ways
to condense, modify and improve the content after my mind has been elsewhere for a while. There are also times when I return to the first draft recognizing that the best course of action is to start over. (This is when the patience of a saint comes in handy).
Cue the figurative red pen. Paragraphs get moved around.
Forgotten content is added. Superfluous
words are dumped. While SEO (search engine optimization) never drives my digital content, I
do check to make certain major keywords are included in the text and the meta description.
It's not about you. Content can make
perfect sense to an author but be clear as mud to others. Review the overall tone and the choice of words using the mindset of the intended target market. Edit accordingly.
Come together. By this stage, I've often edited the content two or three times. Now is the time pull all of the edits together and create a clean document.
Come together. By this stage, I've often edited the content two or three times. Now is the time pull all of the edits together and create a clean document.
Talk the copy. Read it out loud.
This is a great way to catch missed or overused words. It’s also a good method for
assuring that the work is appropriate to the
brand.
Pass it on. While some implement this step after draft one, I don't recommend it. My first drafts are rarely ready for prime time review by others.
Develop a thick skin. If you remember
only one thing from this post, let it be this: The ability to receive and act on
constructive suggestions and/or criticism is what can make good content great.
Final proof. Check for grammar,
spelling and punctuation.
In this age of content overload, most of it is mediocre and is barely given a
second thought. If you are satisfied with being average, go ahead and push your
copy out without much scrutiny. If you want your online or print materials or your grant
proposals to stand out from the crowd, have patience with the process...and invest
in a red pen.
