Pets and possibilities
So you might be wondering what this has to do with copywriting? Well, the fact is that pets have been very good to me lately. It's an absolute fact that I am a pet lover. I have the most beautiful dog and sweetest cat. But, put simply, pets can provide all sorts of possibilities.
Sometimes pets just seem even more lovable!
It was late March that I got a message from the Pet Industry Association. They wanted help with a Code of Practice for the operation of boarding establishments. I'm sure all you pet lovers have wondered, every time you placed your beloved in a dog or cat boarding facility, will they be looked after? Will little sweetie tinkabelle be okay?
As one of the side benefits of being a writer - a genuine love of learning new information - I got to discover that, actually, my pet would be very well looked after. Tinkabelle, really would be okay.
So, again, what's this got to do with copywriting. Well, the thing is that opportunities can come from anywhere, and if you are true writer you will be interested in them.
I'm, personally, interested in pretty much anything. I found it fascinating to read about and edit the correct exercising, food and cleaning techniques that must be used by boarding facilities. I looked my pets over when I viewed the diagrams detailing whether a pet was obese, emancipated or exactly right.
But what really got me was the fact that no matter how old or new a facility was, it was the genuine care of your pet that mattered the most!
I'm looking forward to writing the next code of practice for pet shops. I'm sure I'll find it just as intriguing and informative.
Copywriting is about everything and anything. Well, to me it is.
What’s going to be new in this New Year?
We're at the end of 2009 and it's time to look back and reflect. I know that so many people think it's boring to talk about goals, but, actually, it's really necessary.
Why set goals?
Research has shown throughout the ages that those who write down their goals (don't just think them...too easy to forget!) achieve greater success than those who don't.
'What keeps me going is goals.' - Muhammad Ali
The thing about having a goal and writing it down is that you now have something solid to work towards. We all dream, which is great. Many of us dream and dream and dream. We dream big, we dream small, but what we really, secretly want is to see those dreams come true.
Write them down.
Hands up who's seen the movie 'The Bucket List'?
When the main character (now what was his name?) finds out he's dying, he decides to create a list of all the things he's always wanted to do. Creating a 'bucket list' is a great idea, but do you really want to wait till you're gasping your last breath? Nope? Didn't think so.
How about you create that list now. There is a wonderful book called Creating Your Best Life by Caroline Adams Miller and she describes the benefits you can achieve by creating your bucket list, and others, right now, right this instance! Doing something about achieving all your secret dreams right now, all the sooner to enjoy your rewards.
Here's to putting myself on the line
Okay, so we're talking about setting goals and writing them down. Well, I'm going to write mine in the world's notebook right here on this blog.
This year my writing business is going to be successful enough to send myself and my daughter on a one month holiday to Europe. 'Bout time I caught up with the rels.
Now what do you think I'm going to be writing about this time 2010?
The excitement of writing copy for someone else
Writing copy or web content for someone else, especially if you're a curious Gemini like me, is fun! Seriously.
Whenever I get a new assignment, I'm like a dog wagging its tail. I've been given the go-ahead to delve into an exciting subject (exciting to me, anyway) that I have perhaps never thought of or don't really know much about.
Here I am being paid to find out new stuff. Fantastic! I've always loved trivia, which doesn't in any way mean that the web content you've asked me to write is based on trivia. It's just that element of quickly finding out enough about the client's industry or product to create compelling text that their clients will love.
I'm interested in everything. You can ask me to find out about garden hose. Did you know that the most popular form of garden hose is the 'Never Kink - Self Straightening' hose? I'm really curious to know why, although I think I can probably guess. I'm sure I would prefer a 'Never Kink - Self Straightening' hose too, but actually a quick search finds that these are 'no-nonsense great hoses that won't disappoint'. Terrific, I want one already!
I'm beginning to think that someday my brain will explode and out will flow tiny facts on every subject imaginable. Hope someone is there to tap into that knowledge!
Where do you find the right words?
When you're trying to write that perfect marketing piece, or maybe web content, it's all about the words, the right words! So, where do we find them?
For me, I like to get a feeling for what I'm trying to sell or the information my client wants to disseminate to their public.
Sometimes, like now, I gaze away from my laptop out my window and watch the trees swaying slightly in the breeze. If I space out for long enough, with not too many thoughts in my mind (that bit's easy!), then when I snap back to reality I often find that the words are there. A quiet, mindless meditation to achieve my writing goal. Who would've thought?!
Today I'm thinking about autism. I'm thinking about an event that a client wants me to organise and promote. I've done a search on google for relevant information and found the most fantastic story about a group of surfers in the US who take autistic kids on surf camps. Apparently, the feel of the sea and the movement of the surfboard soothes the jangled nerves of an autistic child. I find my heart uplifted.
It doesn't take much to get my heart involved and this project has already done just that. Slight pause for brief gaze out of window... The words are already there because this campaign appeals to that better part of society, the part where people care.
Looking for words? Peer closely at the project you are working on, look inside the information your client has given you and imagine being on the receiving end of the words you write. What is it that you would want to hear? That's what you write.