Copy Approach

AIDA, power words, asking “So what?” ad nauseam. I’m well-versed in techniques, but I approach copywriting as a thinking partner first. Effective copy comes from taking the time to think, empathize, and make data-driven decisions with some healthy experimentation on the side. Here are my essentials:

Understand your audience

Take the time to understand your audience the best you can. What are their challenges and frustrations? How does your product/service fit into their lives? Put on your psychology hat and get to the root motivation that may not be verbalized. This is all much easier when an organization has a dedicated research team sharing insights regularly. But even if that’s not the case, you can still take the time to talk to customers 1:1. I’ve learned so much from short videos of customers explaining things in their own words because you can pick up on cues from body language, tone, and micro expressions.

Remain relatable

The best copy is relatable. Your audience feels heard and rewards you with a follow, subscription, or purchase. Relatable can look like different things. It might be acknowledging their struggles. It might be a shared sense of humor. When you do it right, people take action that says “Let’s hang out.” Great brands forge an emotional connection.

Collaborate closely

The best creative often has one thing in common. Teamwork. When I partner with designers, I like to schedule 1:1 time, instead of just working in silos and rushing to a solution. Designers can often have great ideas for copy. Copywriters can have great ideas for design. There are always opportunities for design and copy to play off each other. When our cooperation is tight, it shows.

Keep learning and trying new things

Even the best soothsayers can’t always predict how something is going to perform. And what works for one company doesn’t always mean it will for the next. That’s why it’s important to keep testing and iterating. Make a game of it to see if you can beat out your top-performing asset. But also give yourself room for experimentation, especially as new trends emerge and the world changes. It’s worth taking a few big swings that could move the needle.