How creative is commercial copywriting?

Jun 20, 2011 | Writing Skills | 0 comments

I’m a bit of a systems freak so I love being able to break things down into processes. Anything that I can turn into 7 steps to a result definitely makes me feel like I’ve achieved something! Sad, isn’t it? However, people tell me I am creative because I am able to come up with the right words to promote their business both online and offline. So is it creative or is it just another process?

I do have processes for writing for my clients. There are certain boxes that need ticking and generally complete my ‘checklist’ by asking questions:

  • What medium is it for – web, brochure, leaflet, email, letter? Although the message must be consistent the approach may vary slightly.
  • Who will be reading it? What do they want most? If you know what your target audience want there’s a better chance of engaging them.
  • What makes you different from your competitors? Why do people buy your products/services and not someone else’s in the same business? Often the defining factors are not about what you do, but how you do it.
  • What are the benefits of each of your products/services? What hits that emotional trigger that people buy on? You need to understand the difference between ‘nice to have’ and ‘I want it’!
  • What do you want people to do when they’ve read this? If you want them to phone, make it easy for them; if you’re not always there to answer calls you might want them to connect with you in a different way. The call to action is critical; if you don’t ask people to do something many of them don’t do anything.

    • So this is all process driven and the information generated by the answers to the questions will create the core message. How creative is that?

    I’ve shared my question asking process with many people, but they still struggle to come up with compelling copy. There must be some creativity in there somewhere – I just can’t find the process to identify it!
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