Block Buster

 
“A writer is someone for whom writing is more difficult than it is for other people.” 

Thomas Mann

Reading that quote has made me feel much better... I must be a writer. Ok a writer of copy, not of epic literature or Kindle-loving blockbusters, or of film scripts that Mendes and Boyle would fight over. Of course copywriting has its own value in the commercial world but writing copy is making someone else's idea sound great. Writing solo needs the great idea. That's my problem with this blog - the great idea eludes me. It hides. It only teases me at 4a.m. or in the shower. By work o'clock it's gone. What to write about that will inspire, titillate, inform or shock my unseen army [sic] of followers? And yet sometimes sheer desperation gets me off the blocks (or clears the block). Then the skies lighten and the words flow. Not an unstoppable torrent perhaps but definitely more flow than drought. More thought than nought. Must keep a pad by the bed to capture the great idea next time before he slips away like the ghost of a dream.

 
“Tomorrow may be hell, but today was a good writing day, and on the good writing days nothing else matters.”
Neil Gaiman

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“Writing is the only way to talk without being interrupted.” 
Jules Renard 



Well put M. Renard but for a writer whose childhood was characterised as difficult and sad, ("un grand silence roux" or "a great ruddy silence"), one might have thought that a bit of interruption here and there would have helped.

Opinion's divided on the most fruitful conditions for writing. Some say total silence is the thing - no distractions at all. Conversely a recent study by the Journal of Consumer Research found that “modest ambient noise, (around 70 decibels), triggers the part of our brain responsible for abstract and creative thinking. Instead of burying oneself in a quiet room trying to work out a solution, walking out of one’s comfort zone and getting into a relatively noisy environment may trigger the brain to think abstractly and thus generate creative ideas.”

I'm with the ambient noise argument - a bit of cool jazz in the background, birdsong in the garden, rain on the window, (what we call a water feature in Norfolk) and other benevolent sounds seem to help. Best to avoid aural irritation e.g. screaming children or Janet Street-Porter on the radio, (spot the difference), at any decibels.

There's also the opinion divide between whether the production of creative writing is better served by having a cup or a glass to hand...

“Writer's block is a fancy term made up by whiners so they can have an excuse to drink alcohol.” 
Steve Martin




 



"Cheers!"
Eric Stewart, Writer 









 

International Business English

Ok, so you speak English. But which English? American English, Asian English, British English, Australian English... the list goes on. Me, I was born in Scotland, live in England and speak British English. As a professional copywriter from a business background, my specialist field is writing International Business English.

Business has taken me all over the world; I have dealt with some of the most technologically advanced factories in Asia and Europe. Many companies are manufacturing world-class products at competitive prices. They have professional management and impressive welfare and environmental accreditations. They are enterprises with fantastic global propositions. So why are more international retailers not beating a path to their doors? Quite simply, because they fail to communicate how good they really are.

Dynamic companies who trade oceans away from their target markets need clear and powerful communications, speaking in the contemporary language of those markets – International Business English.

This is where the skilled copywriter comes in. If you are an enterprise wanting to sell into the UK or other markets where Business English is the everyday communications medium, then don’t write your own website. If you’re not on the same wavelength as your audience they’ll simply switch off. You will have failed to impress.

Never let your ego get in the way of gaining customers. You know your business best and you have a great product, but are you being heard? A copywriter's business is to make sure that you are - loud and clear. All forms of English are equally valid but you simply must use the one which your target market uses.

Here's an excerpt from a recent letter I sent to a prospective client overseas:

"Thank you for sending me your website link. It’s clear that your company delivers a world class service and high quality products with excellent production technology and ground-breaking initiatives in staff welfare, ethical practice and ecological implementation.

Major buyers, however, are a pretty unforgiving lot with little time to spare. They judge potential suppliers on first impressions. If the language is not the International Business English that they speak, and if the grammar and spelling contain mistakes, they will search elsewhere. In short, your business model is fantastic but the language of your website does not do it full justice."

They hired me and their new website now stands out from the crowd. They gained major customers who not only visited the site but remained on it measurably longer than before. Most importantly visitors were impressed, not only by the proposition but also by its presentation – written in International Business English.

Visit me at: www.eswriter.com 

Content's the Thing

What’s more important: what we say or where we say it? The noise from the where-we-say-it gang has been pretty deafening recently. Time for we content creators to get more of a hearing.

Sure, social media has transformed the way that we communicate, as individuals sharing with friends and as businesses building a customer base through trust and recommendation. Little wonder that so much blog space is filled with ‘route to market’ advice. But, hang on a minute, what is it that we are sending on the chosen route? Content of course.

Communications Technology and Data Management are specialist fields that have changed forever the way that advertising agencies and their related services work. An over-emphasis on media channels however can confuse and overshadow the keystone of your marketing activities. Content of course.  

There are only two things that we can see on a website, facebook page, brochure or tablet of stone: words and images. It’s the content that sells, not the delivery system.

Now, don’t get me wrong – it’s vital that we get our messages to our target audience through channels which will maximise the ROI. We content creators must shape our copy style and structure to suit the intended platform. An integrated approach twixt message and media is clearly essential, but, putting media before message is like sourcing transport before the goods are ordered.

Whatever your business, whether you offer products or services, think hard about your target customers and your competitors. What sets you apart and will make you the chosen one? Define your USP and your customer’s profile and you have found your core message. This is particularly true for start-up enterprises. You need to sell yourself from the get-go. Don’t let anyone persuade you that advertising is a waste of money. Only bad advertising is. Good content is your best salesman and he should always return more than he costs.

You’re an expert in your business but don’t hesitate to talk to experts who know how and where to sell your offer. Beware of advice that confuses and jargon that is used for cool effect. And beware the myth-makers…

Myth 1: “Advertising is dead.” Good advice from those who believe Elvis is alive and living on the moon.

Myth 2: “The medium is the message.” Wrong – no message, no medium. But this from Marshall McLuhan who famously was paid a handsome fee by General Motors only to tell them that automobiles were a thing of the past.

Myth 3: “Marketing creates brands.” Truth – customer experience creates brands.

If you are a start-up business wanting to get your story read, (and why would you not?) my advice is to make sure it’s worth reading. Stating the obvious, yes, but attention spans are short in the digital age. You need content that says exactly what you do, (so many fail to do this with absolute clarity) and tells your reader what’s in it for them. Your target customers are not interested in you, only in what you can do for them!

Never talk down to your audience. As advertising guru David Ogilvy said, “The consumer isn’t a moron; she is your wife.” Using the right tone of voice to address your target customers and to be relevant to the chosen medium is critical.

When your prospects become customers do everything and more to keep them. If content is King in the marketing realm, customer service is Queen. You have done the hard work to win a customer - don’t lose her through shoddy after-sales service. Positive word-of-mouth is good news but in an age of universal critics the reverse can do untold damage. Negative comments on sites like TripAdvisor demonstrate this point perfectly. 

Writing styles and language usage are continually being re-shaped in the rapidly changing world of communications. Social media and website structure can impose tight disciplines on the copywriter. Without discipline however, copy can lose focus, and the reader’s attention. Effective content is concise and targeted. Above all it involves the reader emotionally and calls him to action.

From a very different genre, Ernest Hemingway showed us in his shortest of short stories how much could be said with minimal content: “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Six brief words that conjure up a wealth of imagery in the reader’s mind.

Finally, when you’ve said what you want to say, stop!

Visit me at: www.eswriter.com  

Character Building

Do you have 1200 characters in your life? Maybe you do. I don't, unless I could remember all the blokes that I've met in pubs over the years. Why are they always known as 'characters' by the way? Why not, (more accurately but less generously), as drunks, raconteurs, pimps, revolutionaries, scroungers or ne'er-do-wells? Or politicians for that matter, or scriptwriters...?

James Doran was a scriptwriter and boon companion who helped to fund the Green Man pub in Putney until his demise a couple of years back. Jim was an ascerbic, no nonsense Scotsman who had written scripts for Z Cars and the screenplay for The Ipcress File amongst other profitable literary  works. These achievements alone marked him out as a character, as did his schadenfreude taste in bar-room storytelling. When Jim was a lad his Grandfather had read out a piece from the Monday morning Scotsman newspaper. Some tourists had been killed in a coach crash the previous day. "That'll teach them to go gallivantin aboot on the Sabbath" said Grandad. Jim recounted it with glee. Many times.

Francis was another Green Man character, media man and whisky lover with an equally low tolerance for fools and sycophants. "Good Morning Francis," said one who was both. "Morning Tom," replied Francis without looking up from the obituary columns. "How are you?" said Tom... "Morning will do," said Francis, successfully terminating the exchange.

 Filling in my profile on my Google Blog account got me thinking about this today. "Introduce yourself with as many characters as you want - up to 1200" it said. Probably job done!

But, to sign off with a favourite gag...

‘I needed a password eight characters long, so I picked Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.’  
Nick Helm

Visit me at: www.eswriter.com  

Weather Borecast

Sunny days seem a million miles away as I look up from the laptop to see... well not much actually. No, I've got to do better than that. Show some copywriting skills, paint a picture with words, capture the mood etc. So, here goes, it's grey, everywhere. Not quite in the same descriptive league as Mr. Chekhov below but it's just grey. Or have I become colour blind overnight? No, my socks are still red but the Norfolk landscape is monochrome. Flatness is one thing, (part of the county's charm), but this excess of greyness dampens the spirits. Maybe I should do my writing at night until Mr. Sun finds his hat again.

But enough of the weather and my whingeing about it. A few inspirational and insightful quotes from writing greats...

“Don't tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”
Anton Chekhov

“One day I will find the right words, and they will be simple.”
Jack Kerouac

“The road to hell is paved with adverbs.”
Stephen King

“You never have to change anything you got up in the middle of the night to write.”
Saul Bellow

“History will be kind to me for I intend to write it.”
Winston Churchill


“The first draft of anything is shit.” 
Ernest Hemingway

Bit like the weather really!

Visit me at: www.eswriter.com