Creative Advertising Copywriter UK Blog Archive
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Benefits not features - but not always - Part 1
In copywriting, it's a good rule of thumb to stress benefits over features - what's in it for the punter rather than what your product or service consists of. I say a good rule of thumb, but for many people it's the be all and end all.
However, there are many exceptions.
For instance, if you're selling to an expert or an aficionado. An expert will know the benefits of what you're selling inside out, and may well be more impressed by the features - the cost, the material and so forth.
As for aficionados, they too know their subject inside out. For them it's often the tech specs that set their pulses racing. Think of the computer geek practically wetting himself at the thought of having with x trilobytes more hard drive (or whatever), or the petrolhead thrilled at having x more horsepower at his disposal.
In fact with something like cars you often have to emphasise the features over the benefits. The law allows you to say that the 4.6 litre engine will take you from 0 to 60 in 4.8 seconds with a maximum speed of 185mph. The (unstated) benefit is that this will permit you to be a pseudo grand prix driver with a bigger, better babe magnet.
Like the experts and the enthusiasts, people in specific professions will often be more concerned with features than benefits. Engineers and scientists, for example, need to know exactly what your product can do, down to the nearest millimetre or millilitre.
But what of the ordinary joe public? When are the occasions you should plump for features rather than benefits to them? More on that next time.
Benefits not features - but not always - Part 2
If you're selling a luxury item, describing little details (with no particular benefits in themselves) is a good way of conveying quality and rarity.
And if you're buying something tangible, there are often practicalities that need to be addressed. For instance, whether a sofa will squeeze though the front door, or whether a printer will fit on a shelf. To be fair, these are usually only secondary considerations - but they do need to be addressed.
Many of these exceptions are highlighted by the well-known American copywriter Robert Bly - you can find out more at www.bly.com
There is, however, one area which he doesn't touch on, and which seems to me, as someone who has written a lot of direct marketing copy, to be an increasingly common problem. More on that in the final part.
Benefits not features - but not always - Part 3
This final part of looking at the importance of occasionally stressing features rather than benefits is aimed at clients. While not wishing to bite the hand that feeds me, I do find that sometimes there is occasionally a tendency to stress the need for "benefits not features" - at all costs. And not just in certain situations such as those covered in my previous couple of entries.
By 'at all costs' I mean even at the expense of clarity and readability.
For instance, I've written a great deal of copy - sales letter, mail packs and the like - for a wide variety of financial clients. They typically offer several kinds of financial protection for their customers (personal insurance, credit card insurance, purchase protection insurance, and so on).
The benefit in each case translates to something like 'peace of mind'. Nothing wrong with that, except that I'm often asked to put it in the subhead and repeat it every time any protection feature is mentioned. This makes for longer and more repetitive copy. (There are only so many ways you can succinctly convey "peace of mind".)
It's the same for other business areas. Internet providers can no longer offer "free parental controls" or "free anti-virus software" - terms which are widely understood. It has to be 'free peace of mind" or "peace of mind is included", with the explanation for this underneath.
As well as the problems with length and repetition, there's also a danger that it's actually giving readers less information and not more, given that people often skim read copy and focus on subheads.
So benefits don't always trump features. Something that's worth remembering if you want the (ahem) peace of mind of knowing that your communications are working hard for you.
Should copywriting be clever?
Someone once entered this as a search string and ended up at my site. They wouldn't have found a direct answer on my site, so I thought I'd give you my take on it now:
The answer is no, not really.
Not at the expense of far more important attributes. It's much more important to be clear, for example. And interesting. And informative.
It can be intriguing, certainly. It can amaze and entertain. But ultimately it's got to sell.
The best definition I've ever heard of creative advertising is this: work out exactly what you want to say, then say it differently.
With clever for the sake of clever advertising, the fault is usually trying too hard on the second part of that definition and not trying hard enough on the first part.
It's not just the writing that shouldn't be clever for the sake of it either. It should go for the whole ad, not just the words. I'm sure that like me, you've seen a few 'what on earth are they trying to say' and 'what have pictures of that got to do with what they're selling' ads in your time.
A good rule of thumb with a creative ad is to judge how long it takes someone to click with someone. A second's hesitation is ok - 'ah, I get it'. There's nothing wrong with a little intrigue, and it adds to the reward for the reader. But any longer than a second or so and you're likely to irritate people or make them ignore you or mentally switch off. And once they've started reading your ad, don't try and blind them with constant copywriting tricks and tics.
So avoid clever for the sake of cleverness. But if you can be clever in your writing and in your ads as a whole in such a way that you make your message more outstanding and memorable, then fine. Just make sure you're not getting in the way of what you actually want to communicate.
I'll explore this theme of cleverness in communication further shortly.
Is your copywriting bent?
As a follow-up to my earlier entry, 'Should copywriting be clever', this post takes a closer look at what makes a clever ad, what makes a dull one, and what makes a largely incomprehensible one.
The best print ads are normally those where the headline and the picture work in harmony, together communicating the intended message in a memorable way, and where neither element would really do the job in isolation. Usually these consist of a straight headline and a bent visual, or a bent headline and a straight visual, where 'straight' means straightforward, and 'bent' means striking or unusual.
Many famous campaigns feature straight lines and bent visuals. The 'Probably the best lager in the world' campaign for Carlsberg, for instance, or 'If only everything was as reliable as a Volkswagen'. Great lines, but neither would get very far without the striking visuals that accompany them.
Others will have bent lines and straight visuals, or even no visuals at all to speak of - such as the Economist campaign.
But a straight line with a straight visual is likely to lead to a very straight ad - i.e. uninteresting. And a bent line with a bent visual commonly signifies that the creators are trying too hard to be clever - and failing to communicate effectively.
So it's generally worth keeping your headlines bent - unless your visual is too.
Clever copywriting - where does wordplay fit in?
As a follow-on from my previous post, 'Should advertising be clever', this entry is about wordplay.
Perhaps the commonest form of wordplay is the pun. I was always taught that puns are generally a no-no. When I started out as an advertising copywriter, one of the first lessons I was taught was to try and avoid puns. For instance, if you're selling an inexpensive shirt, there are far better ways of doing it than saying 'you won't get shirty about the price'. No disagreement there.
The problem is when you come to more wordy pieces such as mailpacks, sales letters and brochures. It's all very well having a pure, carefully-honed headline if that's the essence of your written communication (with maybe a few pithy lines of copy to go with it).
However, in your average mailer you've got an envelope line, a letter headline, letter subheads, a mailer headline, a mailer reveal line and more subheads. Plus shedloads of copy. And you're not just communicating your offer once at the beginning, you're expanding on it, substantiating it, reinforcing it and generally slapping on the make-up, looking at it in the mirror from every angle, and parading it down the catwalk.
So if you're going to keep the reader interested and not simply repeat yourself, then you're going to have to get a little bit clever with the way you write (while never sacrificing clarity, of course). Which, in some cases, could mean using puns.
Read any newspaper, particularly the tabloids, and you'll find they're chock-full of puns. People love 'em. So when it comes to longer pieces of copy, and as long as you're not simply punning painfully, or for the sake of it, I think the occasional pun is okay. Just make sure it's a current pun (geddit?).
There are of course, several other literary devices you can employ. Such as alliteration (using words that start with the same letter). Or assonance (that's words with similar sounds within them).
You can also play a bit with the type. Sell broadband by saying you're putting...an...end...to...slow...downloading. Or a business service that could help your profits rise.
And so on. Just don't overdo it.
Incidentally, while we're on the subject, the best advertising pun I ever heard of was one for a retail poster for Millett's, the outdoor specialists:
Now is the winter of our discount tent.
Dontchaloveit?
Clever advertising - or brilliant strategy?
A last word on this cleverness business.
One way to get really, really clever (and effective) with your advertising is to be clever with your strategy.
In the days when not many people had cars, Michelin had a problem. Not enough people were buying their tyres. So did they run ads extolling the virtues of their product against Dunlop and the rest? Nope. They came up with the idea of Michelin Guides. These contained everything you need for the perfect motoring holiday, including those out of the way gastronomic gems which were 'vaut le détour'. And by making all these trips and taking all those detours, you were also burning up more tyre rubber. Result - many more tyre sales, and Michelin never looked back.
Back in the 1960s a flour company wanted to sell more flour. Did they simply create ads cleverly positioning their product as superior to the competition? No. They came up with the idea of ready-bake cakes, some recipes to go with them, and a new brand name. Forty years later, Mr Kipling is still doing exceedingly well.
How about advertising for a product no-one could buy? During the Second World War chocolate was strictly rationed and most brands were simply not made for the duration.
Not much point in advertising, you might have thought. Most confectionery firms would have agreed with you - they didn't bother to advertise during the war. But one firm did. And when chocolate became widely available again, what did the public crave and overwhelmingly opt for? Those brand names that had been at the forefront of their minds thanks to all the advertising during those lean years.
And why waste precious budget on ads that will never appeal to most readers? A few years ago, Snapple brought out a kiwi fruit flavoured drink. Problem is, a lot of people can't stand kiwi fruits. So instead of running ads about their new drink, Snapple saved themselves a small fortune by printing up a load of stickers and putting them on kiwi fruits in supermarkets. The stickers simply pointed out in that Snapple was now available in kiwi fruit flavour. There was nothing clever about the line they used - but the strategy was brilliant.
So next time you're thinking of running a clever ad or campaign, it might be a bright idea to check your strategy first.
Book Review - 20th Century Advertising
This is hefty old coffee table book, written by Dave Saunders. It's basically a trawl through all the different styles of ads as they developed, arranged by marketing sector.
More of a social history than a simple 'best of', though there are plenty of classics among them. As well as showcasing the ads (it's very well art directed, as you'd expect from a book on advertising), it gives the story behind many famous campaigns.
Great to look at, fascinating to read. And you can pick it up for around £12 - 15 on Amazon.
Book Review - Do Your Own Advertising
This is another Alastair Crompton book, and another decent one. It's aimed at anyone with a small business. As ever, it comes with a caveat - the last edition was 1991, making it pre internet. So no enewsletters, website marketing and other modern essentials.
That said, there's still plenty of useful information here. It tells you how to create basic ads, brochures and the rest. You'll find out how to write headlines, how to judge your ads, how to do a mailshot, advertising on a low budget and so on.
And whereas the author's book The Craft Of Copywriting will set you back at least £200 on Amazon for a second-hand copy, this little nugget is yours for as little as one penny from the same source.
Book Review - Teach Yourself Copywriting
This is one of a series of 'Teach Yourself' books, and is by J. Jonathan Gabay. My edition is from 2000, and I see it was further revised in 2003.
So the good news is that it's reasonably up to date. Looking at the internet section, much of what the author wrote in 2000 still holds good now - structuring websites and so on. But, of course, there's nothing on blogging and other recent developments, and no mention at all of search engine optimisation copywriting (or search engine optimisation in any form, come to that). SEO copywriting is essential for getting the most out of your own website, and a highly desirable skill when it comes to writing other people's.
As for the rest, there's a good deal of good advice on the actual writing side, the different media and markets and lots of 'how to' lists and classifications, some of which work better than others. However, you won't find much in the way of business practicalities.
Overall, though, a worthwhile buy.
Book Review - The Craft of Copywriting
Originally written in 1979, my copy of this book by Alastair Crompton was published in 1993. Checking on Amazon, it's apparently been long out of print. I was astonished to see that there were half a dozen second-hand copies available, all priced between well over £200 and nearly £400.
Of course, as it was last revised pre internet, there is a huge gap in what it's saying. But much of the advice in the book still holds true if you're looking to break into advertising and get a job as a copywriter at a mainstream above-the-line agency. There's a good deal of practical help on getting a job and on what it's like to work in advertising, as well as plenty of tips on generating and evaluating ideas and writing copy.
Well worth buying if you have any aspirations towards working in a big name agency. Oh, and if you want my copy, I won't charge Amazon prices. Just £199 to you....
Book Review: Thirsty Work - Ten Years of Great Heineken Advertising
This was commissioned by Whitbread, the brewery which sold Heineken. Their ads, which ran through the 70s and 80s, were based on the line 'Heineken refreshes the parts other beers cannot reach'.
Anyone who has been around for a while will generally remember them with affection. Most of the classics, TV, press and, above all, posters are here - JR Ewing gaining a halo, long John Silver gaining an extra pegleg and eyepatch and so on.
There's also the story behind the genesis of the campaign, and a look at how other brands have parodied or imitated it.
Particularly interesting for me is the 'ads which never ran' section. One of these showed Albert Tatlock from Coronation Street. He drinks the beer, but nothing happens. The caption is 'Beyond reach'. It's a nice twist, which did eventually see the light of day, running a few years after this book's publication with Sir Les Patterson, Barry Humphries' Australian Cultural Attaché. As with Albert Tatlock, the grotesque vomit- and urine-stained, bilious old soak doesn't change - he is 'Beyond reach'.
A nice little period piece well worth having - available second-hand from Amazon for a round a tenner.
Copywriting - where do you start?
Below is a link to another interesting blog post from another fellow copywriter Simon Townley. It's all about where to start when you're writing - the beginning, the middle, or the end. For some types of writing, it makes more sense to start at one particular point - for instance, a novelist will often start at the end and work backwards. (As will anyone who's ever created one of those longwinded jokes which ends with a dreadful pun.)
Simon's conclusion is that, for a copywriter, it can make sense to start just about anywhere, depending on the nature of the project and what you want to say. To which I can only add: 'agreed.'
http://writemindset.com/writing/64/start-middle-end.html
How much does a freelance copywriter charge?
A simple answer to this would be anywhere between about almost nothing and several thousand pounds for a day or two's work.
At the bottom end of the scale, you can go to a services auction site like elance.com, post your project and wait for would-be or never-were copywriters to bid for it, desperately trying to undercut each other.
The projects on these sites are usually for online projects, typically article writing. The going rate for the average 500-600 word article is currently somewhere between five and ten pounds. For that sort of money, you can guarantee that the writing will be poor, and the spelling, grammar and punctuation worse. Few clients use these bidding sites for long - badly written copy doesn't do their reputation much good or, in the long run, their search engine rankings.
At the other end of the spectrum, there are a very few select freelance copywriters, nearly always American, who can, on occasion, receive many thousands of pounds (or rather dollars) for writing a single sales letter. The reason they can earn so much is that they've negotiated a deal whereby the higher the response, the more money they make.
Good for them, but there is a reason why these copywriters are few and far between. In the first place, although undoubtedly well written in their own way, these letters are usually long copy, highly formulaic affairs. They are usually for a very specific type of product (mass consumer, often information based) and target audience - nearly always American. For most products, services, media and target markets, this approach just doesn't work.
I also suspect that these copywriters have a high proportion of failures which they're less keen to publicise - they can't all be earning thousands and thousands for each sales letter, or they'd have retired to lead their dream existence long ago.
In between these two extremes are the rest of us freelance copywriters - and my next post will look at what we charge.
How much does a freelance copywriter charge - part 2
Following on from my previous post, this entry looks at what the average copywriter charges.
In the UK, the rate is anywhere between about £30 and £75 an hour, or £250 - £550 a day (some people charge by the hour, others by the day or half day). Those at the top of the scale tend to be very senior advertising copywriters working for leading agencies. Moving down roughly in order of remuneration, you get the slightly less experienced copywriters and the smaller advertising agencies, followed by new media copywriting then PR and journalism, with the exact rate depending on the experience of the writer concerned.
One important factor to remember with all of these freelancers, of course, is the fact you'll be saving a lot of money by going straight to the professional concerned. So you won't be paying the fees of an advertising, marketing or recruitment agency. The average advertising agency charges its creatives out at £80 - 130 an hour, plus the cost of the account person to handle the business side, art directors or designers, planners and so forth.
Some copywriters, myself included, will give discounts for small start-up businesses (though please don't be offended if we ask for the money up front). And it makes sense to give discounts for large or ongoing projects.
In the third and final post on this subject, I'll look at what you should actually pay your freelance copywriter.
How much does a freelance copywriter charge - part 3
Now that you've got a rough idea of what to expect, should you just get several quotes and go with the lowest? Of course not - you balance what you're going to shell out with how well you want the job done. And once you've checked out the writer's website, previous work they've done and their testimonials, you may well find that the best is not the lowest.
Remember, what the copywriter writes is almost always going to be seen by large numbers of existing or prospective customers. It's no use having a great design for your website, idea for your ad or layout for your brochure if the accompanying copy is poorly written.
You also need to check out how long the job will actually take. The cheapest copywriter may take half as long again as the most expensive - and end up costing you more. Make sure you get a clear answer, in writing, as to how much you will have to pay, exactly what you're paying for, and how long it will take.
So while the original question 'How much does a freelance copywriter charge' is still valid, a better question to ask yourself is 'What is a good copywriter worth to me?'
Freelance copywriting - book review
There are quite a few 'how to' books out there when it comes to freelance copywriting, and I've read a fair few of them. So every now and then, I'm going to post a review of one.
First up is Freelance copywriting by Diana Wimbs. The author is British and it's written specifically for the UK market, which is good news. Many of these kinds of books are by American authors, and a good deal of what they say doesn't really apply over here.
It's strong on many of the practicalities of freelance copywriting - where to look for work, how to charge, accounting and so on. It also covers most of the areas where a budding copywriter is likely to pick up projects - brochures, sales letters, mail packs and so on. However, it's a bit skimpy when it comes to the necessary knowhow for actually attracting and keeping clients.
There is one glaring omission: online copywriting. Granted the book was published in 1999, but even then there was a market for new media copywriting. Yet it's not mentioned at all. Today, of course, no freelance copywriter worth their salt can afford to neglect this market, which has revolutionised freelance copywriting - and looks set to change it still further.
Overall, not a bad book, but by no means comprehensive.
London - the centre of the copywriting universe?
It sometimes seems that most of the UK's businesses are based in London. Certainly a lot of start-up companies are. To judge by the search results, a 'London Copywriter' is an important criterion for some people, and I can understand why.
One of the advantages of being a freelance London copywriter is that I'm generally within easy travelling distance if you'd like to meet up. Another is that, as well as copywriters, London is home to some of the world's best designers, art directors, digital specialists and media professionals.
Many of the world's leading advertising, direct marketing and digital agencies are based in London as well, and chances are that any freelance professionals in London you talk to will have worked at several of these agencies. Which is reassuring to know.
Of course, if you're based outside London, email and the telephone means everything can still be done remotely. I've never met some of my best clients. But if a London base is important to you (or even if it isn't), why not contact me
My Top 10 UK copywriters
In no particular order, they are:
1. David Abbott - ok, actually I think he probably is the best, so I've put him first. Countless great ads throughout the 70s, 80s and 90s for Volvo, the Economist, RSPCA and many others.
2. David Ogilvy - as well as building a famous advertising network, Ogilvy was responsible for famous ads like 'The Man in the Hathaway shirt' and 'At 60 mph, the loudest noise in this Rolls Royce comes form the electric clock.'
3. Indra Sinha - now a successful novelist, he was responsible for many classic long copy campaigns for Amnesty and others.
4. Tony Brignull - the man behind some of the classic ads for B&H, parker pens and many more.
5. Tim Delaney - another great long copy man, particularly known for great radio ads for Phillips and Nationwide.
6. Dave Trott - inspired a generation of creatives at Gold Greenlees Trott in the 80s, and responsible in his own right for the 'gertcha' ads for Courage and ''Allo Tosh, gotta Toshiba?'
7. John Webster - actually an Art Director by training, but many of the great TV ads of the 70s, 80s and 90s were pretty much his sole creation. The Hofmeister bear, 'It's frothy man' and the Smash Martians were all his.
8. Drayton Bird - the man who wrote many of the rules for successful direct marketing in the UK.
9. Steve Harrison - the man who successfully broke many of those rules. His DM agencies won more creative awards than any others, and any direct marketing creative working today owes him a debt.
10. AN Other - you may have noticed that there isn't a single new media writer in this list. We're still waiting for him or her to emerge.
Book review - The Secrets of Successful Copywriting by Patrick Quinn
This was one of the first books on copywriting I ever read. My copy dates from the late 1980s - I've had a quick Google, and I can't see any later edition. Reading it at the time, it had limited use for me, as it tended to focus on coming up with rather simplistic ideas for small clients.
As I was just making my way in advertising agencies, I didn't rate it too highly. (There's one particularly excruciating idea for a radio ad for a jazz place.) It did have some quite fun cartoons though.
Looking at it again, there's not much on the practicalities of being a copywriter either, though to be fair, some of the advice about writing in general is fine. But as with other books, the biggest downside is that it simply hasn't kept up with the times. I've had a quick Google, but I can't see any edition beyond 1988. So no mention of the internet revolution whatsoever.
Ten things to remember when you're setting out as a freelance copywriter
1. Accept any projects from any source if you possibly can, even if they pay next to nothing.
2. Once you're established, it's still a good idea to accept projects if you can possibly handle them, but you can ignore the low payers, unless they're for jobs you'd particularly like to do.
3. Contacts, contacts and contacts' contacts. Make them and keep them. Try not to buttonhole them only when you need work. Stay in touch regularly if you can anyway - news items, catch-up emails Christmas cards.
4. Register for VAT. You'll look more professional, and once your annual earnings are over a certain level, you're legally obliged to. With Flat Rate VAT, you can even make money. (You'll have to declare your profits from it in your Tax return, though.) Which brings me to.....
5. Keep records of everything and register with the tax office straightaway. You can't hide from them for long, and when they do find you, they won't appreciate the delay.
6. Get a website. Bleedin' obvious, you would have thought, but you'd be amazed how many writers don't have them.
7. Learn all you can from other writers - the internet is a great source of advice, hints and tips.
8. A couple of decent books wouldn't harm, either. The Well-fed Writer by Peter Bowerman is a good start.
9. Check out online copywriting forums, Yahoo groups and so on. Again, lots of assistance, and you can sometimes pick up jobs there as well.
10. Get to know a good art director, designer and production person or two. You never know when you'll need them.