It’s not rigid.

There are no “rules”.

It’s all about the customer.

You’re free to let your creativity run wild!

Casual and real

In high school and university, I detested writing essays. Does that seem odd since now I’m a professional writer?

It’s actually not. And I’ll tell you why.

Writing essays is rigid form. There are very specific rules you need to follow in order to write what a teacher constitutes a “good essay”. State your thesis, formulate and flesh out three arguments, and finally, conclude. (Ahh, it’s all coming back to me now!)

Marketing writing of the past I would venture to say was also a lot more reserved. Professionalism and more formal writing was expected.

Today, things are different.

The best copy and the content most people are happy reading is conversational, friendly, accessible and approachable. Lots of my clients say, “write this for a grade five audience”. Now, their audience isn’t in grade five, it just means, no matter who’s reading this and no matter what their educational level and/or English-speaking background, they can read with ease and understand fully.

It just so happens that this is the kind of content I find super fun to write! As I formulate the words, I love pretending that I’m simply talking to a friend. Ranting, expressing, describing, telling a story.

Customer-centric

I love this term. I actually worked with a client a couple of years ago on a writing project that focused on the principles and prominence of customer-centricity businesses today.

Customer-centric.

It even sounds brilliant.

Simply put, it means what amount of a company’s core foundation and operation is centred on the customer? When the answer is “all of it” or “a lot”, the argument is that the business realizes greater success as a result.

The best copywriting and content writing of today, is also customer-centric. Target audiences are carefully researched and analyzed to the point that they are clearly defined and well understood. Words are then put together in such a way that the voice and messaging are completely in sync with the audience.

The end result? Cohesion. Relevance. And action from the customer.

Creative

I love putting myself right in the shoes of the audience I’m writing for and developing content around that little daydream. I pretend I am the customer and let my imagination roll.

  • Who is it?
  • What do they care about?
  • What are they looking for?
  • Where do they work?
  • What do they like to do in their spare time?
  • What are their pain points?
  • How do they like to talk, research and read?
  • How do they want to be spoken to?

In consideration of all these questions, then come the all-important inquiries reflected back to the company I’m writing for: What is your business? What do you do? And why does it matter to your target audience?

In other words, who cares?

These last questions are my absolute favourite ones to ask, and I use them all the time in my work.

If they are answered correctly, thoroughly and effectively, what you’re left with is a brilliant piece of content that resonates with your audience AND achieves your desired result.

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