My daddy writes things
As I write, I’m nearing the end of four straight days in the house on my own. Regular readers will know that I have absolutely no problem working alone. And, if I’m honest, it was also nice to take a break from family life, with its rigid schedules, mutual button-pushing an endless painstaking explanations.
Endlesss painstaking explanations. Not a million miles from the day job really. And, thinking about it, there’s a lot that having a daughter has taught me about copywriting. (Childless cynics, stop reading now.)
Who cares? It’s you, not me!
This remark, which is a direct quote from my daughter, attests to the astonishing, overpowering self-interest of the young. Sometimes, it seems that growing up is a long process of learning to treat others as you would treat yourself – let alone put their interests before yours.
As a parent, it can be depressing to think that, deep down, adults are just children who’ve learnt, to varying degrees, to conceal, mitigate or rein in their selfish desires.
But desire, like all powerful forces, can be turned to your advantage. And where would the copywriter be without it? Because it’s exactly that self-interest that we’re hoping to kindle or cultivate. Copywriting is all about awakening the reader’s inner child and dangling sweeties in front of their surly, pouting little physog.
No wonder, then, that paternalistic commentators want to rein in the deleterious effects of marketing. They’re rather like parents who are exasperated when some unthinking non-parent blithely blurts out that there’s an ice-cream van outside the park. Copywriters plant the seeds of desire in all-too-fertile ground – and once the genie of desire is out of the bottle, people won’t be satisfied they get their wish.
What did you say Daddy?
On the other hand, it’s easy to overestimate the reader – or, to put it another way, to flatter your own powers of expression. The reader’s attention and cognitive resources are almost certainly much more modest than we imagine. Or, if they’re not, the reader isn’t using them as much as we’d like. Basically, attention and commitment are limited.
If you accept that adults, deep down, are like children, then this is not news. Concentration is a formidably difficult skill, and some people never acquire it. And as parenting demonstrates time and again, you cannot teach people anything when they’re tired, grouchy or otherwise inattentive.
Unfortunately, it’s easy to forget all that when you sit down to write some copy. Unless you get into the product and its benefits, you can’t write about them convincingly; some commitment is essential. But even as you imagine the reader’s interest with one half of your writing brain, you also have to conjure up their apathy and indifference with the other.
One of the most effective ways to critique your own work (or someone else’s) is to ask ridiculously blunt, childlike questions like ‘Why?’, ‘So what?’ and ‘Who cares?’ – not only about each point in the copy itself, but about the underlying strategy too. Writing that has convincing answers to these questions is bulletproof.
Daddy, who made the world?
I’m always amused by the contrasts we draw between themselves and children. How little they understand! And how clever and omniscient we are in comparison!
Belief in your own intelligence is part of being a grown-up. The child is constantly told that they are incomplete adults-in-waiting – they need to acquire more knowledge, think more deeply or take more care. But as adults, we take on the expectation of competence and comprehension. That arbitrary designation makes us hopelessly over-confident in our own faculties – and others’ too.
I like answering children without filtering concepts or vocabulary, savouring their bemused silence as they try to figure out what the hell I’ve just said to them. But the truth is that plenty of adults don’t understand what you’re telling them either – they’ll just make some appropriate noises to avoid looking stupid.
Helping a child build their knowledge of the world is one of the most rewarding aspects of parenting. Apart from handling crackerjacks like ‘What happens when we die?’, it’s also a fun challenge to explain new words and ideas in the simplest possible terms. (I was particularly pleased with my definition of the game Scramble as ‘making words with the letters that are next to each other’.)
Like the parent, the copywriter must build a bridge from existing knowledge to new knowledge, explaining the unknown in terms of the known. And, just as with a child, it pays to stay close to the reader’s own concerns, or risk their attention wandering.
As I often say to clients, no-one ever complains that things are too simple. And I mean no-one, ever. Over-simplify and the reader may smile at your naïveté, but at least they’ll get their heads round your stuff. Over-complicate and half of it will sail over their heads, but they’ll never admit it. You’ll only find out later, when they completely fail to do whatever you were hoping for.
No girls allowed
Pre-parenthood, I’d have confidently stated that gender roles were social constructs, imposed on individuals by social conformity and tradition. These days, I’m not so sure. It’s hard to ignore the evidence of your own eyes, and mine show me that the differences between the sexes are overwhelming – from the very earliest days.
Put two girls together and they’ll soon be sitting cross-legged facing each other, softly conferring as they collaborate on a daisy chain. Meanwhile, the boys will be yelling pointlessly, repeatedly jumping off something or trying to ninja-punch each other in the goolies.
Nature or nurture? If you’re a liberal parent, accepting the latter means acknowledging your own role as the agent of an oppressive culture, which is kind of a bummer. But if you accept the former, you must also subscribe to a host of unwelcome implications for equality and opportunity.
Turning to copywriting, the question is whether male writers can truly write for a female audience, or vice versa. Can you think your way into the head of someone of the opposite sex? Or is it like trying to imagine the experience of something completely ‘other’, like a frog?
False equivalence
It’s a subject that arouses strong feeling on both sides. Some writers maintain that a good writer, like a good actor, should be able to play any role. According to this argument, it’s simply part of the writer’s basic discipline to put themselves in someone else’s shoes.
Uncomfortably, though, it usually seems to be men claiming they can write for women, rather than the other way around, which makes me suspect a case of false equivalence. Men, empowered by the largely masculine culture of marketing and advertising, are free to write for whoever the hell they want, which enables them to claim that the playing-field is level. Meanwhile female writers struggle to establish their relevance outside ‘feminine’ products.
As I write, I’m trying to think of a highly respected female copywriter, past or present. Wikipedia has just two in its list of 11. But if you’re a woman writer who’s written loads of car ads, or who has an otherwise different experience, please put me right in the comments.
Natural range
Increasingly, I’m tending towards the other side of the fence. As I argued in this post, every writer has their natural tone and ‘range’, to borrow a term from acting. If you accept that, you surely have to accept that gender plays a big part in shaping that writing ‘personality’.
Of course, I simplify grossly – crassly, some would say. We all have feminine and masculine aspects to our characters, in different measure and at different times. But for me, there’s no getting away from it: however socially constructed or modulated, men and women are fundamentally different, and that must surely have a big impact on the way they write for each other.
In summary, then, writing is a lot like parenting, if narrower in scope and less edifying in intent. And, in my view, there’s a lot to be said for thinking like a parent as you write. However, that’s not to say you should treat the reader like a child – or, indeed, end up speaking like one yourself. Now eat your peas!
Comments (18)
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Won’t lie. Got to the part about spending 4 days working alone and burst into tears. It’s like a beautiful dream. A wonderful, fantastic dream.
Hmmm…can’t say I’ve struggled to established my relevance outside ‘feminine’ products. I’ve written a ton of copy about aircraft. And would be happy to write about cars. And Tom – what’s with the expression ‘woman writer’. When does anyone ever say ‘man writer’?
You should read Delusions of Gender, Cordelia Fine. Ask people a series of questions, or test their abilities in some way, and people behave differently if you’ve asked them first what their gender is. Deep down, we all know how we ‘should’ behave in a gendered world and we adapt our actions accordingly.
It seems to me though that there are just generally fewer female copywriters, especially in agencies? Is this true?
@Sarah
Thanks for commenting. I’m glad to be proved wrong in this case.
I accept the phrase ‘woman writer’ was a bit lame. Blame my weak self-editing skills rather than institutional sexism (please).
To turn this argument round, I recently quoted for a website about an ‘invisible bra’ product. If I were chosen for that project, I think I would need to work hard to think my way into the reader’s perspective. And to use a possibly analagous situation, I’ve also declined projects from prospects in the US because I felt my cultural knowledge of that country was not deep enough to handle them.
I’m not sure that’s true Andrew. I know plenty of female copywriters in agencies although I’m sure they would prefer to be referred to as great copywriters who happen to be women. Although I agree there are probably fewer senior female copywriters in agencies due to the totally unforgiving nature of the advertising agency industry on family life. A situation that senior figures are reluctant to change by the way. (That goes across the board not just copywriters and not just ad agencies). Re famous female copywriters I’d suggest Phyllis Robinson who died last year. Interestingly she’s doesn’t even feature on the Wikipedia list.
Tom – it’s great that you were asked though! We all have our preferred products and services that we enjoy writing about. And who we are as people has some bearing on how confident we are when it comes to writing about them. I’d really like to see a move away from ‘boys can only write about manly butch things’ and ‘girls can only write about flipping pink dell laptops’. (See previous rants on Twitter.) It’s good the client thought you were more than capable of writing about invisible bras even though you’re a guy. Or is there something you’re not telling us Tom? 🙂
@ Sarah
I think the approach was more due to the fact that ABC presents as a company (at least on casual viewing), rather than the size of my moobs. I hope so anyway…
I’ve largely made my living writing tech, recreation, outdoors and (lately) for conservation nonprofits, but after adopting sisters (now 2 and 4), I could write the hell out of parent/family stuff.
I don’t think I could have prior to what I’ll somewhat delicately label a full immersion in the subject matter.
Four days? Really? I’m getting all teary-eyed over here.
Interesting points, I reflect on this issue a lot.
I see huge differences between my son and daughter but I know environment and culture play a huge part. I recently read an interview with a neuroscientist who explained that scientists have never found many differences between male and female brains: http://www.liseeliot.com/category/qna
However, in the same interview she mentions that there IS a genuine difference in writing ability, in which boys often struggle. So I think probably the more masculine culture of advertising/marketing accounts for lack of famous female copywriters. There are plenty of mind-blowing women novelists and poets after all.
As a writer I’ve written very little in a ‘feminine’ voice but I have written for JCB, Mercedes and considerably more tech copy than I would have liked. I have to consciously draw upon my masculine side to do it but after so much practise it flows fairly easily. The domain of lingerie copy could be yours yet…
@Anna
Thanks for your comment. As it happens, I have today lost out on a job writing copy about skin-care products for children. The company decided to go with a “copywriting mum” (their words) on the grounds that she could more readily relate to the beauty-product theme. I am, of course, a “copywriting dad”, but I have to accept that my direct experience of the subject is probably limited compared to that of most female writers. Which is a shame because I had a really good tagline in mind…
That is a shame, and clearly – their loss. In our house it’s my husband that handles bath time so our direct experience is probably on a par…
I agree Anna. But if companies insist on only employing copywriters that have direct experience of their product or service we’re all in trouble. I often find my best work is for a demographic which I don’t belong to.
Yep, I’d definitely be out of a job. I think I write better when I find it more challenging. Is that why you write better for other demographics?
I agree Anna. As I often say to clients, a decent copywriter with a decent brief should be able to write anything they want, irrespective of his or her sex, age or experience with the subject matter. As an outsider or a lay person, I think I bring a fresh pair of eyes to a subject I know absolutely nothing about. I’m more than happy to write about kids despite the fact I don’t have any and I don’t like them. Just kidding 🙂 (That’s me out of the reckoning for the skincare products job!)
That made me laugh. Actually, it’s pertinent because I’m going for a fashion project at the moment and will have a minor crisis if they want to meet me because as I much as like clothes, fashion goes over right over my head. I’ll be sure to make the ‘best work’ point in advance. Thanks for that!
Bringing a fresh pair of eyes to an account is useful, but I used to write a lot of tech, but I believe you need some background in a technical (or complex) markets — and the ability to research quickly.
Otherwise, you can’t bring anything to the table beyond the obvious; we can only function as word jockeys, not creative or markeing pros.
I think the toughest copywriting gig is walking into a new market on a deadline. Every industry, niche and market feature their own buzzwords and rhthym, and if you don’t have time to settle into it just a bit, the work often feels slightly out of place.
So while I tell potential clients a “seasoned pro” should be able to write in any market, I don’t add the second half of the statement, which is “given enough time to settle in.”
@Tom Too bad about the skincare account. I’d like to automate my online presence to the point that I could replace keywords on my site and blog in seconds, altering my identity to match whatever’s needed for the current pitch.
The Chameleon Copywriter. There’s an online service copywriters really need.
@ Tom C
Sometimes, I ‘go native’ with a client and have to try and think myself back into the position of a newcomer to their area. I’ve been working with a firm who make industrial machinery for several years, and can now put together a technical press release for them a lot more quickly than I used to. But when I worked on a video script for them, which anyone might watch, I had to explain everything I now took for granted.
Very interesting article and comments – I’d honestly never given gender in copywriting a thought before. I wonder if that’s because I mainly work in B2B and that clients are much less likely to think about a writer’s personal experience compared to B2C?
I mainly work in technology with brief forays into other sectors like agriculture and finance. I’ve never been an IT manager, a finance director or a CEO (or a farmer, for that matter), but I still write for them. I rely on my own knowledge of the sector and asking the client the right briefing questions to work out what’s on the target audience’s mind.
As for daisy-chains vs ninja-punches, I hate to admit it, but my two-year-old son has made me think you’re right …..