Post on 15-Jan-2017
How to Write for Other PeopleCrystal Paradis
Director of Communications, Vital
@laughtercrystal @vital_design
laughtercrystal.com wearevital.com
#DigitalPorts
The Art of Copywriting
How to Write for Other PeopleCrystal Paradis
Director of Communications, Vital
@laughtercrystal @vital_design
laughtercrystal.com wearevital.com
#DigitalPorts
The Art of Copywriting
Slides!
Crystal Paradis Copywriter & Content Strategist
Vital Design
I work with these folks at Vital.wearevital.com
As a digital marketing agency, we write for a lot of other people
So do:
Freelancers Marketing Pros Guest bloggers Ghostwriters Ad copywriters
Wow, how do they do it?
How to Write for Other People Consistently
Expertly Without Going Crazy
How to Write for Other People Consistently
Style Guides
Benefits of a Style GuideKeeps record of client preferences
Eliminates ambiguity in usage/form
Helps clients, writers & editors work together
Enables easy hand-off between writers & editors
Stops arguments
How to Create a Style Guide
1. Choose an existing style guide
2. Document exceptions & additions
3. Always be checking it
Choose an Existing Style GuideAP: Journalism (and the most common baseline for online publications/B2C companies)
Academia: Chicago
Psychology: APA
General: Strunk & White
UK/Legal: Oxford
Document Exceptions & AdditionsCompany name usage, product names, industry-specific terms
Date formatting (“April 17, 2015” or “April 17th, 2015”?)
Quantities (“sq. ft.” or “square foot/feet” in product descriptions?)
“Greatest hits” arguments: Serial commas, spaces after period, Internet/internet, e-mail/email, e-book/eBook/ebook, periods on bullet points, ampersands in titles…
Always Be Checking ItDon’t find the answer to a question in the style guide?
Add it to the style guide
Notify collaborators
#ProTip: If your style guide is in GoogleDocs, subscribe to update notifications!
http://bit.ly/GoogleDocsNotify Coffee’s for Checkers.
Great example: HubSpot’s Internet Marketing Written
Style Guide
Check it out at:
http://bit.ly/HubSpotGuide
How to Write for Other People Expertly
Multichannel Immersion
Multichannel ImmersionLearn a new industry quickly
Get familiar with industry language
Stay on top of news & trends
Experience how people in the industry talk/write/behave
Come up with ideas for relevant content or fresh angles
How to Immerse Yourself
1. Find & Follow relevant leaders on all channels
2. Keep a master list for each industry/client
3. Always be checking it
Find All Relevant Leaders & CompetitorsAdd list of competitors from client
Find competitors that are ahead of where the client is
Find industry leaders & commentators
Search each channel for industry keywords
Find Them on All the ChannelsWebsites
Blogs
Emails
LinkedIn Groups
Podcasts
Google Alerts
Follow Them on All the ChannelsWebsites — Master List
Blogs — RSS Feed
Emails — Subscribe
Twitter — Follow/Add to Lists
Facebook — Like/Star/List
LinkedIn Groups — Join
Podcasts — Subscribe
Google Alerts — Set up
Pinterest — Follow
Instagram — Follow
Multichannel Organization ToolsBlogTrotter — Blog posts to emails
Feedly — RSS feeds (blogs OR Google Alerts!)
Reeder — Third-party app for Feedly (better UI, easy to read/share)
Email — Rules/filters to folders
TweetDeck — View multiple Twitter Lists
Podcasts — Stitcher/OverCast
IFTTT — Everything!
Keep a Master ListLink to all sources on each channel, or list where to find them (email folder, RSS feed, Twitter list)
Have a “quick view” list for the most important channels for each client or industry
Reference for content ideas
Keep a Master List of all your Master Lists (advantage: Evernote)
#ProTip: Make a Table of Contents note in Evernote:
http://bit.ly/EvernoteTOC
Always Be Checking It
Before meetings
Before writing sessions
Before content calendar planning
Before coffee
Coffee’s for Checkers.
How to Write for Other People Without Going Crazy
Write for Yourself
Write for YourselfSharpen your saw; flex your writerly muscles
Stay detached from your “day job” writing — and its feedback
Get better at distinguishing your voice from client voices
Learn from personal experiments
Stay hire-able!
Write for Yourself
“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t
have the time (or the skills) to write.”
— Stephen King
Write for Yourself
“If you don’t have the time to read, you don’t
have the time (or the skills) to write.”
— Stephen King
write for yourself
for other people(sort of)
Write for YourselfYou MUST blog.
You don’t have to blog under your own name (but why wouldn’t you?).
Post consistently — important for you personally, mentally and as a demonstration to potential clients or employers
Distance from your “day job”
If you have to hang your creative cape
at the door, make sure you’re
wearing it outside of work.
Get Super Familiar With Your Own VoiceWrite about stuff YOU care about
Emulate your fave writers/bloggers
Interact with others, find out what your “angle” is
Define your voice, tone, style, personality, niche
ExperimentLearn what works & what doesn’t
Take bigger risks
Have more fun
Do stuff your clients would never let you do
Unleash your inner punster — or sarcastic critic, or superfan
Multi-Channel Immersion — for YOU• Your Fave Websites
• Your Fave Blogs
• Your Fave Emails
• Your Fave Tweeps
• Your Facebook Buddies
• Your Fave LinkedIn Groups
• Your Fave Podcasts
• Your Own Google Alerts
• Your Fave Pinterest-ers, Instagram-ers, etc.
Great Marketing/Copywriting/Content Strategy Blogs:
• HubSpot's Marketing Blog: http://blog.hubspot.com/marketing
• Contently's The Content Strategist: https://contently.com/strategist/
• Copywrite Matters: http://copywritematters.com/blog/
• Copyblogger: http://www.copyblogger.com/blog/
• inbound.org: https://inbound.org/
• Moz Blog: https://moz.com/blog
• Disenthrall: http://disenthrall.co/
• GatherContent: https://gathercontent.com/blog/
Collect Good FeedbackGood stuff for encouragement:
Happy tweets
Thank-you emails
Positive Facebook comments
Nice blog comments
Have fun using them for personal testimonials / endorsements
Collect DataReal stuff for improvement:
Analytics
Heat maps
Open rates
Click-through rates
Use this info to get better — for yourself and for your clients!
Stay Hire-able• Most crucial part of a marketing
copywriter’s resume: a blog
• Consistent posting shows you can write every day
• Good post titles show marketing/SEO expertise
• Email signups / CTAs show interest in lead generation, conversation rate optimization, inbound marketing
• Smart social media usage shows familiarity with modern distribution tools
Always Be Writing
The more you write, the more capacity you have to write.
Always Be Writing
Writers Write.
Coffee’s for Writers.
Promise me you will only use your powers for good.
@laughtercrystal @vital_design | laughtercrystal.com wearevital.com
All images in this slide deck are from the Instagram accounts @laughtercrystal & @vital_design
Now you Know How to Write for Other People
Consistently Expertly
Without Going Crazy