Introduction
Copywriters learning from bakers and swimmers
There was a baker in our village who ranked with the best in the UK. His bread was truly something else. After I’d left home I always used to buy one of his loaves if I came back, and when each one ran out I could never find any as good.
He protected his recipe fiercely, and refused to tell anyone its secrets – not even his sons, who worked in the business, not until he was ready. But then, unexpectedly, he fell off his perch. And with him went his recipe.
The Gold Medal Bakery is now a memory, as are the loaves we all loved, and the moral of this tale is that knowledge, no matter how precious, needs to be shared. If it isn’t, it could be lost. If it is, it can evolve.
One of the most common ways that knowledge can be passed on is as a carefully prepared textbook. In theory, it should be possible for a non-swimmer to study a good textbook on swimming, which explains and demonstrates all of the disciplines and approaches, then jump in the deep end and swim, with style and grace.
How difficult can it be? Aspiring swimmers can see how easily others cut through the water, and can read and absorb all of the principles and techniques. If they breathe and move properly and concentrate it should be simple.
Except we know that this won’t work. In reality, we learn to swim gradually, adapting to the water, addressing our fear, and building our confidence over time, through trial and error.
So what about creative business writing? Can this book teach you to be an accomplished copywriter, even if you’ve never written copy before?
Not if you’ve never written a word in your life, but luckily for you, you’re not a complete novice. You have been writing since you were a child, and you are already fully immersed in the world of words.
This textbook shares practical knowledge about creative writing so that you can write good copy with confidence. It is not a guide to sales and marketing, and it is not a manual on grammar and punctuation. It explains processes that you can follow when writing copy, and reveals secrets about how the best copywriters do it.
Writing copy is not as hard as it looks. It’s the creative thinking that goes on behind writing that is the challenge, and the focus here is firmly on this fascinating aspect of the rewarding field of copywriting.
You can dip in and out, or read it cover to cover and complete the exercises – either way, I hope you will gain some valuable insights. The bottom line is that if you understand who you’re writing for, what you are saying, why this is interesting and how to shape the messages to suit them, you will be writing professional copy.
You know you can swim, so go and take on the best of them.
Mark Shaw