After having diligently marketed my intimate, soft-sell, evocative approach to lifestyle branding in jewelry, watches, and home décor, it may or may not lift an eyebrow or two to learn that I also write copy for such testosterone-forward items as Jeeps, muscle cars, and sporty automotives along the Alfa Romeo line.
And yet, it’s true.
A good copywriter has the dexterity to tackle almost any topic and inhabit the realm of your target consumer.
Once upon a time, however, a creative director in Portland (or was he merely a content manager?) said to me: You write about fashion; you couldn’t possibly understand how to relate to high-tech products. Au contraire. There’s a lot more method acting involved in copywriting than anyone realizes. I’ve haven’t driven any of these cars, I haven’t gone mud-bogging in a Wrangler, and I haven’t worn kate spade jewelry either.
Research, imagination, empathy: along with impeccable grammar, these are an effective copywriter’s stock-in-trade. Writing words that sell isn’t about belonging to a particular demographic, as so many hiring managers wrongly assume. One needn’t be a fashionista or a tech nerd or an off-road, high-octane enthusiast in order to write believably about products that appeal to each and every specialized niche.
I expressed as much to my “friend.” But poor Briggsy, he just didn’t… get it.
