Why Creativity and Good Copywriting Comes in Waves

August 29, 2007 | 9 Comments

In continuation of last week’s post on why copywriting shouldn’t be rushed, I’m going to don my psychologist’s hat to assess the reason why.

Why do our eureka moments occur when relaxing in the bath, going for a walk or lying in bed? Why can’t we find inspiration at will?

Well, it’s all to do with brain waves.

According to scientific research, our thought processes are divided into four main categories:

Beta – main state of mind when we’re alert, but can also be agitated or anxious.

Alpha – a state of relaxation without the loss of awareness when our brain’s are at their peak level of concentration.

Theta – day dream state when we’re relaxed but not actively concentrating.

Delta – state of unconsciousness when we’re asleep.

We spend most of our days stuck in beta, battling with the stresses and strains of everyday life. When in this agitated state, our brains can’t run free, and are trapped thinking inside the box.

The mental plane upon which we can focus all our creative energy and conjure new ideas is alpha.

Reaching the state of alpha cannot be done at will. You have to be able to relax and slow down your brain waves from beta’s more frantic rate to a mellow level. When calmed, our brains can concentrate at their peak, attain inspiration and feed you with the creativity for composing your finest killer copy.

The science on brain waves supports the idea that creativity cannot be attained from four cups of coffee whilst chained to your desk. Caffeine is, in fact, believed to be counterproductive to creativity because it speeds up your brain and sticks you straight into beta gear.

Great if you want to hammer out as many lines as possible.

Not so good if you actually want to be able to fine tune your words.

Creative types are also believed to have slightly different brains. Not disproportionately larger, as some might like to believe, but driven more by the left side and able to generate the bursts of alpha waves needed for inspiration.

High achieving sports stars are believed to have the same brain type. When Tiger Woods hits 36 foot putts or David Beckham is launching inch perfect free kicks, they’re both generating bursts of alpha waves that enable them to concentrate at their peak without getting anxious or agitated.

So, when William Wordsworth went for 20 mile walks and Einstein took his mid-afternoon naps they weren’t doing it to avoid work. But because it was at these times that their thought processes were at their most lucid.

“Don’t think you will be doing less work because you sleep during the day. That’s a foolish notion held by people who have no imaginations. You will be able to accomplish more. You get two days in one — well, at least one and a half.”

–Winston Churchill

After writing this week’s post, I don’t feel so guilty about taking breaks, and feel even more relieved at escaping the beta lifestyle of the corporate world.

I think it’s going to be decaff for me from now on as well.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Copywriting

Why Copywriting Shouldn’t be Rushed…or Cheap

August 22, 2007 | 8 Comments

William Wordsworth would often walk up to 20 miles a day. Usually for no other reason than to give him time to think and gain inspiration for his poetry. Whilst exploring the hills and wide open fields of England’s Lake District, he would compose his lines, repeating and adjusting them over and over again, until he was satisfied and could return home to pen his latest masterpiece.

Inspiration isn’t something you can always summon at will, and good writing doesn’t naturally occur after four cups of coffee whilst chained to your desk.

Now, I’m not suggesting that copywriters, or writers in general, should be aiming for the near transcendental approach to their words as Wordsworth. But good writing takes time, and isn’t always achieved in the first sitting.

Sometimes it’s a good idea to go for a walk or sit in the garden and then the words to capture that final call to action will arrive unannounced and get ideas flowing for the next draft.

Writing concisely, engagingly and in a style that is informing without being boring isn’t easy. It takes time.

With a website’s copywriting often treated as a facet rather than the centerpiece, it’s important to get businesses aware of the work that goes into the words needed to appeal to their target audience, communicate the benefits and promote their expertise.

With copy still being bought in bulk on Craigslist and work bidding websites, a line needs to be drawn between rushed copy and that which has taken time to mature. Your words are the most important element of your website as only they will convince visitors why they need your product or service and why they should trust you. Good quality copywriting can differentiate you from the competition.

Poor copy might be packed with keywords. But will it be cost effective over the long-term? With Google’s algorithm shifting from keywords to relevant back-links it’s likely that purely SEO focused copy will start being ignored. If it can’t convert visitors or attract back-links then it’s not going to be money well spent.

Shannon at thinkvitamin.com wrote a useful article earlier this month on copywriting for e-commerce:

Use a consistent tone and style, even in your error messages, to broadcast and promote your brand as well as your products.
Don’t describe products and services with a flurry of adjectives, cliches and filler as this is likely to cause a reader’s eyes to glaze over.
Highlight the benefits; don’t just say it’s ‘great’.
“Your site’s copy is the key to your brand and company identity.”

Whilst I’m linking out, the Wall Street Journal reported earlier this week on business blogging success stories. They’re all great examples of businesses that have thrived and built relationships from blogging, whilst highlighting that blogs require a significant investment of time if they’re to succeed.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Copywriting

Johnson & Johnson Sues the American Red Cross. Were Marketing Consulted?

August 15, 2007 | 1 Comment

With brands falling over themselves to try and build a closer affinity with consumers and a positive association with their products, the mind boggles as to why a leading brand such as Johnson & Johnson saw it fit to launch a lawsuit against the American Red Cross.

I can only imagine the eruption in J & J’s marketing department when they heard that the lawyers had been unleashed against such a respected charitable organization. The phone lines must have nearly caught fire with the furious exchanges hurtling around that day.

The American Red Cross have been selling health and safety kits using the red cross logo, which J & J believes is an infringement of their trademark, despite it not appearing anywhere on J & J’s website.

Not only are they demanding that the American Red Cross halt trying to make any money, but also want all the kits destroyed and financial compensation on top, which is even more counterproductive when you consider that J & J claim to make a donation to the Red Cross every year.

The American Red Cross have, however, been fighting back, with president Mark Everson responding, “For a multibillion-dollar drug company to claim that the Red Cross violated a criminal statute … simply so that J&J can make more money, is obscene.”

I expect that the next time mothers go shopping for baby lotion they will probably think twice about handing money to a business that profits from raiding disaster relief funds.

J & J have failed to realize that pursuing short term monetary gain in such a destructive manner could irreparably damage their image in the long-term, and cause profits to fall as a result.

The Patent Barista said it best: “The legal case is on shaky ground, the red cross symbol is universally recognized as standing for medical care, and the PR backlash is going to be ruinous.”

Whilst I’m on the subject of the pursuit of short-term gain at the expense of long-term growth, England’s Premier League have decided that YouTube publishing clips of goals is an infringement of their copyright, and want damages as a result.

The Premier League appear to believe that the engagement of football/soccer fans on YouTube, in sharing their favorite clips and posting comments, is detrimental to their brand.

Had YouTube been showing live feeds then you would understand their cause for concern.

But when the matches have already been broadcast for anybody to record, watch back at their leisure and share then the Premier League’s concern seems basely and is hampering the marketing of the sport being driven purely by the passion of fans.

When you also consider that the Premier League are desperate to break the US market, and could be using the internet to promote the sport, then it seems even less likely that marketing were consulted on the decision.

The Premier League’s battle to keep control, and to lock down what they see as their content, is simply going to damage their image in the eyes of fans and make them appear as a money grabbing organization, rather than the curators of their beloved sport.

The window of opportunity is now open for the lower leagues to get their own clips uploaded into the vacant slots. By allowing fans to engage and share their passions for their favorite players and teams it will foster a closer affinity for the lower leagues and attract more fans as a result.

The rules of marketing are shifting, and the sooner the lawyers are notified of this the better.

Posted by Matt Ambrose | Filed Under Marketing

‘Why You Must Invest in Content to Build Trust and Succeed Online’ report

August 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment

Whilst I was experiencing the summer lull, I thought I’d take advantage of the free time to compile a summary of my posts from the last year. After all, with the dreadful weather we’ve had in the UK I couldn’t really spend it lazing in the garden.

As every week has passed and the stats and studies have piled up, I’ve developed a clearer view on the need for businesses to be investing more in their content.

Regular readers of The Copywriter’s Crucible will be familiar with most the research. But I’m hoping it will give new visitors an opportunity to get up to speed with what I preach, and hopefully provoke a few into reconsidering how they allocate their marketing budget.

The study is a downloadable pdf designed to just run free and to try and attract a few new blog subscribers on its travels:

http://thewritewords.me.uk/Invest%20in%20content.pdf