Too long; didn’t read — Tips for digital copywriters — pt. 1
As I prepare to exit the agency world and move client-side for the first time, my team asked me to prepare some thoughts on some areas of my experience. I agreed. This is part four of a several-part series on doing creative work in the world of digital-first advertising, and a distillation of what I’ve learned over 8+ years of agency life at Essence and beyond, as a designer, writer, and all-around creative problem-solver.
Copy vs writing
In the same way that not all of us who can read are literary professors, not all those fluent in a language are copywriters.
Copywriting is the ability to craft language so that it performs a task. It spans everything from tag lines to song lyrics to brand manifestos to commercial scripts to greeting cards to user interfaces to emails to textbooks to novels. Digital copywriting is all of this, plus extreme brevity. Good digital copywriters can synthesise personality and functionality into the fewest number of words and ideas.
Storytelling and copy
If not all writers are copywriters, it only seems fair to point out that not all copywriters are storytellers. Great storytelling techniques can help us get emotional buy-in from our audience, and, in turn, real buy-in from their wallets. Storytelling is, and has always been, about manipulation; to entertain, persuade, or frighten. Lean into it. It’s a superpower.
The ability to craft a story takes a lifetime to master. Students of storytelling should read (and listen!) to great storytellers often. At time of writing, we’re in a podcast boom. There is no shortage of great stories to listen to — you have no excuse. Immerse yourself in the world of stories. Pay attention to the moments that make you cry, laugh, and prolong your commute. That is the secret sauce you’ll want to bottle.
As a companion to your ongoing cultural immersion, I’ll share some good advice I’ve collected over the years:
How to tell a story like Don Draper
Wrongly or rightly, this guy has become the gold standard for creative storytelling in our industry. Maybe it’s his smouldering creative mind unburdened by performance metrics and contemporary technology. Maybe it’s because he’s an unreasonably attractive white guy in a suit. But either way, Don Draper(’s script writer) provides us with some pretty perfect examples of telling a story to sell a product.
Consider this all-time great clip from Mad Men:
Wow. What a story. But, why is it so good?
Let’s dissect this scene using Bobette Buster’s “The 10 principles of storytelling” From “How to tell your story so the world listens” to uncover its success.
1. Tell your story as if you’re telling it to a friend
“My first job…” Don slides into this story like your ex into my DMs. It’s astounding. His casual anecdote and mid-thought intro pull you in immediately, and give his words an added layer of credibility. He doesn’t wait for a grand introduction. It’s less podium and more cocktail party.
2. Set the GPS
“I was in-house at a fur company…” Here’s where we are. Here’s where we’re going to go. Sets the scene for us, creating a world where a young, plucky Don Draper gets advice from an older, wiser colleague. We know where he is, what he’s feeling. We’re invested.
3. Action!
“It creates an itch…” and “Round and round and back again.” Don’s story is full of language that is active, visual, and visceral. Even though he’s talking about listening to a friend, and looking at static photos, Don’s pitch feels like it’s in constant motion.
4. Juxtapose
“New” vs “nostalgia” Mostly because it’s perfect for the development of his character, juxtaposition becomes the crux of Don’s pitch to Kodak. New is shiny, but nostalgia is powerful. He uses contrast to make his point stronger; to help make the sale.
5. Gleaming detail
“In Greek, ‘nostalgia’ literally means ‘the pain from an old wound.’” It’s a wonderful, memorable little tid-bit. In Don’s case, it’s a fact — the kind you’d see on Twitter and repeat to your friends.
6. ‘Hand over the Spark’
“This device isn’t a spaceship, it’s a time machine.” This can double as your mic-drop moment. Give them your thesis in a way that helps them carry the story on, to apply it. If you’re not sure if it’s sparky enough, put it to the Supa Hot Fire test: if you can follow it up with this .gif, it passes.
7. Be vulnerable
“…it takes us to a place where we ache to go again.” Don! Do you need a hug? This one’s obvious, but nobody wants to root for you if you’re perfect. Find a way to show humanity. Garner some empathy through humour or pain. Describe your struggle or your failed attempts before you arrived at the solution.
8. Tune in to your sense memory
It’s really the images that Don brings to the presentation that does this job; a kiss, a wedding dress, a Christmas Morning. Sense memory can often occur in the same breath as your “gleaming detail,” but has a sense tied to it. For example, “Your ex showed up to the pub smelling like Weetabix and desperation.”
9. Bring yourself
“…to a place where we know we are loved.” Related, though not the same as being vulnerable. When you’re telling a story, YOU are telling the story. It will and should be a different experience from when others tell it. If you’re telling a story on behalf of a brand, their voice should ring true.
10. Let go.
Don ends the story in beautiful silence. He avoids the common impulse to fill the void with a bunch of anxiety-laden follow-ups like, “So, anyway, that was my story… if you want to hear more or if you have questions… I hope that was what you were looking for…” It’s important to have a plan for what happens after your last sentence. And if you really must, all you need to add to finish is, “thank you.”
