Copywriters learning from bakers and swimmers
There was a baker in my hometown, and he had a Gold Medal Bakery that ranked with the best in the UK. His bread was truly something else. After I’d left home I always used to take one of his loaves with me, and when each one ran out I could never find any as good, anywhere.
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, forever.
The Gold Medal Bakery is now a memory, as are the loaves that 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 dies. If it is, it will live, and evolve.
One of the most common ways that knowledge can be passed on is in the form of a carefully prepared textbook. Theoretically, it should be possible for a complete non-swimmer to study an authoritative 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? He can see how easily swimmers cut through the water, and he can read and absorb all of the relevant principles and techniques. If he breathes, moves, and applies himself properly it should be simple.
Except we know that this won’t work. In reality, we learn to swim gradually, adapting to the watery environment and building our confidence over time, through trial and error.
So what about creative business writing? Can a well-prepared textbook 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 before, 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 the knowledge about creative writing so that it can live and evolve, but it is not a guide to sales and marketing, and it is not a manual on grammar and punctuation. It aims to explain the processes that you can follow when writing copy, and reveal the 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 the writing that is the challenge, and the focus of this textbook is firmly on these fascinating aspects 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 can understand who you’re writing for, what you are really saying to them, what it takes to make this interesting, and how to shape your messages to suit their preferences, you will be writing professional copy.
You know you can already swim, and now you have every opportunity to take on the best of them.