Interview: Sarah McCartney, Lush Times

This quarterly newsletter is the way Lush talks to customers worldwide. It features 40,000 words of insights and inspiration into the unique products the company creates. For over ten years Sarah has been its editor, looking after the words, as well as many other aspects of this significant newspaper-catalog.

Writing is like football: everyone can do it but you wouldn’t pay everyone to join your team. I’ve been working with Lush for 11 years, and as I’ve always had an interest in writing I jumped at the chance to write copy for them. My background is in science; after studying I was a media planner for an ad agency. I have a good memory, which helped me get good grades, but always had a range of interests: I studied classical clarinet but also played saxophone in a big band. I draw on my experiences when I write; it seems to me most people don’t fully observe what’s around them.

I write copy for products and promotions, but the bulk of my work is the newsletter. We produce Lush Times quarterly for a one million-strong audience in the UK, US, Canada, Australia, and beyond. We don’t advertise, so Lush Times is our main piece of direct communication with customers. It’s informative and interesting, and provides a memory-jog about our products that helps with retail sales.

I don’t get a written brief; it is much more of an organic process. I speak to the directors about how we should tackle the content for each issue and my only rule is to include all current products within the pages. I include a lot of content written by customers, as we get so many great letters and contributions from all over the world. A lot of readers really enjoy the newsletter and reply to articles or suggest new products. It recently got so packed that we split it into two publications: Lush Times presents our viewpoint, and Scent features customers’ viewpoints, reviews, photos, and ideas.

I keep a notebook with me at all times and am always scribbling ideas about our products that I can incorporate into the newsletter. Things said in meetings provide good quotes and lots of material I can develop and build on. We promote the concept of “long candlelit baths” but are also committed to innovation and creativity; I always enjoy finding new and stimulating ways to talk about new products. I pick up ideas all over the place and use them in my work. Nothing is cheating – except stealing other people’s words.

There are days when you don’t want to write, but have to. You can’t just sit down and write good copy all day long. I surround myself with books, and make myself choose one of these, open it up, and find a word at random, which I then force myself to include in a sentence – it helps me to get into the flow of writing again. I like to go for a walk too; if the writing is proving really difficult I go to a park and sit on the swings. Swinging with my head back is really helpful!

We have a two-month lead time to create between 40–60,000 words, which doesn’t give us much breathing space. I tend to work in chunks, doing all soap or deodorant products separately. With soap products I tend to say little – there are only so many ways to discuss their benefits – and with others, such as moisturizers, I include lots of detail, facts, figures, supporting information. It’s all to do with the way customers use products.

I work with in-house and freelance designers; the whole creative team is busy all the time. We don’t have a fixed house style as we like to create a fresh, unique version every time. There is always a bit of give-and-take between design and copy, but we’re working to create the best effect on the page.

If we had to get all of the copy signed-off we’d never get it to print, so I’m trusted to sign off my own copy. We share proofreading and give a collective sigh of relief when we get to the end, only to realize it’s time to start the next one!

I enjoy these challenges a lot, but writing is a difficult business. I’m not a carrot or stick person, so don’t try and bribe or push me into doing my best. I thrive when I’m given recognition for work I do, whether it’s sheer volume and organization, or the creativity I put into the finished text. I’m compiling a collection of articles we’ve published to create an archive for the business, and I’ve discovered that over the last 11 years at Lush I’ve written something like 1.6 million words!

Generating quality editorial content

The fundamental role of a regular publication is to build a relationship with an audience, establishing rapport, trust, dialogue, interaction and, in extreme cases, friendship. Your editorial content has to relate to the audience, and a good way to achieve this is to find out what they are like by creating two-way communication: invite them to write in, take part in competitions, fill in questionnaires, or comment on your website.

The information you glean will give you a strong sense of how to pitch the messages, and the precise tone of voice to use, but you must also present the client’s personality clearly and openly. Don’t simply reflect your audience; be confident, and let the client have a stance, an opinion, a viewpoint. This will promote mutual understanding, and let the relationship develop.

The fundamental difference between writing for magazines or newsletters and other forms of copywriting is the requirement that you source your raw material. With most copywriting projects the bulk of your raw material – facts, figures, detail – is supplied by the client company, either directly or through the immediate briefing process. It’s up to you to decide how best to use it.

Journalists know all about researching the story, and in many ways writing for a magazine or newsletter is more of a journalistic than a copywriting challenge. A good journalist will focus on preparing the story so that it provides as much detail and background as possible, and will follow a format that presents the material objectively and unambiguously. Always lead with the most important, interesting, or relevant information, using sentences no longer than about 20 words and paragraphs with no more than three or four sentences.

When you are writing copy for a company magazine or newsletter, whether for the people who work for the organization or for its external customers, you will be combining your copywriting skills (creative, targeted, commercial writing) and your journalistic ability (balanced, researched, informative writing). Each of your articles or news items has to be accurate, provide detail, and hold the reader’s interest, but this is still copywriting and your finished copy has to reflect the organization’s tone of voice and overall strategic objectives.

As with all copywriting, your key principles must apply: identify and understand your target audience, maintain a consistent tone of voice that is relevant to your audience, and work hard to make sure every item is at least interesting, and compelling wherever possible. Unlike other formats, with a magazine or newsletter you have a range of copy styles to play with, so make the most of these.

“If you don’t get noticed, you don’t have anything. You just have to be noticed, but the art is in getting noticed naturally, without screaming or without tricks.”

Leo Burnett

Play to the strength of each type of article. These can include an editorial introduction, short news items, commentaries from key figures, interviews, analytical articles, and competitions. You can also feature readers’ letters or articles by readers, and don’t forget that the audience may be very interested in the advertising you include.

Look at the big picture: will it achieve the client’s objectives?

Before launching into writing your articles, stand back and consider the magazine or newsletter as a whole, as a series of regular publications that will provide a collection of information for the readership. Whether you’re dealing with a four-page, single-color news sheet or a glossy 48-page corporate magazine you should be thinking “how do we link the publication to the company’s overall strategic objectives?” and “how accessible will the key influencers in the company be, and are they supportive of the publication?”

Planning the editorial as a whole

This can become very complex and before you know it you can become bogged down in all of the variables; the number of editions per year, the correct page counts, the best angle for features, the value of competitions, and the approach to imagery and photography will all have an impact on your budget and will need to be considered both in isolation and as a whole. Ground yourself by remembering one thing: you are writing a publication for a defined audience for a client with a specific objective. Every decision you make has to improve significantly the impact of your messages on the target audience and deliver the client’s objectives as effectively as possible. Focus on the written elements of the publication and let the others in the team work out the rest.

Drafting articles and interviewing for copy

News items are relatively straightforward to draft if you have a structure in mind – the real challenge is getting your hands on the raw material, especially if you want a good photograph to go with it. Contact key players within the organization and brief them about the sort of news you’re looking for, and how and when you want to receive it. Many professional people are put off by the thought of having to write copy, so reassure them that all you need from them is the raw material, ideally in brief bullet point format. Give them your contact details and a deadline, and interview them in person wherever possible.

Longer articles require a different approach. The designer should have a style sheet of sorts, and a typeface and size defined, and from this you should be able to work out a target word count. Remember, you are not a columnist, you are a copywriter, and no one wants to read your personal views.

Interviewing is the best way to source fresh new material. In many cases an interview has to take place over the phone. After sourcing your contact, begin with an email or introductory phone call to explain who you are, who you are working for, and what you require. You can then book some time for the interview as, even over the phone, it may take up to half an hour. If you do meet face to face, a good approach is to bring a photographer (or even just a camera and lights) so that you can illustrate your article with a good mugshot.

Prepare your questions in advance but be prepared to wing it, and develop the craft of being able to scribble down responses, formulate your next question, and look the interviewee intelligently in the eye, all at the same time. Write up your draft copy as soon as you can after the interview, as you will otherwise forget some of the finer detail.

Include more than one interview in an article to make it more stimulating. If you’re talking to the director of part of the business, why not also talk to someone who works in the team? If you shape the article carefully it can provide great insight into the workings of an organization. Obviously, your role is to present the positive aspects and not to expose any weaknesses.

Competitions, letters, and editorial

These peripheral items should be included only if they can be fully justified. Too many company publications have been cluttered with boring news about someone’s fiftieth wedding anniversary or shots of a proud angler holding a giant fish caught one weekend. To generate quality material from your readers’ letters you must give them a brief and some direction about what you’re looking for. Ask them for specific comments about a core subject. Tempt them with a prize for the best letter and develop themes with them that can be carried through over different editions.

The editorial is a form of welcome, and is usually best placed on the opening pages. A familiar face is helpful, so a senior manager would be suitable. Keep it real, and don’t create a false editor – it could catch you out. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to appear as the editor yourself, if necessary, with your photograph and signature. In any event, it is more than likely you will draft the editorial column for the editor.

Competitions are also popular with readers, and these give them a reason to check out your next issue too. Whatever you do, keep the rules very simple, make it challenging, and always, without fail, include legal disclaimers explaining how the result is subject to availability of prizes and liable to change at your discretion. Estimate the response, and the amount of handling this will take. A competition that is attractive to a reasonable-sized audience can create sacks and sacks of mail for someone to manage.