It’s been a while.

Sometimes the flow just stops and when it does it’s best not to fret.    Relax and it’ll come back.

Business, or should that be busy-ness is usually the culprit, either that or exciting new things to learn and do.

Copywriting is all about the right state of mind.  Not just your customer’s – YOURS!

Yes, your own state of mind plays a major role in copywriting.

Excited enthusiam is the emotion you need to be able to slip into at will.

Can you do that?

It’s one of the tricks to master, once you’ve studied and practised the nuts and bolts of good copywriting.

I’m going to begin a music collection and label it according to the emotion is brings about.

Plus an array of aromas.

Along with a headful of memories.

The older you are, the more life experience you have to tap into for achieving certain mind sets, ready to write.

You have a whole bank of ready-made experiences to use at will.  What an opportunity!

Right now my neighbour seems to have a house full of toddlers.  Strong, loud, urgent emotions pouring from their little bodies through the wall into my hearing range.

Easy to tap into these sounds ready to bring up the right emotion to begin copywriting.  Particularly useful if you’re selling childcare services.

Or those birds singing their hearts out to be heard over the traffic.

Sweet and pure as a peaceful contrast to young raw human sounds.

You can use anything you like to begin the creative process.

You want to sell an oven cleaner?  Just glance over at your filthy glass oven door and listen to the thoughts and feelings that come up inside your own mind.

Shame?  Laziness?  Anxiety about judgement? Frustration over lack of time?  Annoyance at having to use precious life time for mundane tasks?  Self-rightiousness?  Snobbery?  Does it make you feel slovenly? How about regret (about not wiping it down after every use, just like you vowed to when you first bought it?)

Those are the negatives.

How about the positives?

Anticipation of a spring clean?  Sense of satisfaction about a decision made to clean it?  No more acrid smell every time you bake?  Triumphant about overcoming your natural tendency to leave unpleasant tasks until tomorrow?

Never forget that you have a lifetime of ready-made feelings and emotions to tap into at will in your copywriting.

Stay alert.  Remain connected.  Use your senses.

Rachel Goodall

Here’s an exercise to try.

You are just about to go shopping for gift for somebody – let’s say your brother.

You have no idea what he wants but you do know your brother.

You know him well enough to imagine how he thinks.

Let’s say your brother is a family man with a regular job and leads the sort of life to be expected in UK society today.

In otherwords, he’s not a new age thinker, he’s not questioning his purpose on earth, he’s simply existing.

So, a gift.

What are his interests?  What does he read?  What does he talk about?  What excites him?

gadgets, wine, beer, curry, his car, football, video games, films

You have a very small budget and as you browse the shops your eye catches a beautiful beer glass made by a famous traditional glassmaker.

Instinctively you know that your brother would appreciate this gift.

Why?

Because he will open the gift and think “ah yes, my sister knows me.  She has thought about what I like and has chosen well.”  You know that he will think that as he unwraps his present.

The best bit, as a gift giver, is receiving the acknowledgement that indeed you have taken the time to step into the receiver’s shoes to choose the perfect gift.

As a gift giver, you are also a receiver.  You may even be receiving more than the gift you have offered.

But that’s a whole different subject.

What was it you were really offering your brother?  A glass?  Not really.

You were offering an array of feelings.

1. The feeling of being loved
2. The feeling of being understood
3. The feeling of anticipation
4. The feeling of surprise
5. The feeling of holding a hand crafted object
6. The feeling of knowing you have that object in your cupboard to be chosen on the perfect occasion
7. The feeling of appreciation as you pour the beer into the recipient
8. The feeling of admiration of the colour of the liquid so beautifully displayed
9. The feeling of transforming an every day occurrence into a ritual
10. The feeling of spoiling yourself with a golden liquid reward

It’s not just a glass.

As a marketer you have to go deeper.

What is the feeling you want to bring about in your customer as he purchases your product or service?  That’s one trick.

Want to know the next trick?

Get into that feeling, that emotion, before you begin to write your copy.

Be in the emotion you invite your client to join you in.

He is, after all, only ever buying an emotion, whether he knows it or not.

Rachel Goodall

 

Do you know why so few people can be successful direct response copywriters?

Because it takes guts.

Guts, dedication and drive.

You can’t just try direct response copywriting.  You can’t simply give it a go.  You have to have a burning desire to become a direct response copywriter.

In my humble opinion, anyway.

Why does it take guts?

For the simple reason that you must be willing and able to retreat within in order to get in touch with your emotions.  Your feelings.

Does that make you cringe?  Too touchy-feely for you?

You must know yourself.

Who are you?

What do you stand for?

What makes you angry?  Sad?  Frustrated?  Deliriously happy? 

And most of all, what makes you EXCITED!

What does excited feel like?  Where is it?  In your tummy?  In the roots of your hair?  The bridge of your nose?

A copywriter’s emotions will always shine through their copy.  There’s no hiding it.

If you’re scared to reveal yourself, to open up and become vulnerable then direct response copywriting … well, it may not be for you.

A copywriter puts his or her heart into their work – and it shows.

The process is mentally taxing to say the least.

Dedication is key.

No dedication results in weak research.

Exhaustive research is a must – there’s just no room for laziness.

Copywriting involves effective interviews, character play, imagination, visualisation, hours upon hours of thinking.  The task at hand consumes you for days, weeks, even months sometimes until it’s time. 

Time to begin pouring out your first draft of long sales copy.

Afterwards, when every last drop is squeezed out of your brain, you rest.

Then, a day or two later you come back for the laborious process of editing to begin.

Seven edits are not unusual.

Copywriting is about using both left and right sides of the brain.

And it’s about using the heart.

Yes, a direct response copywriter certainly works hard for you.  Very hard.

Rachel Goodall
———————-
Clear Passionate Copywriting

www.rachelgoodall.com
skype rachel.goodall
rachel@rachelgoodall.com

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