Impact Hollow.Com

by Charlie Crowell

Boca Raton, FL - I was talking to a friend of mine yesterday. He’s the VP of marketing for a consumer product’s company based in New York. We got going on the topic of copywriters - and what constitutes a good one. We came up with a list of desirable qualities to look for – some essential, others, maybe just desirable.

ABILITY TO WRITE – A no-brainer for sure but there’s more here than meets the eye. Good copywriters need to have good command of the language but just as importantly they have to write in such a way that they connect with their targeted audience. Most people write in a stiff, up-tight, rigid manner. They suddenly get formal when putting words on paper. That’s fairly worthless. Copywriters must be able to write in a personable way if they have any hope of connecting with the reader.

ABILITY TO SELL HIMSELF – If your perspective copywriter can’t dazzle you with his resume, it means he can’t really sell. You should look at the resume (or web site or Linkedin profile) and want to hire him on the spot before someone else does. If a copywriter can’t knock your socks off when writing about himself, how is he going to be persuasive when writing about your product or service?

DESIRE TO WRITE – As the saying goes, “writer’s write”. Does your perspective copywriter like to write? Does he/she have a blog? Keep a journal? Write articles for newspapers and magazines? Write his kid’s essays for school? Writing talent comes from practice. The more you write - the better you get - and if someone only writes when he/she has to then they are taking the slow road and the heart probably isn’t in it.

EXPERIENCE – Another no-brainer. Human beings learn from experience so when hiring a copywriter, you want someone else to have paid for the “on the job training”. Starting from scratch can be brutal. Copywriters should have a portfolio of solid work to show you. Ask for it.

ATTITUDE – We both agreed that an upbeat, enthusiastic attitude goes a long way and is a prerequisite to successful copy simply because it shows in the writing. You can only fake your attitude just so long. Besides, who wants to work with a sourpuss.

VOCABULARY – It’s a funny thing. Even though typical copy uses a limited number of fairly common words, good copywriters have an extensive vocabulary. Studies have shown most people tend to use the same words over and over. That’s boring and predictable. Having a large pool of words to draw from seems to enliven copy.

STORYTELLING – Good copywriters tend to be good storytellers. This doesn’t mean they fabricate stuff. It means they can take the facts and present them in a unique, captivating, often entertaining way that locks in the prospect’s attention. People have been telling stories since the dawn of time – and there’s a reason.

QUIRKINESS – According to Dan, most of the outstanding copywriters he has worked with have been, in one way or another, quirky. Not that they were weird. They just look at the world in a slightly different or unhabitual manner. Could we be talking creativity here?

A GENUINE INTEREST - Good copywriters are life-long students of their craft. According to Dan, one of his best copywriters couldn’t even read a newspaper article without extracting something useful from it. He obsessed over the words and phrases and how they were used. He would stumble on some terminology he admired, jump up and write it on an oversized white board in his office. Later it would be stored away to a Word file for possible future use.

We added some other criteria to the list as well. Things like the ability to accept criticism, the ability to work as part of a team, the ability to meet deadlines and a certain “stick-to-it-ness”. Plus, we noted, it helps to have some first-hand knowledge of the products or services they’re writing about. If you sell parachutes, it’s good to find a copywriter who likes to jump out of airplanes.

Of course none of this represents the final word on the subject but it was an interesting conversation - stuff well worth consideration.

ImpactHollow.com

Chescrowel@aol.com