a little strategy with soul

on the minutiae of expression through 7 thoughts on copywriting

This list includes things that I’ve inadvertently discovered as I sauntered into social media marketing and then a business owner somewhat accidentally (that’s another story!). They are what I would unfailingly share with my clients and weave into how we do things.

Perhaps my reluctance to claim any titles lit my curiosity even more for what makes one’s project/biz/creation/expression in the world soar and be heard (and maybe a sprig of a my psychology degree and passion for creativity in community!).

Copywriting is a powerful tool for connection and engagement. It is not just a way to express a product, brand, or event. When done with spaciousness, allowance and a learning mind, it can help us define our voice, shape our communities, and create spaces to express who we are and what we value. 

The other day a client introduced me to one of her friends who happened to drop by the coffee shop we were at. She shared with her that I was their social media manager and that my “writing was soulful, which is rare these days”. I share this because I know that partnering with others through writing has been the reason I’ve had clients stay with me for over 4 years. Writing with and for others has been good marketing for me! 

And a win-win for me and my clients, double the marketing really!

Copywriting is a marketing strategy exemplified. 

Ok, let’s dive into it, shall we? Here are a few lessons I’ve learned along the way:

1. Your authentic voice is what people are drawn to.

Not to throw around this trendy word…but at the very least we all know that authenticity is a type of vibration and you can sense when it is present. It resonates in the deepest parts of ourselves. We are only able to claim our authentic voice when we stop focusing on what we “should be” or what we “should say” and drop into who we actually are. When we give this voice permission to emerge it will often be imperfect and messy. This is also what makes it real and resonant. And yes that voice can emerge even when you are ghostwriting for a brand or someone else!

2. Copywriting is really about making space to live life and then making space to bring how you live life into your writing.

I often think about how the space between the writing is even more valuable than the act of writing itself. It is the moments in between the pages, the one’s where you make time to have a meal with a friend or meander through a local farmer’s market, or stare out the window on a roadtrip that inspire us to write. 

We must allow our lives to take shape in front of us and witness the world as it unfolds before us before we can sit down in front of the empty page. It is in the process of writing that we retrace the experiences we had, discover how they change us and understand how they inform our values. The fertile grounds for copywriting are the lives that we live - that is what brings movement, shape, and color to the words we will write.

3. How you talk and how you write are not always the same thing and are not the catch all rule to writing copy (re: experts telling you to write like you talk).

If we were all to write the way that we speak it would probably seem more disorganized and rambling. The written word has a different type of spontaneity and flow than how we speak, a gravitas so to speak. There is some level of certainty and deep physical trust in saying what you have to say because you’ve lived and observed it. Even though a conversational tone is good to carry into your copywriting (making the audience feel included), it is just as important that your writing voice carries clarity and focus on a central theme, idea, or story. 

4. People want to follow people who challenge their edges, because chances are they do that too.

The writing that I am drawn to the most says, “this is where I am at and this is the rough spot that I am coming up against.” It reveals the edges of our human experience, the grief, confusion, anxiety, angst. When we read something that shows we are not the only one’s coming up against the rough spots it is like gently applying a salve to loneliness. Writing is not only a way to express our own thoughts, it is also an avenue for connection with the collective.

5. Good copy is cathartic and will cause your readers to sigh in their body and say “me, too!”, “yes!”, “I feel that!”)

The relief and release of reading something that was written by another person and recognizing ourselves in it cannot be understated. The written word is like a mirror and when we can see our own experience reflected in the words of another it shifts the flow of energy inside of us. Sometimes I don’t even realize that I have been holding my breath until I read something that makes me feel a little less alone and I find myself exhaling a little more deeply. We walk around holding ourselves so tightly until a sentence like, “bloom where you are planted”, walks across our lives and our soul sings with relief that someone could put the feeling into words. 

6. Copy resides in spaces that are not just your blog post, long forms or captions.

When I first heard the term “copywriting” it sounded professional and formal. I wasn’t sure if the writing that I did in my bedroom or on the subway would ever qualify as legitimate copy. It took a while before I gave myself permission to include this lesson in my life and welcome the possibility that copy can include any writing that has an impact or resonance with others. Copy includes the stories, experiences, and words that make up our lives and it is more accessible than we’d like to believe (or the experts would like us to believe!).

7. People remember feelings and then they remember stories.

Okay, so this one is a bit of a chicken and egg situation, because sometimes the stories pave way for the feelings and other times the feelings drive the yearning for the story. Story and feeling are intertwined and woven together in a marketing and copywriting strategy. All my initial branding calls are grounded in storytelling activities, facilitation and world building, because story emerges in a context that allows it to thrive.

When I consult and coach my clients, often we are finding this dance between the readiness for expression and what is strategic. I’ve often found that what is strategic is actually gently understanding this flow of expression; where one gets stuck, where one feels resistance, where one feels bliss and ease. The inner roads that come to one single point of an idea or concept can be as nebulous or long as the eye could see and this journey is worth witnessing and acknowledging.

There is something freeing about writing and sharing copy that stays true to yourself and pushes the boundaries of what is being shared on social media, blog posts, captions, etc. It feels like you have given permission to the inner voice that has been longing for a way to be expressed. The magic of writing is not only when it releases something inside of us, but when it brings relief to another and we can experience a collective catharsis. 

I’m all for copywriting that is inspired by other types of writing of all sorts, intersect and find the through lines of reflection back to the reader who becomes the writer. If you are curious about how I guide my clients (who are often coaches and therapists running their own business), check out this mini instagram caption guideline that I was super proud of writing (psst…it features McDonald’s soft serve).

I hope the future of copywriting is not only to sell products or to feed capitalist intents but continues to shift into a resounding, full body yes towards dismantling the things we hide from ourselves and others and knowing that what we do is an imprint on and of this world.

At the end of the day, writing in your body’s truth disrupts shame, guilt and the grind that we have so ‘inherited’.