What is strategic copywriting?

It’s a bit more than just words, for sure.

Ordinary copywriting only deals with producing copy for emails, web pages, sales letters and so on. In  that narrow sense, it does a job. It may not get the best results but it suffices. The provider usually has the mindset of the client wants X, Y and Z and so I will write X,Y and Z.

An approach which makes the assumption that the client knows what they want. Knows what really works in marketing and advertising. Knows what they actually need to successfully promote and sell their product or service.

Which, more often than not, they do not.

Businesses doing ZERO marketing.

Businesses doing the WRONG kind of marketing.

Businesses continuing to spend on advertising which produces little or NO results.

Businesses doing “hope and pray” marketing (because they know no better).

Businesses throwing torrents of cash down the drain in the mistaken belief that the more you spend on marketing, the better the outcomes.

Businesses copying what others are doing with NO CLUE as to whether that approach will work for their own enterprise.

Ask an average copywriter to “Write me 10 emails, a sales page and a sales letter” and they will write you 10 emails, a sales page and a sales letter.

Ask a strategic copywriter, an experienced writer, to do the same and they won’t say yes straight away.

He or she will ask you what your desired outcomes are. They will ask you how much money you want your campaign to make. They will ask you what your strategy is – and why you’re using that strategy.

The approach is different.

It is focused fully on the client.

It is focused on sales.

It is focused 100 per cent on results.

The strategic copywriter wants to know the bigger picture. What do you want? What do you want to create? How much do you want to make on this?

Then the strategic copywriter will not just write some words for you. He or she will put a strategy together to achieve your goals. Not  one-size fits all, “cookie cutter” approach. Not a bland template wheeled out thoughtlessly for each and every client. Not a tired old formula some guru says is the road to instant riches.

No, none of that.

Instead, the strategic copywriter will:

• Research you, your company, your market. Your specific field, industry or niche. Your competition
• Know and understand your current marketing strategies (or lack of them)
• Get clear on what you want
• Create a plan to make that happen
• Design and craft bespoke words to make that happen
• Work with you to ensure everything goes out as it should, in timely fashion
• Monitor and track results
• Make adjustments and fine-tune things for improved performance
• Look for more ways to make you money
• Look for ways to save you money

And a few other things the ordinary, average and lazy copywriter would never even think of doing.

The strategic copywriter has a “war room” in their office. It is used to coordinate the campaign. It arms them with all they need to create powerful, emotive and high-converting copy.

The strategic copywriter is like a detective – discovering the clues, working the facts, building a strong case.

The strategic copywriter does NOT spend all their time at a computer or laptop. They will be seen with a pad and pen. Writing by hand. This creates a different connection to the brain than if typing words on a keyboard, scientists say.

The strategic copywriter studies. They don’t settle for what they know. They keep aspiring to complete mastery. They keep learning.

The strategic copywriter reads. It makes them a better writer. A better thinker. A better strategist. A better marketing consultant. A better copywriter.

The strategic copywriter sits in a cafe for a clear purpose other than to drink coffee and eat cake. Thinking time. Different space. Observation time. New environment. Creative time. Note-taking time. Accidental networking time (you never know who will walk through the door). Exercise time (walking to and from the cafe). And sometimes just to drink coffee and eat cake. Rest and relaxation clear the mind.

The strategic copywriter does not follow the crowd. They have their own mind. They know what works and what doesn’t. It’s based on experience. It’s based on testing. It’s based on what they know about how the world (and the world of marketing) are changing.

What else might you discover?

The strategic copywriter will work with fewer clients than the ordinary copywriter. He or she will focus on delivering results for select clients who understand the concept of value exchange.

Repeat business will be a feature of their business. Clients love what they create for them so they keep coming back. Or they retain their services for months and months on end. Years even. Why stop the train when it’s continually arriving at Success Station?

Oh, and the strategic copywriter also makes time for travel and trips. There’s that phrase about travel broadening the mind, you may have heard of. It’s true. it does.

The client gets served and secures their outcomes. The strategic copywriter gets paid according to a genuine value exchange. That creates the life they want. Everyone’s happy.

If you understand all the above…

.. You can have your cake and eat it.