Copywriting shortcut? It's like Snakes & Ladders
It’s easy to write copy on the back of a napkin for that new product launch and say that’ll do. Words don’t matter as the product will sell itself, right?
Not quite so.
Picture by VD photography of the classic Snakes & Ladders game. As a fun fact, it was a game that was brought to the UK from India in 1890s. Cool huh?
In business, we’re always looking for shortcuts and things to automate, but when it comes to copywriting shortcuts don’t exist (although A.I is eyeing up the challenge). You must put in the work to get the goods out.
Good copy takes time, countless edits, rewrites and banging your heads against the wall moments, interspersed with long walks and coffee (lots of coffee). It’s not a process that has shortcuts.
My friend, Lauren Hirsch Williams features a quote in her new book (One Sense Ahead- check it out!) that sums this thought up completely: “a long road is the shortest way to reach a goal”.
When people write their own copy for their business, it’s a roll of the dice. It could be good, but it could also be short selling their product or service, which is why an outside perspective is key.
Products may sell themselves in person, but in a digital world, words do the heavy lifting. Words must convey why people need that item or understand how your service solves their problems.
Shortcut choosing the right words and fail to include the right ones, and then it comes a game of snakes and ladders (or chutes and ladders for my US based friends).
My advice is to try not to shortcut or hack your content or copy. Put the work in and you’ll get the best results out, always.
If you’re stuck and don’t have any other paper other than a napkin, I would like to offer my help to find you the words you need. Drop me a message or send a pigeon if you prefer, let’s talk words. No sales, commitments, or icky stuff like that, instead just a simple offer to brainstorm some ideas, strategy, and ways to get you word-finding-juices flowing. And I’ll bring the paper... 😆