Effective copywriting. It's about simplicity, attention to detail. No matter the brief, short sentences and paragraphs are the order of the day. Clean, crisp delivery of an idea to get the message across. A good copywriter has a range of skills. Some of mine are listed below.
How do I communicate, what do I need? If you're asking this, take a step back and ask instead: what am I trying to say? Who do I want to say it to? I can work with you to identify your audience and the best means for your messages.
Concepts
The Big Idea. To be truly engaging, your communication needs a big idea. The words and images need to be cohesive. I've concepted with many art directors in leading agencies.
Copywriting
With your strategy and big idea nailed, it's time to wordsmith. I'll write to your brief. Crafting those clear, crisp messages that call for attention. Whether that's a DM piece, a web site, brochure or script.
Advertorial and editorial
Often, the solution is an advertorial, which requires the message to be couched in editorial language. I have written whole magazines and longer editorial pieces to frame the message in just the right way.
PR
A good PR agency with a fat contacts book is invaluable. And the words are just as important. It's vital to stand out in the crowd. I've worked in national newspaper journalism. I know what works - and what doesn't. I often work with PR agencies to provide a minty headline and a case study, press release or feature that gets a client noticed.
Editing
If you already have a mass of information, rather than writing fresh copy it is often my job to pare it down. By focusing ruthlessly on the target audience and key messages, I can extract a coherent and compelling text from a disorganised jumble.
Sub/copy editing
Depending on whether your background is in newspapers or publishing, this is the stage where no substantive changes are made to the piece, but you go through to check the facts, iron out the grammar, correct the spelling, check for consistent use of language, and improve the general flow of the text.
Proofreading
Do you know your its from your it's? Your complement from compliment? Your disparate from desperate? Your deprived from depraved? Spellcheckers are invaluable, but only an eagle-eyed proofreader can pick up some spelling mistakes, typos, missing punctuation and other tiny errors.