Cairo, copywriting, and stray cats
In other words... Sometimes, DIYing kinda sucks, and it's worth paying someone to handle the hard things for you--especially if the hard things are literally not your day job and you don't speak the language. Or, you need a really good DIY copywriting guidebook that can tell you the exact steps to take and when and where to put which messaging on your page. Because your site visitors want to be told exactly what to do, too! Your readers want...
Lesson 2: Some shortcuts will lead you astrayWhen left to our own devices, there were many characters willing to help us with a shortcut when we looked lost. Weirdly, we always ended up in someone's uncle's perfume shop instead... Not all shortcuts will take you to where you want to go. And AI is a shortcut. I'm not a hater, but AI tends to be overly efficient and gives us "Language Homogeny". There's very little variation in sentence structure, rhythm, colloquialisms, metaphors, personal anecdotes, or conversational interjections. It's because AI isn't LISTENING to how we speak (yet) or modulating its speech to ramp up or down the intensity of a desired emotion. Its speech is consistent but flat, like the plains of Nebraska. Meanwhile, in Egypt, we spent most of our time cruising down the Nile with two Brits, a German, two women from Iraq (one living in Turkey), and me, your all-American cheerleader. Our communication differences went beyond the words we chose. There were real feelings influencing our manners of speech and vocal rhythms and we were constantly adapting to each other's emotions. Copywriters train for this. We embody you, your client, your buyer, and even your competition and use our bad-ass communication skills to anticipate and regulate your emotions down the page. When I write, I have out-of-body experiences. I become someone else. I take on your field or industry’s culture—my worldview even changes, temporarily. It's like I'm in the matrix...or Avatar? Whatever, you get the point. That’s the magic and power of a writer. Lesson 3: There's a sweet spot between aggressive and invisible sales—and it’s strategic.We visited the Khan el-Khalili market, where every shop sells the exact same thing. This means you go into price-shopping mode to get the best deal on glow-in-the-dark papyrus. (I have a 5- and 7-year-old; don't judge.) Walking down the tight alleyways, I avoided shops where sellers all but grabbed me and pulled me inside (too aggressive). But I also found it odd when I walked into a shop and was completely ignored. My favorite shop greeted me kindly and let me survey the shelves. When I asked if they had a wooden scarab beetle in blue (you know I'm going to keep it on-brand), they nodded politely and asked if I'd like a cup of tea while I shopped. I felt comfortable, not pushed to buy, and I engaged in delightful banter with the shopkeeper about how weird tourists can be. (Guilty.) In less than ten minutes, I had developed a relationship with someone I had never met before and probably would never see again. I could have bought my scarab beetle in any of those shops, but I liked the vibe of this one. What does this have to do with your copy? Your brand voice is your verbal personality, and your tone is your mood. Your tone can make or break a potential sale/enrollment/inquiry. You shouldn't come out swinging (unless aggressively opinionated is your brand) but your copy needs to have a vibe and acknowledge your visitor's needs. Your homepage should welcome visitors warmly, and your services page should guide them expertly. Depending on your brand and how you want to be perceived, your FAQs and product descriptions could be highly conversational or straightforward and technical. A copywriter designs your brand's perception strategically and knows how to use verbal tone to influence sales conversion. When you're out and about, do you see patterns that connect back to your work, too? If you're a total nerd about what you do and would love for someone to take your hand and tell you exactly what to do with your copy, I want to help.
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