You may not know who Troy is – so I will tell you. He is one of the best copywriters around. He interviewed me recently and asked me how I manage to write “charming” copy.
I was at a complete loss for an answer. But it came to me yesterday – and this is for you, Troy – and anyone else who’s interested. You should be, because most copy has no character whatsoever.
Ask yourself: do you buy from aggressive bores – or corporate drones who’ve had a charisma by-pass operation?
The first part of the clip is about editing – which is equally important.
By the way, Troy writes excellent articles: see
http://www.makepeacetotalpackage.com/troy-white/fun-free-and-full-of-potential.html
“Omit needless words.” ~ The Elements of Style
When I see you Drayton, I see myself looking in the mirror in 20 years time and I realize what a handsome looking devil I am afterall.
I think “Charm” comes from two things. 1) As you say, is honesty. 2) In school, we're taught to be cold and objective. Personality is to be removed, and not used. To me, Charm is Honesty in both claims and personality. In your blog, your personality comes through as clearly as in your videos.
To write copy that effectively sells, we must know the personality trying to sell to us. If it's a bland, faceless entity, we'll look for one that reads like a real person talking to us. So many ads read like school work, and not a conversation. I've sold face to face, and it must be a conversation, to work. Ad copy that works is the same.
I'm not quite sure whether that is flattery or mild abuse:-)
I think having a conversational style to copy also helps, and this is possibly where 'liking' people helps, because if you write in a boring, aggressive or cold manner, surely the response you get will not be as successful as writing in a warm, conversational, one-on-one style.
Great to see these videos Drayton, been a long time coming.
Thanks
Simon