If you're looking to 10x your sales and growth potential, keep looking -
I'm not your copywriter.
It's nothing personal. I understand the importance of higher traffic and more followers when you're growing a business. Really, I do. And there's nothing wrong with going after those things.
But I've spent a decade writing the flashy stuff that gets you noticed by fans and quoted in Forbes or Glamour - whatever your particular brand flavor may be. I've embodied the voice of global brands like Braun, Gerber, and LG Electronics. I've developed language for the likes of Katy Perry, Chef Akira Back, and Christian Lacroix.
Can I tell you a secret? None of it felt real. It was pure cotton candy fluff engineered to win followers and build hype. I suppose, in the end, it works - if what you're after is just fame and notoriety. Anyone can get their name out there with the right PR angle.
I want to win you loyal friends, not fans.
Some folks might not see the difference. Here's how I explain it: fans come and go, depending on how well you tend to your cultivated image. They don't see you as a whole, nuanced person with flaws and imperfections - and if they do see something out of character, they bolt.
Friends can accept you on your worst days because they see pieces of themselves in your journey, hints of their own mistakes and missteps. They appreciate you for being relatable and real. Even with the latest buzz about "authenticity," there is so little of it these days. Instead, we get hundreds of brands and business owners playing an "authentic" character.
Wanna stand out? Show us something truly authentic. Show us yourself, for real.
I'm not interested in writing (or reading) fake fluff about your achievements and exploiting the obstacles you've overcome to get where you are today just to seem authentic. I want the real deal, baby. Give me a story worth writing. Show us the kind of honesty that, sure, might turn some people off (because they aren't your people) but will leave others saying THANK YOU. We see you. We needed this. How can we be on your team?
Be brave enough to lead with your whole heart in every piece of content you publish, from your website to your blog and everything in between. You may not find overnight success with 10x the exposure, but that isn't the only version of success that counts (despite what they tell us). Don't just build buzz, build connections. Build community. Build a legacy. That's how you truly change lives and create impact.
Leave the rest to the other copywriters.
A bit about me:
I'm a child of the '80s, a theatre kid with a penchant for karaoke. And I was born into the art of storytelling. My earliest career ambitions involved dreams of driving a limo by day and writing novels by night, with the occasional stint as a retail clerk just so I could enjoy the privilege of using the barcode scanner.
After following my heart through graduate school to perfect the science of effective communication, I fell serendipitously into copywriting as a means of combining my love for story craft and my deep admiration of passionate entrepreneurship. My biggest heroes are the artists, innovators, and dreamers brave enough to show us what's possible. This work is for you.