Hi. I’m Stuart Shaw, a freelance copywriter based in Milton Keynes. Yep, the home of concrete cows. Thankfully, I write websites and blogs that get concrete results.
20 years ago, I got my first copywriting gig at a design agency in Oxford. I couldn’t code. All I had was an insanely useful first class degree in Philosophy.
So they got the philosopher to write their website. Then their clients’ websites. Blogs. Brochures. Flyers. Ebooks. Even learning courses. You get the picture.
I then upped sticks to Milton Keynes to work with my sister in lifestyle management. Fame claim: I once booked a restaurant for Jonny Depp and Dennis Hopper.
From those name-dropping heights, I got into writing on Human Capital Management best practice to help brands create workplaces where people did the best work of their lives. You can download our HR whitepapers here.
I now provide freelance copywriting in MK for clients across the UK – you can check out a few testimonials here. But one lesson I picked up from those early, head-spinning days under the dreaming spires stuck:
Don’t write for the client – write to their customers.
What does that mean? It doesn’t mean that my clients don’t pay the bills. They do. But to get – and keep – clients happy enough to keep paying the bills, they have to see a return on their investment. Which means making – and keeping – their customers happy.
Which is why I never write a word until I know who I’m talking to. Until I’ve walked a mile in their social media shoes. Laughed at their jokes. Got under their skin to know what makes them tick. What gets them out of bed in the morning. More importantly, what keeps them awake at night.
Why? Because people know authenticity when they hear it. “Who are you?” “Why are you doing this?” Answer those questions authentically, you’re almost there. Almost.
Because the core question your business or blog needs to answer is this:
“What’s in it for me?”
Sure, your customers might care if you care. They might trust you a little more if you’re on their level. But ultimately:
People only read, buy, comment on, link to, subscribe to, or share things that make them feel something.
Sure, feelings come in all shapes and sizes. Feeling happy sad angry or ashamed. Feeling like we’ve found a cause or a kindred spirit we can believe in.
We fall in love with brands. And when we do, we can’t wait to ‘share the love’. You could say the first thing that was ever understood or shared was our feelings.
But most brands don’t want to make people boiling mad. So I focus on writing copy that does the opposite. Copy that does one (or all) of three things:
Solves their problem and helps them sleep better at night
Saves them time and money at work
Makes them more attractive in the eyes of the people they love or want to be loved by
If you want your website, blog, ebook, brochure, or whitepaper to talk authentically to your customers and have one or all of these goals at heart, give me a call on 01908 330242 or email: [email protected]
And if you’re in MK and fancy meeting up for a coffee, we can do that. Or go bullfighting….
Loading tweets...