Finding Your Individual Creative Process

Brendan Behan, the famous Irish playwright, woke up every morning at exactly seven. He then wrote steadily without a break until noon. That’s when the pubs opened. Roald Dahl started at ten and stopped every two hours, regardless of how well he was going. He attributed much of his success to resting his mind with these regular breaks.

Some people consider commercial copywriters less creative than novelists or playwrights, but I think that’s nonsense. A writer creates his or her own style, regardless of the client or eventual publishing medium. Having a set creative routine is as important for copywriters as it is for any other sort of writer. In fact, for those of us that write for business, it might be even more important to find a way to maximize personal productivity.

The Internet is packed with how-to articles offering to teach you the correct way to be productive, but I’m not convinced that there’s any single perfect method. Like most important things in life, a creative process is a uniquely individual thing. A schedule that works wonders for one writer might leave another one completely cold. The important thing is to experiment until you find what works.

I’ll give you a few suggestions, but first let’s look at why you need a process in the first place. Why can’t you just write when you feel like it?

The Importance of Routine

In some ways, copywriting is different from other creative pursuits. We don’t often have the luxury of waiting days or weeks for inspiration to strike. We aren’t supported by government grants or wealthy benefactors. If we don’t meet deadlines, we don’t eat. Sometimes we have to write so much, so fast that it’s impossible to craft every sentence like Hemingway.

In this demanding environment, taking a lackadaisical approach to scheduling can be fatal. Copywriting is a job, and it should be treated as such. Starting and stopping at the same time every day can help you quickly find “the groove”—that coveted mind space where the words flow and the work moves quickly. It also allows you to draw a firm line between your work and your life. If you’re always stressing about the jobs you’ve been procrastinating, your mind will never have time to relax and recharge.

Once you’ve decided to create a routine, the next step is to figure out what sort of process works best for you. Again, there is no perfect answer—but there are some helpful questions.

When do You Have Good Ideas?

My best creative thinking always happens in the shower. It never fails. When I have a problem, I turn the water up hot and try not to think about it. By some magical process, I almost always have a solution by the time the steam clears. Other people do their best thinking while running or cycling. Others drive. 

One thing I’ve noticed is that very few people do their best thinking behind a monitor in a cubicle. Your routine doesn’t have to be routine. Study your day’s work, then go somewhere or do something to get your creative juices flowing. Take a shower, take a jog, do whatever it takes to open enough cracks in your frame of mind to let inspiration shine through. Then pull your ideas out of the ether and get to work.

How Much Distraction Can You Handle?

Once you’ve got a rough idea of how you want to approach your writing for the day, you still need to get the ideas out onto paper. As you well know, this can be a tiresome and labor-intensive job. I used to listen to music as I wrote, but I’ve found that I write much faster and more clearly in silence. I don’t do well with distractions, so I tend to sequester myself a bit. 

It’s important that you create an environment around yourself where you can work comfortably and effectively. Freelance copywriters especially struggle to find space like this at home, but the problem extends to those who work in offices as well. Do whatever you can to make your workspace conducive to clear thinking and creativity. This might mean avoiding Twitter for a few hours, (but let’s be honest; probably not).

How Driven Are You?

Roald Dahl could take a 30-minute break every two hours and still get back to work. If I let myself get off on a tangent, however, I sometimes struggle to find my way back. Inspiration is an elusive creature. You can’t ride it until you find it, and if you let it go, there’s no telling when it will appear again. 

Some writers can pound through pages and pages of material in a few hours. I often wonder how they do it. I think the secret is actually desperation. Looming deadlines can turn anyone into the writing equivalent of the energizer bunny. 

However, we aren’t always beneath the slave driver’s whip. If you struggle to find motivation, as I sometimes do, you might need to create your own pressure. Set short-term goals for yourself to help you stay on track. Limit your bathroom breaks. Do whatever it takes.

Where Do You Draw Inspiration?

You can’t wring original material from your brain if you aren’t feeding it properly. Take the time to pause occasionally and treat your mind to something inspiring. I firmly believe that good writers start out as good readers. Find which authors have a style that resonates with you and devour everything they touched. Don’t feel bad if you don’t end up reading the classics—you can learn as much from mommy blogs as you can from Euripides. 

Take long walks on the beach if you must, or paint or watch good TV. Any activity that resets your mind and leaves you with new perspectives or ideas is an investment in yourself. Too many writers try to increase their output without first taking in more of the material that inspires them. You can’t write if you’re starving for inspiration. It’s like trying to donate blood when you’re anemic. It just doesn’t work.

Once you’ve asked yourself these questions, you should have a fairly clear idea of what you need to be productive as a writer. Take what you’ve learned and incorporate it into your daily routine. As you become more disciplined, you’ll have ideas faster and write more efficiently. You’ll be a better writer. And a wealthier one.

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Tanner Wadsworth is a freelance copywriter, advertising student and connoisseur of fine jogger pants. To know what he thinks about in the shower, follow him on Twitter. To know what he thinks about at work, connect on LinkedIn. Gape slack-jawed at his advertising portfolio here.

How to Keep Your Readers Engaged and Interested

The average person's attention span is just 8.25 seconds long.

If you're a writer, then this statistic is rather depressing. You work hard to create high-quality content, only to find that many in your audience lose focus before they've even read your introduction.

Some people may choose to skim the remainder of your content, scanning to find the most interesting bits.

Others won't even bother to do that much. In fact, more than half of your readers are probably gone after just 15 seconds. Ouch.

But even though attention spans are getting shorter, long-form content is often recommended. Why? Because it tends to rank better in Google and get more shares on social media.

So how do you get people to actually read through everything you're writing?

Obviously, finding a way to capture (and retain!) people's attention is vital. Thankfully, there are methods and techniques to help you do so.

1) Start With a Strong Introduction

Do you share amazing facts and interesting opinions in the middle of your content? If so, that's awesome—but don't neglect your first few sentences.  

A dry or tired-sounding beginning could ruin everything. Instead of being thrilled with what you share, your audience will never even read the exciting part.  

Sadly, they'll be gone before they ever scroll down that far.

This is why you need to grab your audience's attention right away. Use your opening lines to pique their curiosity and convince them to keep reading.

How do you do this?

Well, you could mention the amazing story you're going to tell, give them a surprising fact or shocking statistic, or ask them a thought-provoking question.

Honestly, the possibilities are only limited by your imagination.  

If you've got great content and know what your audience wants, then strategically placing an interesting bit of information at the beginning of your content shouldn't be difficult at all.

2) Keep Your Audience Curious (But Do Get to The Point!)

Have you noticed that most TV shows don't end with a complete resolution of conflict?

They leave everyone wondering what's going to happen next, rather than winding up every single loose end.

Why do they do this?

Because they want us to keep watching the show.

By leaving some things unresolved, they make us curious about what happens next. Instead of assuming that all of the characters live happily ever after, we're left with a feeling of suspense and a desire to see the next episode.

This strategy is solid, and it's one that you can copy to hold your reader's attention (Now, in excessive amounts this can actually be detrimental—more on that in a minute).

If you're telling a story, then it's going to be fairly easy to keep your reader's curiosity piqued.

If not, then you can accomplish this with other methods. 

How? Drop hints of what you're going to mention in a few paragraphs, create intriguing subtitles, or focus on compelling conflicts. 

But while you need to keep people curious, you don't need to string them along.

If you continually hint about something awesome while never delivering what they want, you're going to sound sleazy.

Get to the point, and promptly deliver the content you're promising them. If you're going to give them promises of something amazing, then you need to fulfill those promises promptly.

3) Make Your Writing Easy to Understand

The average person reads roughly 200-250 words every minute.

But when they start to read something technical, that rate plummets to a mere 50-75 words per minute.

What does that mean?

It means that you've got to avoid difficult copy. Most of the time, you're going to be writing for people with short attention spans. Write in an easy-to-comprehend style.  Long words and complex phrases generally don't make you look smart—they just make it harder for others to digest what you've written.

Being a writer doesn't just involve throwing information at a paper. If that's all it took, then we wouldn't have a job!

Instead, our job is to make information easy to comprehend and digest. Writing in a friendly, conversational way is almost always the best way to accomplish this.

Use examples that others can relate to. Throw in a bit of humor, and let your personality shine through.

If you're able to take boring facts and turn them into something that's fun to read, then keeping your audience engaged isn't going to be a difficult task.

4) Pay Attention to Your Formatting

Would this post be easy to read if I took out all of the spaces between paragraphs?

Nope! If this were a single mass of text, it would be an imposing blog post.

Now, I know that most of you already understand the value of adding white space. But it's still possible to forget and write painfully long paragraphs, so a reminder isn't going to hurt.

Subheadings, lists, and graphics are also beneficial. Because they stand out from the rest of your content, these areas may help grab the attention of anyone who has started to skim your post.

How do I know this?

Mostly because I've been guilty of skimming articles in the past.

The intriguing headline may have convinced me to click, but that doesn't mean I'm committed to reading the content.

Unless I know that the article is relevant and useful, I tend to scan for relevancy and leave if I'm not interested.

But there are many times when an eye-catching subheading or graphic makes me pause.

If my attention is thoroughly re-captured, I'll go back to the beginning and everything in its entirety. This rarely happens when the content lacks subheadings.

Of course, even the most perfect piece of content ever is going to fail to engage some people. There are literally thousands of reasons why someone might quit reading. These can range from utterly mundane (their browser crashed) to ridiculously dramatic (their computer suddenly burst into flames).

Obviously, you can't control these sorts of things.

But what you can do is create attention-grabbing, easy-to-read content.

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Hannah Callahan is a content strategist and copywriter who believes in creating high-quality content that is both relevant and engaging.  When she isn't busy writing Hannah spends her time eating chocolate, reenacting the Civil War & WWII or reading.  Would you like to read more of what she's written?  Then head on over to her blog!

3 Rock Solid Tips for Writing Faster

It makes sense, right? 

As a copywriter, the faster you write, the more money you’ll be able to make. 

While I’ve always been an advocate for getting beyond copywriting and actually showing that you’re a real person outside of the office, this is a truth that can’t be avoided—the wealthiest of copywriters not only love to work, they love to work quickly. 

That said, let’s say you’re a slow writer. There’s nothing innately wrong with that, but it does mean you’ll be at an immediate disadvantage when it comes to making money. 

So, can you learn to write faster, or is it one of those things you’re born with? Trust me, you can learn to write at an alarming rate. 

Though I’m by no means the fastest writer on the face of the earth, here are three methods that have yet to have failed me when looking to produce as much copy as humanly possible:

1) Move On Before Having Finished Anything

Almost seems like this would be worse for efficiency, doesn’t it? That might be the case for some, but I’ve seen completely different results. 

Writers aren’t perfect people. We’re not geniuses. Heck, most of us probably weren’t smart enough to get into med school or made the mistake of majoring in English—so, here we are. 

Whatever the case, our brains tend to bog down sometimes. Instead of getting distracted and doing a bit of “research” on Facebook to get the ol’ mental wheels turning again, simply move onto another project. 

A few weeks back, I read a piece by Robert Bly (I’m a disciple of his) who said that he’s always working on at least half a dozen projects at one time. When he encounters some writer’s block with one, he simply minimizes the project on his desktop and moves onto another one. 

If you’re fingers are moving, you’re making money. When they’re not, you’re just an unemployed person with a really sweet computer.

Needless to say, keep typing.

2) Don’t Allow Yourself to Fixate On Wording

I used to be awful with this and still, from time to time, find my real inner OCD coming out. 

As of January 1, 2014, the Global Language Monitor estimated that there are upwards of 1,025,109.8 words in the English language. How that decimal got in there, I’ll never know, but that’s the result my Google search yielded and I’m sticking to it.

Anyway, the point is this—there are thousands of ways to express one singular idea. Odds are high that, regardless of how experienced you are, you’re not going to pinpoint the perfect method. 

Keep writing. 

Doesn’t feel right? Doesn’t sound quite the way you’d wanted it to in your head? Keep on keepin’ on and see where you’re writing takes you. 

At the end of a piece, you’ll just go back and fix things anyway. Don’t sweat the small stuff. I get that this is easier said than done, but loosen up a little, will ya? 

If you can manage to do that, you’ll see your editorial pace increase in no time at all.

3) Treat Your Copy as If It Were Intended for a Friend

Have you ever sent a lengthy email or—heck, I can’t believe I’m going to say this—text message to a close friend or relative? That was me channelling my inner 12-year-old girl, by the way.

My guess is that it took you all of 5 seconds to figure out what you were going to say, even if you were talking about something that was difficult to put into words. 

You didn’t think, you just spoke.

Well, seeing as how I make my living as the Master of the “Write Like You Talk” methodology, there should’t really be much of a difference between the ease with which you speak and the way you write. 

I mean, they’re kind of one and the same, if you think about it. After all, it’s coming from your brain. 

Furthermore, I understand that this method might not work for each and every industry you’re covering, but regardless of tone or level of professionalism, this can still produce great results. 

In fact, it was the Ninja Turtle wannabe Leonardo Da Vinci who once famously said, “Simplicity is the ultimate sophistication.” 

Come the start of your next copywriting project, make the conscious effort to write simply, yet persuasively. If done correctly, your production level will most assuredly increase.

Now it’s your turn—how are you writing at lightning speed? What’s worked for you in the past and continues to work for you today? As always, share you best copywriting secrets in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.

Why Being Obsessive-Compulsive Is a Blessing In Disguise for Copywriters

So you like to organize the content of your desk by color and size—what’s the big deal, right? If this is a question you’ve asked yourself before, there’s a good chance that you’re one of those obsessive-compulsive types. 

No worries—this is a judgement free zone. Honestly, I’m one of those OCD people. In fact, the aforementioned example is a question I ask myself every day at work as I pull all of my folders, spiral notebooks [yes, I still use these] and pens from my briefcase [backpack]. 

However, in spite of what my mother says, as a copywriter, I’m not fully convinced that being OCD is such a bad thing. 

Granted, there’s plenty of downside with being a bit paranoid about tedious things, but when you spend the totality of just about each and every day writing on a laptop computer, being obsessive-compulsive could even potentially be seen as a benefit. 

Think I’m crazy? Not as much as you’d think. Here’s why:

Ensuring Editorial Flow

This is probably one of my biggest nit-picks as a writer. I simply can’t accept writing that sounds choppy. Now this isn’t to say that I don’t believe in shorter sentences, because I totally do. 

Heck, I like to tout myself as the guy who constantly preaches, “Write like you talk,” so I should be somewhat skilled in this. 

Anyway, I’m getting away from what really matters here—obsessive-compulsive disorder. OCD people refuse to leave a sentence alone until it sounds absolutely perfect. 

Yes, speed is an important part of making real money as a copywriter, but if you can write quickly, succinctly and with that realistic style with which people speak, you’re sitting pretty.

OCD copywriters, though possibly not as talented as other professionals, will work until they get it right. Simply put, paying customers love this. Who can blame them?

Knocking Grammar Out of the Park

We all saw this one coming, didn’t we? Perfectionists are almost always grammar Nazis. Yup, in my opinion, that stereotype is spot-on. 

Truthfully, while negative in certain circumstances, it’s also a very positive thing for a copywriter. Grammatical perfection leads to happy clients and reoccurring work.

How convenient is all of this for me? I mean seriously, I start off this piece by claiming to be OCD and then proceed to talk about how being OCD makes you a better, more detail-oriented writer. 

Now, before you go back and start searching for all of this piece’s grammatical mistakes, please know that I’m by no means a perfect copywriter. Whether it be a blog post, web copy project or email marketing campaign, I’m no stranger to mistakes. 

That said, generally speaking, OCD writers would rather part ways with a limb before submitting something with a single grammar mistake. While admirable, this is my personal blog and I don’t have the time or energy to stress about it. 

I enjoy it too much. Go ahead and hunt for the misplaced comma or incorrectly used semicolon. I’m certain you’ll find it.

Coming Through In the Clutch for Clients

As a copywriter, the best way to win an ongoing relationship with a client is to come through in the clutch for him or her. 

This might mean going above and beyond what was originally asked of you, doing a bit of extra editing to make certain a project exceeds expectations or staying up until the wee hours of the morning to finish an assignment. 

For OCD writers, this is never an issue, because they’re incapable of resting until everything is exactly how it should be. See what I mean? A true blessing in disguise.

Seeing as how there’s a good chance you’re either a full-time copywriter or spend a good portion of your day writing, what’s your take on the matter? 

Could great copywriting really be the byproduct of obsessive-compulsive tendencies? Voice your opinion in the comments section below.

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Lucas Miller is the Founder of Echelon Copy. When not writing, editing or running, he's working tirelessly to perfect what he claims is the "World's Greatest Pompadour." Additionally, for what it's worth, his editorial works have been featured on Social Media Today, Business2Community, Ragan's PR Daily, Spin Sucks and many other top-tier PR publications.