Creating cohesive and consistent copy with a team can be challenging, especially when you have different styles, tones, and voices. How do you ensure that your copy aligns with your brand, your audience, and your goals? Here are some tips to help you collaborate effectively and produce high-quality copy that works.
Before you start writing, you need to have a clear vision of what you want to achieve with your copy, who you are writing for, and how you want to communicate with them. A copy strategy is a document that outlines your brand identity, your value proposition, your tone of voice, your key messages, and your copy guidelines. It helps you and your team stay on the same page and avoid confusion and inconsistency.
Know the campaign, the target audience and the desired end game. If you identify these with your team ahead of time then everyone should be able to cone to a meeting with similar - yet different- ideas. I think the demo is key!
A "copy strategy" is another (but less common) way of saying "brand guide." As you write, holding true to your brand guide is par for the course and essential to keeping every writer/stakeholder involved on the same page. Keep your brand guide handy, especially during your review rounds, to help ensure that as you're editing and tweaking everything, you're maintaining the proper voice/tone and keeping this consistent across all pages/mediums.
This includes setting clear goals for your copy, identifying your target audience, and developing a brand voice and tone. Once you have a clear strategy in place, you can communicate it to your team so that everyone is on the same page.
A style guide is a set of rules and standards that define how you write and format your copy. It covers aspects such as grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, abbreviations, and terminology. A style guide helps you and your team maintain a consistent and professional tone and appearance across all your copy channels and platforms. It also saves you time and effort by reducing the need for editing and proofreading.
It's so important not just to use a style guide, but keep it updated as your industry and offers evolve. And using one editor with a strong knowledge of your style guide can ensure that the last polish of all copy moves it all in the same direction. Similar to adding a specific filter to images to give them a cohesive feel, an editor with a strong understanding of your brand voice and style guide can add that 'filter' to everyone's copy.
I'm watching to see whether AI can eventually act as an interactive editorial guide, eventually replacing a good chunk of an editor's job at some point. It comes down to the skill of the writer (are pieces 90% ready when sibmitted or 60%?) and whether the editorial guide is comprehensive enough.
A style guide is a set of guidelines that ensures that all of your copy is consistent in terms of grammar, punctuation, spelling, capitalization, and other style elements. Having a style guide in place will save you time and effort in the long run, and it will help to ensure that your copy is polished and professional.
Communication is key when you work with a team of copywriters. You need to share your feedback and ideas with each other, as well as with other stakeholders, such as designers, marketers, and clients. Feedback and ideas can help you improve your copy, spark new inspiration, and resolve any issues or conflicts. You can use tools such as Google Docs, Slack, or Trello to collaborate and comment on your copy projects.
Communication is key when working with a team of copywriters. Make sure to share feedback and ideas with each other regularly. This will help you to improve your copy, spark new inspiration, and resolve any issues or conflicts. There are a number of tools available that can help teams collaborate on copywriting projects, such as Google Docs, Slack, and Trello.
Even if you have a great copy strategy, a style guide, and feedback, you still need to test and optimize your copy to make sure it works for your audience and your goals. Testing and optimizing your copy can help you measure its effectiveness, identify its strengths and weaknesses, and make adjustments based on data and insights. You can use tools such as Google Analytics, A/B testing, or surveys to test and optimize your copy.
Once you have written your copy, it is important to test it with your target audience to see how it performs. This will help you to identify any areas that need improvement. You can use a variety of tools to test your copy, such as A/B testing and surveys.
One of the benefits of working with a team of copywriters is that you can learn from each other's skills, experiences, and perspectives. You can exchange tips, tricks, and best practices, as well as seek advice, support, and mentorship. Learning from each other can help you grow as a copywriter, expand your knowledge, and discover new ways of creating cohesive and consistent copy.
One of the best ways to improve your copywriting skills is to learn from others. Encourage your team members to share their knowledge and expertise with each other. You can also learn from other copywriters by reading blog posts, attending conferences, and taking online courses.
Finally, don't forget to celebrate your achievements as a team. Creating cohesive and consistent copy with a team is not easy, and it requires hard work, dedication, and creativity. You should acknowledge and appreciate your team's efforts, successes, and contributions, as well as your own. Celebrating your achievements can help you boost your morale, motivation, and confidence, as well as strengthen your team spirit and culture.
When your team produces great copy, be sure to let them know. Recognition and appreciation will motivate them to continue to do their best work.
To create cohesive and consistent copy with a team, it's essential to tap into team members' unique strengths, particularly their genius, as @Patrick Lencioni called it in his 6 Types of Working Genius. Two to highlight are invention and tenacity. Invention brings creative ideation to the table, fostering innovative content ideas. Tenacity fuels the drive to see projects through, ensuring completion. By assigning roles based on these strengths, teams harness individual intelligences, fostering synergy and enabling them to produce copy that's both imaginative and unwavering in its commitment to excellence.
It's often not just Copywriters who are communicating for the company, so make sure your brand managers, marketing team, TAs, and customer support are all included.