5 Unexpected Sources of Copywriting Inspiration
There are a million resources and programs in the world for aspiring copywriters. But once you’ve learned the basics, where do you go from there? You can study the greats and try to emulate them. You can rewatch Mad Men a fifth time. Or, you can start to seek inspiration from unlikely sources. As Black Sheep’s resident writer & creative strategist, I’ve explored tons of unexpected avenues to help tell the stories of our purpose-driven clients. Here’s a few of my favorite ways to get inspired that don’t involve re-reading Hey Whipple, Squeeze This or following someone’s newsletter.
For learning attention-grabbing, “punchy” writing
Study comedy shows, especially unscripted ones and improv masters. That might sound backwards, but you’d be surprised how often those improved, off-the-cuff lines are actually better than the ones you agonize over. This kind of language helps you understand brevity, clarity, setting up and subverting expectations, and comedic instincts.
I love to recommend:
For interesting, speakable syntax
Find classic plays and read them aloud (or listen to the audiobook). The older, the better. I use these to shake up my brainstorming when I feel “stuck” in a certain style. Though a lot of the words might be irrelevant, these plays are great for interesting sentence structures. Even the densest scripts are still meant to be clearly understood when spoken aloud with no written version to reference.
A few of my favorites:
For odd ideas and new thoughts
Ask friends, coworkers and strangers about the pieces of writing that caught them off guard or became unexpected favorites. I read these when I’m looking for new motifs and metaphors to use, so I can rely less on memes or current popular words that have lost meaning (slay, unprecedented, etc.). In this case, try to branch outside of huge classics or current bestsellers, since these things likely already influence/draw from modern trends.?
A few from my personal list are:
领英推荐
For sticky language—
Listen to europop, translated English songs and songs written by non-native English speakers. If you’ve heard “Planet of the Bass” by Kyle Gordon lately, then you know exactly what I mean. These songs break little language rules in unique ways and infuse common words with passion and feeling, which is why so many of them become earworms.
My playlists usually include:
For visual expression
Go to a contemporary or modern art museum and bring a notebook with you. Pick a piece and, before you read anything about it, write down your first impression of what you think the artist was trying to convey. Then, read the description. This is one of my favorite exercises because it illustrates how differently two people can interpret the same thing—which is crucial for writing to wide audiences with different backgrounds. This can be challenging at first, but it’s made me a better partner to my designers.?
Some of my favorites for this include:
Where do you go for inspiration? What are your favorite pieces of writing or media that dig you out of writer’s block? Tell us!