Adventures In Copywriting

As a copywriter, I am sometimes asked to explain something for clients that they themselves have no idea how to express in words.

Very recently I faced such a challenge. I was meeting with a solution provider partner over the phone to take input on a sales slick. This wasn’t so unusual as I do this quite often.

The expectation was that I would listen to the founder of the company talk about his business, I would ask a few questions, and then my job would be to capture the personality of his business in the tone and messaging of the flyer.

Usually the goal is to find something about the business that sets it apart from its competitors. In this case, once I heard the story of this company I realized that my job wasn’t going to be an easy one.

The founder of the company started telling me about his friend Billy. They met in grade school and quickly became inseparable. After high school graduation, they followed one another to college where they both decided they would one day start an IT company together.

Sadly, that dream never materialized because his friend was killed in a car accident.

Years later, after graduating from college, the owner remembered his promise and went on to start the company that he and his friend had dreamed about.

As I listened to the owner share this story, I knew one thing: This was going to be one of the hardest writing assignments I’d ever had.

Somehow I had to relate this extremely personal and tragic story on a sales slick that also provided an overview of the company’s expertise as a reliable IT solution provider. Not an easy task.

I went back to my desk wondering how to proceed. Could I really summarize all of what I had just heard into a marketing slick?

It was starting to look impossible, to be honest.

Luckily, I had a few days to process all of it. I started a few times and gave up.

I knew I didn’t want people to feel like I was pulling their heartstrings or playing for sympathy, but at the same time I knew the owner had a unique story that was worth sharing. His reasons for starting this company were very compelling. His desire to honor his friend in the process of doing business was what set them apart from every other business around them.

I realized that there were a dozen ways to get it all wrong, and really only one way to get it right. But honestly I wasn’t really sure what that way looked like, at first.

It took me some time, but eventually I found the answer. Turns out it was actually hiding in plain sight the entire time.

In my desperation, I went back to the creative brief – which is a document we create with the client before we start work on the project so everyone is on the same page – and one phrase jumped out at me: “…he kept his promise to his friend…”

And that was it.

The core of this company was simply about the importance of keeping promises. The owner kept his promise to his friend, and the company kept its promises to customers as a way to honor that memory.

Once I realized this, everything else fell into place. Honestly, I was so relieved to have discovered the key to resolving this customer’s challenge, I did a little victory dance when no one was looking.

Better yet, the customer loved it too.

In the end, the struggle and the pain of working all of this out for the client was well worth it. What I had thought was a near-impossible challenge at the beginning of the week was now a personal success story – one I could hold on to and remember for the next business challenge I might face.

What are the big wins in your life? What huge breakthroughs have you had in your business? Why not write them down – keep track of them – and spend time remembering those important events? It can make a big difference in your attitude, and in what you begin to believe is possible today, based on what incredible things have happened yesterday.

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