How to conquer copywriter’s block

Ever find yourself at a copywriting standstill? It mightn’t feel like it at the time, but there are loads of easy ways to get around a creative roadblock. So have faith in your writing skills, accept that the words don’t always flow as freely, and give my tried and tested methods a whirl.

Write

One of the best ways to get going when you’re struggling is just to write exactly what comes out of your head, in as plain or conversational a fashion as you’re thinking it, and then edit later.

This not only unleashes your most emotionally-driven words on whatever subject you’re writing about, but simply gets them down on the page. Because there are few things more daunting than staring at that blank white page or screen for too long.

Read

Some call copying, others call it plagiarism, I call it inspiration. Unless you’re completely stealing something word-for-word, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with picking up a book to see how stories begin, or flicking through a newspaper to look at headlines.

When writing emails, I often just open my trusty Hotmail account and have a nose at recent subject line styles. If it works for all of these big brands, a small adaptation could work for whoever you’re writing for.

Think

There are ways to way to think about the subject you’re writing about without actually thinking about the product or service you’re writing about.

Liz Doig from Wordtree ran a cracking workshop on refreshing creativity at last month’s PCN Copywriting Conference 2015, in which one of the tasks was to write an email for a high-end wine company, encouraging affluent customers to stock up their cellars for Christmas.

Everyone around the table was given either a bottle of Christmassy scent to smell (I had cinnamon), a festive object to feel without looking (the woman to the left of me had a pine cone), or something to taste while blindfolded (guy to the right had an After Eight mint).

The task was to think about what feelings or memories the scent, object or food evoked, and write down whatever came to mind. The result? Lots of delicious copy about Christmas that formed the perfect emotive intro to the email; the push to buy wine only came once the festive scene had been set in the reader’s mind.

Try it the next time you're finding it tough to get started.

Time yourself

As pressurising as it might feel at first, timing yourself to write something can be a great motivator, especially when you have deadlines to hit. This can be as simple as setting yourself a ten minute timer to write an intro paragraph, or breaking a larger job into equal timed chunks.

Every time the alarm sounds, try to move onto the next task, and come back to the unfinished stuff later. It’s surprising how many times something golden will come to you when you least expect it.

And knowing you have such a small window in which to find the right words can compel you to write instinctively, rather than trying to be too playful. The approach allows you to write simply and directly; one of the key skills of copywriting.

Exercise

Whether it’s a walk around the block or cardio a class at the gym, getting a sweat on always gives you time to think. Plus you burn calories, so it’s win-win.

I’m a road cyclist, and I’ve lost count of the times my head has been battered with wondering how to attack a brief, and something has just popped in there mid-ride.

So there you have it, five straightforward ways to combat copywriter’s block. Why not try out these methods and see if they help you overcome any troubles you’re having? Or maybe you can add to the list and share your own tips for banishing the blank page demons?