Beware the writing hour

Is there a writing hour? There’s a witching hour. You know, that hour in the dead of the night when witches, spirits and other-worldly creatures awaken and are most powerful. If there’s a witching hour, why can’t there be a writing hour?

Perhaps it does exist. Perhaps there is that magical hour, perhaps different for most writers, but universal in the resultant behavior and other-worldly output, when a writer’s power becomes magical and takes on an almost mystical quality.

The writer in the writing hour

A silent observer might think the writer is in a trance-like state, parked in a seat at the desk in front of the flat screen LCD, head still, eyes rarely blinking, nary a facial muscle moving. The only physical exertion - if you consider typing exertion - is the rapid movement of fingers tapping keys on the keyboard. The body conserves power, diverting the flow of energy to the brain where the ideas and thoughts meld together and produce a continuous torrent of creative content that bursts forth on the screen.

What time of day or night could contain the writing hour? Could it be mid-morning, the brain jolted into high gear by caffeine? Or could it be in the deep of the night, when eerie silence stirs evocative emotions?

Beware the writer during writing hour. Writer interrupted could befall a terrible fate upon the guilty one.

LiveJournal Tags: witching hour,writing hour,magical hour,mystical power,trance,midnight,caffeine,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

Stung by the spelling bee

Periodically I am compelled to write about spelling and proper grammar, topics many dismiss as trivial. In the grand scheme of things, they argue, it doesn’t amount to a hill of beans. I ardently and fervently disagree.

I am dismayed by the prevalence of poor spelling and grammar in communication. One doesn’t have to look far to see the problem is widespread. Go to Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, YouTube, Google+, WordPress, Blogger, or any other social media site. Don’t stop there, though, you can find these same issues on company, media, and yes, even education web sites. In the case of institutions of higher learning, I find it appalling.

Lest ye is tempted to blame it on the generation recently out of school, allow me to set the record straight. I’ve seen these problems throughout my career. I’ve noticed that it cuts across all ages, economic classes and most every demographic. Clearly, it’s an epidemic.

Is it an important issue? Absolutely. Misunderstanding through miscommunication can lead to mistakes. Mistakes can lead to misery. Misery can lead to many things, none that are likely to have a good outcome.

Lose and Loser/Loose and Looser
When you are telling someone he or she is not a winner, you are calling that person a loser. It’s lose with an “r” on the end.

“He is a loser (not a winner) with looser morals than sailor who chases loose girls in every port and will soon lose his wife.”

Height and Weight
I’ve heard enough people say heighth that I’m beginning to wonder if it has been passed along from generation to generation. I always suspected the confusion was tied to the term width. Think weight, instead. You never say “They need to lose weighth.” Height is treated the same way:

CORRECT: It takes the whole program to a new height.

INCORRECT:  It takes the program to a new heighth.

Idea and Ideal
An idea is any conception existing in the mind as a result of mental understanding, awareness, or activity:

CORRECT:  I have a good idea.

INCORRECT: I have a good ideal.

An ideal is a standard of perfection or excellence:

CORRECT:  She is the ideal height.

INCORRECT: She is the idea height.

Could of / Could’ve
Here’s one that is commonly mispronounced in speech and misspelled in written communication.  While it sounds like “could of”, the proper term is the contraction for “could have”, which is spelled “could’ve”:

CORRECT: I could’ve gone all night.

CORRECT: I could have gone all night.

INCORRECT: I could of gone all night.

You can substitute “would of”, “would’ve” and “would have” above.

I could go all night with examples, but instead, I’ll close by extending you an invitation to share some misspellings and grammar errors you see and hear regularly. Please share them in Comment.

How To Win the Spelling Bee
If you don’t have confidence in your spelling or your grammar, or simply need a copywriter, I would be pleased to assist you in a consulting capacity. Contact me at briantbeasley@gmail.com

LiveJournal Tags: spelling,grammar,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

Hark! The heralded product speaks

Upon acquiring all of the inputs from the client, the copywriter now has the data needed to formulate the appropriate tone of voice. While it may seem to many that the hard work lies ahead, in actuality, much of it is in the rearview mirror.

The copywriter’s final hurdle is to develop a creative and unique brand image and tone of voice that aligns with the internal and external perceptions of the company and the product. This is where the skilled writer thrives and excels. What’s exciting is that there is more than one creative execution at his or her disposal. It’s merely a matter of breathing life into the persona, making certain its tone of voice is authentic and sustainable, and securing the blessing of the client.

This is where it can get a bit tricky, though. After all of that work, the client may insist that the tone of voice for the brand be what they want it to be rather than what is rooted in reality. The copywriter must stay pat and explain the rationale for the chosen direction and tone of voice. The risks to the success of the product are too great. Their customers know if what they are reading and hearing about the company, product or service is consistent with their values and reasons for buying. If it rings false, they will call the company out by either inundating them with emails, tweets and messages on forums (and the client won’t appreciate their tone of voice). For a large or well-known company, the press and analysts may blast the the company in articles, editorials, and the multitude of social media outlets at their disposal. It could get ugly.

Okay, that may be a bit melodramatic, but it could happen.

In most cases, though, the copywriter will secure client approval and a new brand voice is born.

Hark! The product speaks and its tone of voice pleases. New customer acquisition and loyalty soars.

It all seems so easy.

Not.

LiveJournal Tags: tone of voice,corporate brand,product brand,brand image,brand perception,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

How to help a product find its voice

In business, injecting tone of voice in writing is infinitely more challenging than it is for characters in a novel. Ask any executive communications writer. Identifying the leader’s style and personality and flowing it into a speech, presentation, letter to the stockholders, press release or video script is not an easy task. The writer must make certain the tone meshes with the perception employees, customers, media, analysts, investors, competitors and other publics have of the individual as an executive of the company.

In addition, the writer has to make the executive at ease with the content and how she or he is being portrayed. Executives are used to giving direction, not taking it. Even at the top of the corporate ladder, human egos are fragile. Being scripted goes against their nature. The writer must make the person comfortable, which isn’t necessarily difficult for printed messages, but when it’s a video or public speech, that’s a different animal.

While it’s not easy being what is in essence a corporate ghostwriter, at least that person is representing a human being - a living, breathing person (we hope) -  someone who can give direction and provide qualitative feedback.

Try writing tone of voice for a product.

Now that’s not an animal at all; that’s an inanimate object. So how does a copywriter create a personality for a product? Good question.

It all starts with a thorough understanding of the product features, functions and benefits, the customer problem the product solves, and its competitive differentiation. The writer also needs to comprehend how the product is positioned in the market. This data all comes from marketing or the brand manager. If the assignment is with a small company that lacks these roles, the writer will have to interview the powers-that-be to acquire that information.

Discussions with those close to the product is vital anyway. The writer will hear how the executives and employees perceive the product and gain some insight into internal language. This will help ensure that the external brand communication is closely aligned. A disconnect between the two will likely undermine and diminish the branding efforts.

The copywriter also should take into account the character of the company. What are its values? What does it stand for? Read its mission statement to gain some insight here.

Other guideposts are the visual representations of the product. How does the product look and feel? How is it packaged? What are the colors and graphic style of its logo? This helps shed light on the image the company wishes to project for the brand.

The sum of all of this input gives the copywriter direction. And in most cases, that’s all this person needs to get the job done.

LiveJournal Tags: tone of voice,executive communication,corporate brand,mission statement,company values,product brand,brand image,brand perception,product features functions and benefits,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

Watch your tone

“Stop shouting at me!”

“I wasn’t shouting, I was just emphasizing my point.”

When speaking, it’s absolutely clear when someone is reading you the riot act or giving you a piece of their mind, but when the exchange is in printed form, it’s not nearly so obvious.

Writers are well accustomed with the techniques of imparting a tone of voice. You’ve read many novels; how often did you miss whether the person was happy, sad, frustrated or angry? Of course, novelists have the advantage of using clarifying terms before or after a sentence:

“Oh sure, I’m just supposed to take that on faith,” she whispered, tears streaming down her face.

Let’s use the exact same sentence, but change the context a bit:

“Oh sure, I’m just supposed to take that on faith!” she exclaimed, bitterly recalling how the man robbed her blind on the last deal.

And then again:

“Oh sure, I’m just supposed to take that on faith?” she hissed with more than a sliver of sarcasm underscoring her fury.

In each instance, the words didn’t change, but the reader quickly understood the character’s feelings and tone of voice.

Copywriters chartered with creating a tone of voice for a corporate or product brand have a significantly greater challenge.  They don’t have the luxury of using contextual descriptions in their messages. So how do copywriters establish and maintain a favorable and unique tone of voice for an inanimate object? I’ll endeavor to answer that question in my next post.

LiveJournal Tags: tone of voice,brand image,brand personality,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

Who needs copy?

Content marketing. It’s the silver bullet. Be it transactional or informational web sites, content is king. The challenge companies and entrepreneurs face every day is keeping their content fresh. Competitors and others are constantly publishing gigabytes of new information. To be relevant and to maintain a high search engine ranking, it’s imperative you maintain the pace.

It also imperative your content be of high quality. Well crafted. Clear. Crisp. And precise.

This is why companies of all sizes are hiring copywriters (like me). At last.

LiveJournal Tags: content,content marketing,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging

Don’t interrupt my commercial break!

My wife learned before we were married that commercial breaks are not a time to converse with me. I absolutely love television commercials. This isn’t a passion I acquired over time; no, it’s something I recognized as a young boy.

I recall being enthralled with all kinds of advertisements in my pre-teen years. And I’m not talking about just the ones targeting kids, like cereals, fast food restaurants and toys; I was captivated by automobile, laundry detergent, soft drink, beer and paper towel commercials and even a few smartly constructed PSAs.

I believe what inspired me was that I was watching quick little skits: thirty and sixty second skits. It amazed and impressed me that a story could be effectively told in such a short time span. And executed in a variety of styles and creative deliveries!

Perhaps it’s no surprise I landed in the advertising industry, starting in media sales before landing my first agency position as a creative specialist. After stints at two other small full service shops I jumped to the client side presumably because it was more stable employment environment. I discovered my perception of corporate America was incorrect, but that’s a story for another post. I had many fantastic experiences working with some exceptionally creative people. Unfortunately, none involved writing or working in television advertising, but that’s okay.

To this day, my admiration for the thirty second vignette has not waned even a smidgen. When a commercial comes on, I am glued to the screen. Some of you may be thinking, “Well, if he loves TV commercials so much, why doesn’t he write a blog about them?” Astute question. I, in fact, do write a blog about advertising that is heavily skewed toward television. You can find it here.

While helping with packet pick-up today at the Ronald McDonald House-Austin for their spectacular Lights of Love 5K fundraiser tomorrow, someone referenced a Toyota television commercial that cracks me up every time I watch it.

It’s this kind of work that captivates me. I have so much respect and admiration for the creative people behind the best in television advertising. I’d relish the opportunity to work on a commercial of this magnitude. Maybe some day.

LiveJournal Tags: television advertising,tv commercial,copywriting,precision in communication,ghost writing,ad copy freelance,marketing communications consultant,social media writer,blogging