What makes a great copywriter?

What actually makes a copywriter great?

A great copywriter thinks clearly before writing a single word. The best commercial writing looks effortless on the page because the hard work happened earlier, in the research, the analysis and the decision about what to say and what to leave out.

In the advertising and communications trade, the best campaigns grow from a big idea. The execution of that idea is the campaign, a blend of words and design, and the result is communication. Great communication depends on killer copywriting. Take the writing away and even a brilliant idea falls flat.

Good writing is creative thinking that follows a logical path and stays easy and interesting to follow. Sometimes the thinking has to carry other freight too, creating emotion, playing on a feeling, borrowing a topical issue. Whatever the subject, the words have to touch the reader, listener or viewer both factually and emotionally. Miss that and they stop reading, or worse, they read and do not believe you. That connection is what makes copy compelling, and compelling copy is what changes behaviour.

Is copywriting a science or an art?

It is both, and that is exactly why it is hard to do well. Copywriting is science, psychology and art in one job.

The science is understanding a product or service properly, then understanding the psychology of the audience, then assembling the two into a communication strategy. Only once that groundwork is done does the art take over, choosing interesting, compelling words and a call to action people will respond to. A great writer can arrange the same handful of words in several orders and, over time and with the right promotions mix, land the objective of the strategy. That is craft, not luck.

What does a great commercial writer do differently?

They put the audience at the center of every decision and they research relentlessly. Imagine you are the reader, sitting in their business, and try to hear what they are reading from their viewpoint. Make your words make sense to them. You cannot write creatively about something you do not understand. Or address to someone who you don’t know (or at the very least their persona). Here is the discipline behind the work.

• Understand the objective first. The objective ultimately defines the call to action, so we pin it down before anything else. Who are we talking to? What makes this product, service or business genuinely different for them? What do they believe right now?
• Become the audience. Live in their market, understand their needs and, crucially, work out what they want to hear rather than what we want to say. Those are rarely the same thing.
• Then create. Develop the concept, shape the message and write copy in language that resonates. Vary the tone and style to suit the audience and the medium, because a LinkedIn post and a technical brochure are not the same animal.
• Measure and adjust. Watch what the market thinks after launch and keep refining. The first draft is a start, not a finish.

There is a simple rule underneath all of it. Say what you need to say in as few simple words as it takes. Make the words count. Less is more, so choose the right ones and make the story matter.

Does it matter whether you write for the client or the agency?

Not to the quality, no. A professional copywriter is equally at home working directly with a client, collaborating with an agency creative director or art director, or sitting inside a larger team of analysts, developers and project managers. What stays constant is the standard. We set it high and we do not compromise on it.

Working direct with a client tends to mean deeper immersion in the business and the sector. Working with an agency means slotting into an existing creative vision and lifting it. Often that helps as you get to work with visual creative communicators. Both call for the same things: conceptual thinking, the range to handle long and short copy, a flexible attitude, the ability to build rapport quickly, a fast learning curve and, importantly, a sense of fun. This matters a lot. Writing that was a chore to produce usually reads like it.

That mix of analysis and creativity is the whole game. Making ideas relevant is what makes them matter, and making them matter is the difference between copy that gets skimmed and copy that gets results.

Ready to put a genuinely great writer on your next brief? Book a free strategy session with The Ideas Factory, or send us a brief and we will show you what a difference the right words make.

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Common questions

What is the difference between a copywriter and a content writer?

A copywriter is briefed to change behaviour, to make someone enquire, trust, try or buy. A content writer often focuses on informing or educating. The best commercial writers do both, but they never lose sight of the objective and the call to action.

Is B2B copywriting harder than B2C?

Not harder, different. B2B (business to business) copywriting tends to be factual, specific and educational because you are talking to decision makers in specialist sectors. B2C (business to consumer) leans more on metaphor, comparison and emotion. A versatile writer handles both.

How do you know if copy is any good before it runs?

Test it against the objective. Does it speak to the right audience, in their language, with a clear call to action, in as few words as needed? Good copy earns attention. Forgettable copy quietly fails.

Can you write for my sector if you are not an expert in it?

Yes, because the first job is research, not writing. A professional copywriter learns the subject fast, understands the audience and asks the questions the brief left out. That said, deep sector experience, such as in health or technology, is a real advantage.