Five Facts About Copywriting
Have you ever wondered what copywriting is all about? Or have you ever thought about becoming a copywriter? Well, these five facts will give you some more visibility around the secrets of copywriting.
When I was first hired as a full-time copywriter at Wayfair and told friends and family about my new job, they were all super happy for me. But that excitement always came with a raised eyebrow and the question: “So what do you do as a copywriter?”
“Well, I write copy!” But to be honest, I also wasn’t entirely sure what to expect from the role or what my daily routine would look like. Needless to say, I was happy to find out! It’s been three years since I started and I’m still enjoying every day of it. If you’re like me and fancy the idea of copywriting, these five facts might be worth a read.
1. You get to work with a lot of different people
One thing I learned quite quickly was how collaborative this job really is. As a copywriter at Wayfair you work with a lot of different teams and people. Collaboration and teamwork is key! On any given day a stakeholder might ask me to contribute to promotional copy of a specific campaign, our social media expert will approach looking for inspirational copy on seasonal Instagram posts, or the graphic designers message me wondering if there’s a shorter way to say “Schlafzimmer-Schnäppchen” (Bedroom Bargains).
Copywriting is such a diverse discipline that you become very flexible in your day to day work. The good thing about it? You quickly grow into a messaging expert in various departments!
2. You set the tone of voice
It’s good that you learn fast about messaging, because you’ll need it. Especially in an e-commerce company like Wayfair, copywriting is an essential part of brand identity. Without a traditional brick-and-mortar retail store where customers can come in and try out their new bed or sofa, Wayfair customers rely even more on what we offer them — visually and, of course, in our content. We need to choose our words wisely, because as copywriters, we become the salespeople who set the tone of voice for every single asset. Consequently, we need to know where we want to go as a brand and how we want to approach our customers on a broader scale. These goals play a major role when determining the tone of voice!
Of course design and colour schemes play an equally important role, but in different ways. Let’s use what we call “urgency messaging” as an example. There is a significant difference between an email that says “Last chance” and one that says “EVERYTHING MUST GO!” As copywriters, we juggle that difference. We have to be aware of how we want to come across, both short and long-term. When should we be straightforward and when can we be more inspirational? Knowing our channels and our audience while being aware of our tone is particularly important when writing copy, because the way we communicate with our customers influences their choices and their perception of us as a brand.
3. You’ll stay flexible — and never get bored!
Through three plus years of copywriting at Wayfair, I can definitely say that my job has never been boring! We embrace change as a company, and even within our creative team, things have continuously changed and developed over the past years. With them, so does our tone of voice and our messaging strategies. When I first started, brand awareness was still quite low in the German market especially, and a lot of our focus lay on “getting this brand out there” and “our customers need to know that we sell ‘Möbel, Deko & mehr’ (furniture, décor and more)”.
Today our needs and messaging strategy have definitely shifted. The more we grew as a company and the more our European brand awareness increased, the more channels and projects came to life. With these came, of course, more and different copy needs. Today we work in new channels, like TV and radio adverts, Exclusive Brands or PR, to name just a few. As a copywriter, you learn not only to adapt to change and new disciplines but also to stay flexible. And what can I say? It’s one of the reasons why I’m still here!
4. Copy is never “done”
The fun thing about language (as well as business and business objectives!) is that things are always changing and evolving. What might have performed well last year or the year before won’t necessarily work today.
But why is that? Well, there are many reasons. For a start, it’s not just a company that’s growing and evolving over time, but customers as well, along with their needs and behaviours. As a copywriter you need to be able to react to those changes, expand your skill set and come up with new ideas and strategies.
Another reason might be customer fatigue. If you keep saying the same things over and over again, people will lose interest sooner or later. Just imagine getting an endless stream of emails repeating “Last chance!” “Last chance!” “Last chance!” Changing up your messaging is mandatory.
But wider events in the world also affect our communication style. 2020 is an obvious example: the pandemic has challenged all of us globally. As copywriters, we needed to adjust our tone of voice to avoid sounding “tone-deaf” or acting insensitively.
These are just a few examples of why copy is never complete or “done” — and I think it shows how diverse and flexible we need to be in our role as copywriters.
5. It’s fun!
Last but not least: Copywriting is fun — it’s as simple as that. Strategising how to approach our customers in different ways and through different channels, brainstorming messaging strategies, campaign concepts or a new TV script is not only super creative but also super engaging. Sooner or later, you find yourself hooked.
Long story short: Copywriting involves flexibility, collaboration and a great deal of creativity. You work in partnership with lots of different colleagues and expand your skills on multiple levels. And because every day looks different, I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.
