When we started Moment our goal as an agency was simple – be more honest, provide more value. One of the ways we are able to do that is by trimming fat. Not every project needs four levels of project management, not every project needs a 3D render artist, not every project needs a 20-year strategy veteran, and not every project requires a Shakespearean copywriter. However, every project does require sound strategy and great copy – and thus the dilemma.
The bigger question at stake here is how do we strike a balance between maximizing budget and overspending on unnecessary agency pawns. The answer is simple - we train. We don’t just hire creatives – we hire well-rounded, artistic visionaries: rooted in design, blessed with more. We don’t just hire producers – we hire problem solvers and doers: quick on their feet, sound in reason.
With that in mind, here is strategy and copy 101: a jack-of-all-trades course by Moment with the intent of providing the very best value for our clients and the most bang for their buck.
So how does bad copy kill you? Well, made you look – you’re now 3 paragraphs into an article whose only hook was “Bad copy will kill you.” But you just had to know more, so on we go. The importance of an opening statement, a topic sentence, or a headline cannot be understated. This is what ropes you in and keeps you coming back for more. Here we stoke curiosity, convey benefit, incite fear, or provide news. This is where we grab your attention and if we don’t do it right – the rest doesn’t matter because you’re already gone.
Both strategy and copy are built on the five W’s: what, why, where, when, and who. These questions must be answered for both strategy and copy to make sense. If the headline serves to pull us in, the rest of our copy serves to answer those questions thoroughly. Here is where we deliver on the promise of our headline – we keep you reading, we build upon what you’ve already read, and we provide the answers to your burning questions. You see without good copy, you have no strategy – they go hand in hand. The cardinal sin of both copy and strategy: boredom.
Don’t lose your audience – the number one thing both sound strategy and good copy will help you do is keep them. Strategy is the logic used create value, while copy is that value conveyed to the consumer. If we only understand who we are talking to and why we are talking to them – then where we talk to them, what we talk to them about, and when we talk to them should follow quite easily. Strategy like copy…like an experience, needs to pull us in – and once we’re pulled, influence is possible. Good copy lets you live and bad copy will kill you.