Kevin Johnson
As far back as I can remember, I wanted to be a writer.
But before I became a copywriter, I wrote for myself.
A single draft of a story was “good enough.” Rewriting it would sacrifice its “purity.” If I shared a piece with someone who didn’t connect with it, they simply didn’t “get it.”
The first thing I learned as a copywriter? Great writing isn’t about self-expression. It’s about communication.
It’s about empathy.
It’s not about me. It’s about you. You the reader, the user, or the target audience. However you want to put it, great writing is about making a meaningful connection.
And making a connection takes time and dedication. It takes research, a solid strategy, and throwing ideas at the wall. It takes rewriting. And editing. Lots of editing.
A connection comes in many forms: surprising someone with a subject line, delighting them with a headline, or guiding them through a multi-step process. Whatever it is, if I write something that makes someone’s day a little brighter (or a little easier), I’ve done my job.
But to be a great copywriter, I believe you also have to love language itself.
It means being a voracious reader. It means loving the sexy stuff like idioms, neologisms, and manifestos, and also obsessing over the boring stuff like Oxford commas, title case vs. sentence case, and terms & conditions.
To quote Louise Banks from the movie Arrival, "Language is the foundation of civilization. It is the glue that holds a people together. It is the first weapon drawn in a conflict."
Is that a bit overdramatic? Maybe. But it’s what I live for.
Thanks for reading.
Want to chat? You can reach me at 773.263.3792
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