On Repetitive Writing, Steve Jobs, and Being Creative

One thing I have learned about copywriting is that it can be the most monotonous of jobs on the planet.  The title “Writer” sounds so exotic and creative but after a day or two of writing about the same content over and over and over again - forcing yourself to include important keywords, and stay within clearly define positioning parameters – you start to really understand John Steinbeck’s quote: ” Writers are a little below clowns and a little above trained seals.”

Even though it may feel like what I am doing is beneath data entry, the truth is that there is some room to be creative and there is a whole lot of room to be disciplined.  I mean seriously, how can you write the same message with the same data 15 different ways and not be creative?  So my occupation makes me think of Steve Jobs mainly because of this quote right here:  “That’s been one of my mantras — focus and simplicity. Simple can be harder than complex: You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it’s worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains.” Steve Jobs

Writing clearly and concisely is difficult.  Period.  And then replicating that copy exponentially is dancing around somewhere near genius.  A lot of what I learned about graphic design applies directly to the craft of copywriting as well.  “Simplicity is the highest form of sophistication.”  Leonardo Da Vinci

The key to producing useful content is the ability to say exactly what needs to be said in order to inform the reader enough to be persuaded into choosing your product or service.  And when replicating that message multiple times, it takes serious focus and versatility that may or may not come naturally.  I myself have to work at focus.  I take a heck of a lot of 15 minute breaks throughout the day to give my mind time to rest and refresh.  I find that those little “brain breaks” typically produce about one to two new paragraphs of copy each. 

None of this could happen without putting enough time into the very first step of copywriting:  research.  Study the positioning statements, learn the existing web site, check out the competition.  You have to get those key words and mandated points into your copy so you had better be able to spout them off in your sleep.  Once I’ve made a list of the key words and phrases plus the “big” ideas that I’m obliged to include in every piece of copy for a project, I start wracking my brain and using my thesaurus to write down alternate ways of saying the same thing.  I also create a formatted template to work from that includes the main ideas, bullets, and headlines.  These first steps to me are the most enjoyable as I am inputting new information into my mind and spinning words and phrases in different ways.  The actual rewriting itself tends to get very cumbersome.

So maybe I am no more than a trained seal but at least I am a well-trained one. 

The word for the day is focus. 

In order to improve my focus and increase my productivity, I will create a writing goal for each part of the day.  I will use incentives.  Write one more localized geo page and get a 15 minute break.  Write another and I get to check e-mail and Facebook.  You get the idea.  I’ll let you know how it goes.