Creative Copywriting?

There is a difference between creative writing and copywriting. It took me a while to come to terms with this but it's true, there is a difference. When I first started my home based business on the Internet I read a lot of advice about publishing articles and doing copywriting to advertise your website. There was always a distinction drawn between copywriting and creative writing. I did not understand this: surely copywriting is creative? Eventually the logic dawned on me: all copywriting is creative writing but not all creative writers can write decent ad copy. If you have never studied that particular branch of philosophy, it's like all roses are flowers but not all flowers are roses.

When I came to understand this difference, it explained for me the reason why I can write at length on any subject (stopping is the hard part) but tell me I need to write an advertisement and I go all bashful and tongue-tied. Give me a subject or, indeed, no subject at all -- just a blank page is sufficient to set me going and I'll hammer away at the keyboard until... Until when? Actually, I never really stop, just pause from time to time. Advertising copy is a different matter. I can sit for ages resisting the lure of the blank page if I know that what I need to do is copywriting to use for advertising.

This inability to write ad copy caused me problems because I wanted to advertise my home based business and various individual affiliate programmes. Plenty of pre-written ads come with most decent affiliate programmes and it is an easy matter to copy and paste these but I wanted to use fresh material instead of advertisements that everyone had seen a hundred times before. I blame my inability to write advertising copy on my upbringing: modesty and understatement were encouraged and boastfulness was the eleventh deadly sin. It seemed to me that writing advertisements for myself was akin to bragging.

Eventually, I overcame my distaste for self-proclamation and tried my hand at some copywriting. When I compared my efforts with the pre-written ads, it was obvious that something was absent. My advertisements were dull and flat, uninspired and uninspiring. Then I discovered the secret: copywriting is a craft not an art. It is has rules which need to be learnt and practised. A course of online copywriting lessons was not hard to come by. In fact, I ended up reading several such courses on the good old Information Highway.

Rules are fine, I have a good memory. Examples are not hard to come by and it was easy to make a collection of snippets from the copywriting courses. I learnt about the importance of writing an attention grabbing headline. I can manage that, there are plenty of examples to borrow. I got to grips with selecting buzz words such as amazing, customised, effortless, excellent and, the best one of all -- free. So far so good. Use sentence fragments -- not so keen on that idea but, when you think about it, that's how conversation goes in real life, so I'll do it. Sell the sizzle not the steak --yeah, I get it. Offer benefits, not features --yeah, yeah, I can do that.

Things started to look better and better as I became familiar with the rules and I began to daydream about becoming a copywriter (like in the film "The Guys" with that nice Anthony La Paglia). My daydream ended abruptly when I found there was one rule of English grammar I could not bring myself to break. The very thought made me shudder and give up any idea of a copywriting career. I can cope with all the fragments, buzzes and sizzles. But I could never begin a sentence with "and".

This is one of a series of articles published by the author, Elaine Currie, BA(Hons) at http://www.huntingvenus.com The author's monthly newsletter is available free from mailto:networkerhvm@ReportsNetwork.com You may republish this article only in its entirety and with all hyperlinks intact.

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Google News Updated : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:58:10 GMT Obama’s spending how much on ads? - Christian Science Monitor Times Online Obama’s spending how much on ads? Christian Science Monitor - 1 hour ago By Jimmy Orr | 10.15.08 It’s been a week of non-surprises thus far. Dallas Cowboys cornerback Adam “Pacman” Jones has been suspended - again. McCain calls for 'voter fraud' inquiry Los Angeles Times A stolen election? Washington Times New York Times - Talk Radio News Service - Boston Globe - Seattle Times all 859 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:03:33 GMT Migraine-hit Janet Jackson to resume US tour - Reuters CTV.ca Migraine-hit Janet Jackson to resume US tour Reuters - 55 minutes ago By Alex Dobuzinskis LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - A rare form of migraine forced Janet Jackson to cancel several dates on her Rock Witchu concert tour but she planned to return to the stage on Wednesday in Washington, DC, her manager said. Jackson was laid low by migraines BBC News Janet Jackson: She's Baaaaack* Washington Post Blogs The Associated Press - eFluxMedia - FOXNews - Access Hollywood all 846 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:02:47 GMT Hurricane Omar gains strength and nears Puerto Rico - Reuters BBC News Hurricane Omar gains strength and nears Puerto Rico Reuters - 1 hour ago By John Marino SAN JUAN (Reuters) - Hurricane Omar strengthened on Wednesday as it bore down on Puerto Rico and the small islands of the northeastern Caribbean, and could be a "major" storm by the time it reaches them, US forecasters said. Omar on the Move. Paloma Next? Washington Post Blogs Hurricane Omar heads for US Caribbean islands The Associated Press BBC News - United Press International - USA Today - NBC 29 News all 2,556 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:12:36 GMT It's officially over: Madonna and Guy Ritchie are divorcing - New York Daily News ABC News It's officially over: Madonna and Guy Ritchie are divorcing New York Daily News - 3 hours ago BY LEO STANDORA Madonna's marriage to Guy Ritchie really is kaput , her rep told the Daily News on Wednesday. "Madonna and Guy Ritchie have agreed to divorce after 7 l/2 years of marrige," Liz Rosenberg said in a statement. Video: AP Exclusive: Madonna, Guy Ritchie to Divorce AssociatedPress It's Official: Madonna And Guy Ritchie To Divorce MTV.com BBC News - The Associated Press - The Gossip Girls - Just Jared all 1,632 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 14:56:56 GMT AMR Plan to Buy 787s Will Update Fleet, Bolster Boeing Program - Bloomberg KING5.com AMR Plan to Buy 787s Will Update Fleet, Bolster Boeing Program Bloomberg - 34 minutes ago By Susanna Ray and Mary Schlangenstein Oct. 15 (Bloomberg) -- AMR Corp.'s American Airlines said it may buy as many as 100 Boeing Co. AMR overcomes fuel costs to squeeze out small profit MarketWatch AMR 3Q Net Down 74%, To Buy Up To 100 Dreamliners CNNMoney.com Bizjournals.com - International Herald Tribune - Reuters - Flight International all 186 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 17:24:10 GMT Polls: McCain forced to play defense in some red states - CNN Telegraph.co.uk Polls: McCain forced to play defense in some red states CNN - 1 hour ago HEMPSTEAD, New York -- New polls out Wednesday in some crucial states that could decide the race for the White House suggest Sen. John McCain is having to defend himself in areas that once were reliably Republican. Union sues over policy banning political material at polling places DetNews.com Pollsters say odds of McCain winning election 'incredibly remote' guardian.co.uk Boston Globe - New York Magazine - San Francisco Chronicle - AFP all 989 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:34:00 GMT Jerry Jones exposed as gutless by Goodell's ruling - FOXSports.com TSN.ca Jerry Jones exposed as gutless by Goodell's ruling FOXSports.com - 1 hour ago by Ian O'Connor Ian O'Connor is the author of the New York Times bestseller "Arnie & Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf's Greatest Rivalry," which Kirkus Reviews calls an "exemplary sports history. Video: Dallas' Adam Jones Suspended Again AssociatedPress Give Cowboys credit for not counting on Adam 'Pacman' Jones too much Dallas Morning News Los Angeles Times - New York Times - Fort Worth Star Telegram - Detroit Free Press all 1,080 news articles Publ.Date : Wed, 15 Oct 2008 16:52:30 GMT RSS For Web Pages More Web Site Traffic

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