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Why I call myself a brand warrior

27/03/2013 by Trish Arnott

How a brand warrior feels

How a brand warrior feels

Be grateful I’m not calling myself a ‘brand guru’. I’m not, and don’t profess to be.    However, I wear my ‘brand warrior’ hat with pride.

Where did this brand thing start?

In the early days of proofreading, my biggest client was Microsoft. The marketing manager hired me to get consistency across all channels: print advertising, digital, sales brochures, case studies, white papers and anything else they had going. Much of the copy came straight from the USA and part of my job was to make it more Australian in tone and spelling.

My second-biggest client was Adobe (mainly digital, via MercerBell) and then came American Express (sales letters, print advertising and in-house training manuals), MasterCard (MercerBell again) and Telstra, to name a few.

All of the above brands are rigorous about protecting their trademark, especially on their products. I spent time getting to know the brands and trademarks as soon as I started working on their product or service.

So where does ‘brand warrior’ come into the picture?
I’ve been working on the Microsoft brand (not with the same comprehensive brief as when I started) for longer than have most of the product managers. If there’s a dispute about a trademark use, I’m often the go-to person.Although I don’t work for some of the brands any more, I am still working on their behalf. If I’m proofing, for example, a piece of copy for a client and the copy mentions ‘an excel spreadsheet’, I’ll change it to the correct “Microsoft® Office Excel® spreadsheet’. Same goes for ‘your flash file’. That gets upgraded to ‘Adobe® Flash® file’.

Why bother?
By doing this, I’m not only helping clients and former clients protect their brands, but also, I’m making sure that my current client doesn’t get reprimanded for incorrect use of a product or brand name. I don’t get paid by Microsoft or Adobe but, in my mind, all my clients are once and future clients so I need them to be successful. Part of that is helping them to protect their brand, product or service.

My diligence also shows my current client that I’m serious about brand values and they can trust me with their own brand.

How do you manage brands? Are you still loyal to past clients? I’d love to hear how you manage.

If you’d like me to make sure that your brand is presented in the way it’s supposed to be, please contact me.

Posted in Copywriting, Proofing | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Why a good copywriting brief is vital

06/03/2013 by Trish Arnott

A creative brief gives you insight into your client's needs and desires

A creative brief gives you insight into your client’s needs and desires

If you don’t have a good creative brief to work from and inspire you, you’ll struggle to satisfy your client and fail to deliver what they want and need.

For those who follow this blog, you’ll know that I’m now doing more copywriting than proofreading. It isn’t a hard transition; I love both proofreading and writing copy. However, my biggest help has been Belinda Weaver of Copywrite Matters.

Belinda gives me overflow copywriting work and writes an awesome creative brief. She spends time getting to know the client, the business and the business environment so we don’t have any surprises down the track.

Once I’ve read through one of her works of art, I’m fully prepared and can pretty much sit down and start writing. Of course, I do my own research to make sure I’m not going to parrot someone else’s words, but the brief is enough. The brief gives me the information I need, but also, it inspires me.

This means that I write copy that the client wants and expects, and we tick all the SEO and marketing boxes. The tone of voice is right for the client…and we get great testimonials.

No creative copywriting brief
Last year, I had a client – a smallish graphic design studio – who’d hired me to write some marketing collateral for their client, Brand X. I’d met the ‘marketing’ people from Brand X and, well, they didn’t really have a clue. Business plan? “Make more money, ha ha!” Marketing plan? Any indication that they were aware of the best times to target new business? Nothing.

I asked the studio people to ask their client to fill out my creative brief and it duly came back, sparsely populated. Well, you work with what you’ve got. I wrote copy that addressed the brief and sent it off. A few days later, the studio got back to me.

Studio: “They hated the copy. They said you should have known it wasn’t what they wanted.”
Me: “The copy addressed the brief.”
Studio: “I know, but we didn’t get them to fill it out. They were too busy so we did it.”

Great. My reputation with Brand X is in tatters and my primary client isn’t happy because their client isn’t. I didn’t get a chance to rewrite the copy and didn’t get paid for the work I’d done*.

Stop! Unless you have a great copywriting brief
Now I won’t go ahead with a project unless I have a comprehensive copywriting brief, signed off by the end client. The creative brief is your opportunity to build a relationship with a client, to learn a bit more about how they think and what their real goals are – overall, and for a particular project. It not only helps me to fulfil their desires, but also, it weeds out the undesirables.

Thanks to some great copywriting briefs, I’ve worked on jobs that were a doddle – Classic Blinds and Shutters, Groundtruth, Matryx Solutions in Security, Overflow Café and Bar, Clancy’s and Maroba Caring Communities, to name a few. They’re all happy clients, all due to Belinda’s professional approach from the start and the attendant good client-supplier relationships.

How do you manage the briefing process? Any horror stories? Let me know.

* I’d done work for this client before and satisfied their needs and goals…because I had good creative copywriting briefs.

Posted in Copywriting, Tone of voice | Tagged , , , , | 1 Comment »

17 top tricky words to spell

20/02/2013 by Trish Arnott

As a copywriter, proofreader and editor, I tend to have a dictionary by my side when I’m writing or doing other work for clients. I’m not infallible and there are some words in our English language that can trip you up often. Here’s my list:

Double letters

Accommodation: How many times do we see ‘accomodation’? Makes my blood run cold.
Millennium: ‘ll’ AND ‘nn’
Personnel: ‘nn’

S, not c

Consensus: Usually, I have to correct this after I’ve typed ‘concensus’. I’m getting better…
Supersede: As above

How you spell it, not how you say it.

Barbecue: Not barbeque, despite ‘Barbeques Galore’
Repertoire: Not ‘repetoire’
Separate: Not ‘seperate’
Subpoena: Try filling in a crossword clue with ‘supoena’ and you’ll never forget this one.

Weird and wonderful

Desiccate: Not ‘dessicate’, although we so want to use the ‘ss’.
Gauge
Indict
Impugn
Limousine: Not, as I see often, ‘limuosine’
Pronunciation: Not ‘pronounciation’
Memento: ‘Momento’ is Italian, it means something different – and we’re writing in English.
Weird: If you write ‘wierd’, it will look weird.

What words are on your watch list?

Posted in Copywriting, Editing, Proofing | Tagged , | Leave a Comment »

Copywriting that caters to men

11/02/2013 by Trish Arnott

Boxing gloves_

Make sure your copywriting packs a punch

Cheat words to make your copy more muscular
You know the client: he’s an entrepreneur, in his early 30s, and has a dream. He wants website or brochure copy that appeals (mainly) to blokes.

You write beautiful copy that addresses the brief but your writing is elegant and restrained or is peppy but lacks punch. Your client wants more.

So how do you make your copywriting more attractive to blokes?

You cheat…by using words or phrases that sound and look more aggressive. Write your copy as usual, then replace sibilant sounds with stronger words.

Here are some words and phrases that will make sure your copywriting belts out the message and caters to men.

Robust: Guys like ‘strong’; they understand that. ‘Robust’ packs more of a punch.
Tough: You have to spit this word. It sounds like what it is: tough.
Integrated: Good hard consonants, albeit with a soft start.
Packs a punch: Apart from the inherent aggression in this phrase, the sounds are what we call ‘plosive’ so they sound more aggressive.
Takes the cake.
Bucks the trend.
Package. Note the combination of plosive ‘p’ and hard consonants in ‘c’ and ‘k’.
Attractive (rather than ‘appealing’).
Powerful. Another plosive in the ‘p’ so not only is this word powerful in itself, but also, it sounds powerful.
Beats the competition (over ‘wins the race’, for example); good plosive and hard consonant in ‘beat’ plus two hard consonants and a plosive in ‘competition’.
Partner (not ‘associate’ with all its sibilants).
Process (rather than ‘assemble’).
Daily (rather than ‘everyday’).

Other copywriting stand-by words include clever, deadline, deal, deep, dump, duty, deadlock, dedicated, good, got, great, hardy, helpful, item, muscular, peak, portal and top.

The above list isn’t comprehensive and there’s a bit more to catering to men than just butching up your copy – but I’m sure you’ve got the idea. (For those of you with an interest in etymology, you’ll have noticed that I use more gutsy Anglo-Saxon words than those of French derivation.)

When I write copy, my words are intentional and I get upset if someone changes them. I’m not alone: read what David Ogilvy wrote to a client back in 1955 about his copywriting practices.

What words would you add to the list?

Posted in Copywriting | Tagged , , | 2 Comments »

How I got my first proofreading and editing job

30/01/2013 by Trish Arnott

The year was 1994 and it was a Saturday morning. I was happily reading the weekend papers and had skipped to the weekend magazine. A major airline had a double-page spread that read:

Left-hand page: [airline] flies to [xx] destintions in [xx] countries. (26 pt)

Right-hand page: [Country’s] favourite airline. (110 pt)

I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I had a friend who worked on that particular account.

The following Monday, I called him to confirm that the agency still had the airline account.
Him: “Yes, we do.”
Me: “Maybe not for much longer. Have you seen the weekend magazine ad?”

My friend said that the art director had come to him about this ad, saying it didn’t look right. He saw immediately that the tag line was missing the possessive apostrophe…but everyone, including the client, missed the ‘a’ in ‘destinations’.

On the strength of that pick-up, I got an introduction to the head of direct marketing. (I wrote letters…this is back in the days before email…to all the senior agency people who worked on that account but only the DM manager got in touch.)

We decided that, as I didn’t have formal experience, the agency would give me a trial. My first job was to proof all three frequent flyer brochures, check for typos and that we had all our Bronze, Silver and Gold references in the right brochure. Luckily for me, there were several errors so the art director and the copywriter understood that I could be useful and not a threat.

The rest, as they say, is history. I can trace every job I’ve ever had to that first engagement. As people changed agencies, or formed their own, they’d take me along. The DM manager left to form his own agency, as did the art director. Those agencies win awards regularly and I still work for them both occasionally.

What happened to the airline account and the agency? Well, not too long afterwards, the agency lost the account, along with three other major accounts, and then imploded. It was taken over by an international agency and limps along. Today I checked their website, only to see “gloriously purile” as a tag line for one client. Another ad is a direct copy of an ad created for a similar client by the agency for which I worked back in the 1980s.

A good proofreader does so much more than pick up a typo or three. As a proofreader, I regard myself more as a quality controller. When I proofread a document, I work with my editor hat on as well. Not only do I look for the obvious, but also, I check all the links, check spellings of personal and company names and make sure that everything makes sense. With my brand warrior hat, I make sure we use the appropriate trademarks (particularly important for major brands such as Microsoft, MasterCard and Adobe, all of whom I’ve worked for in the past). With my copywriting hat on, I optimise copy for search engines and offer alternative copy if I think it’s warranted.

The arrogance of the agency with the airline account led to their downfall. I’m not saying I could have stopped the rot, just that the lack of interest in my services was indicative of their lack of understanding of quality control.

How did you get your first proofreading or editing job? Do you still have relationships with colleagues from back then?

Posted in Copywriting, Editing, Proofing | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments »

Top 9 mixed-up word sets for January

14/01/2013 by Trish Arnott

Your trusty proofreader is still in holiday mode but I thought I’d share some mixed-up sets of words that you may hear, or see, often.

  1. In the throws [throes]: This was in a major newspaper. I guess they can’t afford editors any more.
  2. Please be more pacific [specific]: This is a classic but I don’t see it very often in copy. You’re more likely to hear it.
  3. Predominately [predominantly]: This is another one that pays the mortgage.
  4. Tenents [tenets]: This one has surfaced a few times recently. I can only assume that the writer learned the word aurally, not visually…and has bad hearing.
  5. Brought/bought: It surprises me still when I read, for example, ‘She bought her friend to the party’ or ‘I brought a new folder yesterday’.
  6. Horde/hoard: It can be quite funny when these get mixed up.
  7. Foregone/forgone: Oldies but goodies. I admit that I have to stop and think most times I come across these. My little mantra is: ‘Fore is before.’
  8. Slither/sliver: I can’t count how many times I hear people say, for example: “I’ll just have a tiny slither of cake.” Snakes slither; what they want is a sliver.
  9. Miniscule [minuscule]: I understand how this error happens. Small = ‘mini’. However, the word derives from the Latin, ‘minus’, or less, rather than from ‘minimum’ meaning smallest or least.

And just for fun: found by the eagle-eyed Aysha, who should be doing my job but I’m pretty sure hers pays better.

Proofreader news.com.au

Proofreader needed: Gatecash?

I was hoping to get to 10 sets of mixed up words but I can’t think of any others. Can you? Let me know and I can get to double digits.

Posted in Proofing | Tagged , , , | 6 Comments »

Corporate policy…or marketing document?

09/01/2013 by Trish Arnott

I’m reviewing an internal policy document for a major organisation. Sure, I could simply change the language and spice it up a bit* but I’d like to use it as a marketing opportunity.

The policy is the usual legalese with lots of acronyms and passive language. Here’s a taste:

“It is the policy of XYZ organisation that all XYZAUs should ensure that laptops, computers, networks…”

and my eyes glazed over.

That wouldn’t be such a problem if the intention were that no one reads it.

However, the reality is quite different.

This policy is important, both for the organisation and the employees. It sets out employee obligations and rights (or lack thereof) so it’s critical for both parties that this policy is easily understandable. Employees need to understand what they need to do to comply with the policy and to avoid disciplinary action. The organisation needs to know that its employees have read and understood the policy to avoid security breaches and further repercussions.

I’ve reviewed the document and written a snappy summary, using active language and examples of what happens when you do this or that. My aim is to draw readers into the rest of the document.

Now, that’s pretty much my goal when I’m writing any marketing material. We need our casual readers to delve deeper because they’re interested.

My thoughts right now are that I should treat the readers (employees) as potential clients and put a call to action on every page. We can enhance the brand message and get engagement at the same time.

For this particular (ICT security policy) document, I’m thinking of something similar to:

“We rely on you and all users of the [organisation] network and devices to help maintain security, protect information and to use our systems and devices honestly and fairly…

Find out more about how you can help.” <Link to examples of best practice, and behaviour that gums up the works>

I’d love to be able to incorporate a little multiple-choice quiz (and award redeemable points) but that’s probably taking things a bit too far. Still, if I can walk my readers through the policy feeling that they’ve contributed and not wasted their time, then I’ll be delighted.

What are your thoughts?

Do you believe that all policy documents could be treated as marketing opportunities?

Have you managed to engage employees long enough to wade through compulsory policy reading? Let me know.

* I can do it. I know I can.

Posted in Copywriting | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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