My copywriting process

First thing I’d say, I’m a bit shy of ‘process’. You know, the rigid, templated, formulaic approach to coming up with ideas or writing copy.

“But surely, Jonathan, there has to be a way you get from A to B when you tackle a client brief.”

Good point, imaginary friend.

No doubt there is a process/journey, but it has to be flexible. Every client, every project, every day is different. But, I won’t leave you hanging there. What I’ll do is take you through a couple of past projects to see how A to B (or A to Z to X to Y) different projects can be, and where the common threads lie.

To be honest, I do all of this on auto. It’s a mix of intuition and deep-rooted practice from a squillion years in the business. And it keeps morphing as I tweak and refine and fiddle. So, part of me is fascinated to look back and dissect – maybe I’m missing a trick. Maybe there’s a better way I’ve not sussed out yet.

1: Positioning and tone of voice for a garden decking brand.

Quick background bit.

July 2020, an existing client passed my details on to a chap who had a few contacts that might need my services. He put me in touch with one of them (a designer of funky bike helmets), who I worked with on naming, positioning and brand language. It all went a treat.

Then he asked me to do some work for his own company – a PVC-U building products business, based in Blackpool. They had a new garden decking product that needed marketing to the trade. It was a really competitive market, so the feeling was it would work better as a ‘brand’, rather than a commodity.

Step 1: We had a chat about the basics of the brief.

Step 2: I asked for whatever background they could give me (links, facts, brochures…).

Step 3: I put my proposal in for brand positioning, top line tone of voice, naming, strapline and boilerplate narrative (different versions for use online, on-pack and at point-of-sale).

Step 4: I got the go ahead and a 50% deposit.

Step 5: I sent a questionnaire for the client to chew on. Here’s two sample questions:

• What is the most important, single-minded piece of information you need to implant in a customer’s mind? Is this a hard fact? Is there evidence to back it up?

• What makes your decking product different to/better than your competitors? Does it come with any guarantees?

Etc. etc. etc.

Step 6: I used the client’s answers as a starting point, then did my own digging into the competition and the marketplace. Then about two weeks later I presented my findings and thoughts, plus a whole bunch of potential positioning platforms, brand names and straplines for discussion.

Here’s a taster of the intro strategy pages:

And here’s a tease of the creative part of what was a 46-page presentation:

Step 7: We bumped heads again. Client bought the brand name, ‘Celdex’ (I’d presented 14, but this was my recommendation). We had a wrangle over straplines, but I fought my corner – ‘Deck it. Forget it.’ Was an absolute 4-word killer. Client agreed. So we had consensus on umbrella positioning, a brand name, tone of voice and strapline, and all was good in the world.

Step 8: I worked on a very simple positioning document that wrapped up all we’d agreed and added three versions of their brand ‘pitch’.

Here’s a sample (this presentation was a lot snappier, at just 12 pages):

Step 9: No changes. Happy client. Balance invoice paid. Google review landed – ‘Jonathan helped us at the very beginning of our process by pulling together our brief, asking searching questions and coming up with a brand position, identity, which will underpin everything we do going forward. A pleasure to work with.’

The whole process had taken 5 months including an extended client holiday in the middle of it all. Longer than most projects, but not the longest by any means.

Step 10 (Is it a step? Probably not.): My client recommended me to another and the world turned again.

2. Brand language for an LA-based community non-profit.

This is a very different saucepan of sprats. I was brought in a lot further down the line, by a design agency who were already working with the brand.

But let’s see how that affected the hoops we had to jump through.

Step 1: A graphic designer, who I’d connected with on LinkedIn, dropped me a DM to say that an agency he knew were looking for a Copywriter with brand narrative and non-profit experience. I got in touch and we hit it off.

Step 2: They’d already, ‘…done the brand workshops, got outlines for the generic stuff like Mission, Vision, Why We Exist etc. and pulled two case studies together…’. Now they wanted me to knock it all into shape, as, ‘…at the moment their messaging is very confusing.’ So they shared everything they had with me – notes from a workshop they’d done together, existing copy and an outline brief.

Step 3: We had a zoom call to chat it all through, and make sure I had everything I needed.

Step 4: Official go-ahead and deposit paid.

Step 5: Went back with some questions.

Step 6: Ten days after our first chat, I sent a Word doc with what I believed they needed. Here’s a few sample bits:

What we do

• Started in 2012 by Ken Bright, open. is a grassroots, non-profit movement for positive change.

• open. works with other non-profit organizations that inspire us, and the communities they support. This could be in the arts, sports, education, outdoor pursuits… wherever people need a helping hand to be their best.

• Our core purpose is to reach out; spreading positivity and inspiring creativity. We team up with ordinary people who have the yearning to be extraordinary.

• Everything we do has an impact – mentoring, training, financial support, or simply offering a shoulder to lean on. We amplify the voices of our partners and fire the imaginations of their people.

• open. raises funds by selling branded apparel and merchandise – cool designs that people are proud to wear or carry. The open. logo says, “I believe in social justice, freedom of expression and the power of creativity”.

• We are young, inclusive and determined to be the change that we want to see in the world.

• We live the values that underpin our brand.

• We are open.

(I questioned the logic of using the brand name in copy the same way as it appeared in the logo. I argued that, ‘Philosophically, the full point doesn’t help with the concept of being ‘open’ and when it comes to structuring sentences, it’s a bit of a grammatical nightmare.’ But they wouldn’t budge.)

– – –

Our Values

• Optimistic
Where there’s a will, there’s a way. When others say “maybe”, we say “yes”. If it’s worthwhile, we’ll find a way of making it happen. If that means we have to jump higher or run faster, we’ll bring it.

• Pragmatic
Shaping the future isn’t a case of making a wish and hoping for the best. We’re go-getters and go-doers. We think, we plan and we achieve. We offer practical help that gets results.

• Energetic
We get a buzz out of what we do and we take that energy with us wherever we go. If your cause is bringing about positive change, we’ll be there by your side, encouraging you and driving you on.

• Natural
No airs, no graces. What you see is what you get. We’re everyday, ordinary people just doing our thing. But our thing has a purpose – to help others do their thing.

These are our values. This is what it means to be open.

We’re Optimistic, Pragmatic, Energetic, Natural people.

– – –

Our Manifesto

Our world is changing; how it changes is up to all of us. We see the way it is right now as a blank canvas, and we can paint any picture we want. Our role is to spread this positivity, so that we can all create something beautiful together.

What we stand for and how we operate is right there in our name. We are open. Open to original ideas. Open to new possibilities. Open to whatever we can do to make our world a better place.

We’re just ordinary people trying to do something positive. Bringing our energy and are bighearted natural selves together, to unite and work as one. Being the change we want to see in the world.

Want to join us? Our door is always open.

– – –

Step 7: My client (the Creative Director at the agency) was happy. They had to put my words into a bigger presentation and get it over to their client.

Step 8: All I had to do now was wait, make a wish, then open an email, which read, ‘They loved it. Nailed it! Great work – made so much sense when we were reading it out to them.’

Step 9: Zero changes. All done and dusted in two weeks. And then there were a further six projects before the Creative Director left to do his own thing (remember kids, never rest on your laurels). Before he disappeared, I managed to get a testimonial – ‘Great, skilful work. He’s got my highest recommendation.’

Two very different projects. But, what about the process? Anything hanging the two together? Or is my whole life just random?

The copywriting process post-rationalisation bit

Well, the business end of it all looks pretty similar:

– Meet and greet, and suss each other out.
– Get the top-level info, including project scope.
– Put a time and price to it. And if they’re happy, seal it with a deposit.
– Ask more questions. Get the brief nailed tight.
– Explore (many, many) options and present something I’m happy with.
– Sign off (or tweaks), and Nobby’s your Nephew.

Simple.

That’s the bit the client sees, anyway.

What they don’t see is the early mornings, the late nights, the scribbled nonsense that ends up in the bin, the self-doubt, the disturbed sleep and versions 1, 2, 3, 4…15 before the final doc’s sent. That bit is whatever it needs to be. It may go like clockwork, or it could be an absolute mess of dead ends and diversions.

But, if I were to try and tie the actual creative process down, it would mostly go something like this:

– Make sure I’ve got the facts straight.
– Pull the brief to pieces.
– Read between the lines.
– Put a raft of ideas down in a notebook.
– Go back to the brief.
– Go back to my notes and push harder to see what I’ve missed.
– Step away from it all.
– Hack, sift, fiddle.
– Get notebook scribbles and voice notes into Word, on the laptop.
– Juggle ideas into some kind of logical structure.
– Hack, sift, fiddle some more.
– Park it and go do something completely different.
– Organise, rationalise, tweak, splice, blend and fanny about.
– Keep going until all the light bulbs come on.
– Send and pray.

Is it a process? I guess it must be, ‘cos it works. But there’s definitely no template to follow, no paint-by-numbers secret formula. And if there was, I’m sure the end result wouldn’t be half as much cop.

Fancy letting me loose with my process on your brief? You know where to find me.

Love and patience.

Jonathan x

Jonathan Wilcock (that’s me) is a Senior Freelance Copywriter.
You can drop me a line here, or email jonathan@sowhatif.co.uk