Love and the Proper Copywriter

One of the first things you learn as a copywriter is to know your prospect. You’re told to form a mental image of that person and speak directly to them in your copy. You strive for a tone of friendliness and trust. You want to come across as the guy next door or a trusted advisor. You have to do all this in a conversational tone on paper.

So what’s love got to do with it?

Think back to a time in your life when you first fell in love. You spent hours composing love letters in an effort to win the heart of your beloved.
Each little nuance in those letters was designed to move the object of your affection to the next step. Every word was designed to move the relationship to the next level.
When you write copy you have to put the same intensity into the words you choose. You have to “fall in love” with your prospect and your product. If you can do that, your copy will blow the doors off of the competition.

I wrote a fundraising letter for a charity in Colombia that is not well known in the U.S. The client gave me a lot of material to work with, including a picture of a little girl named Angelica. As I did the research, I began to fall in love with Angelica although I’d never met her. Her story became the basis for my letter.
This letter was mailed to a cold list and drew a healthy 3% response. The mailing agency has since given me a lot more fundraising work due to that effort. A copy of the letter can be seen on my website at http://www.louschuyler.com/ . It’s titled “Bad Men Killed My Daddy.”