Copy at the crossroads
As we were preparing to launch Silbo, Miriam and I (Orit) took a deep, confusing dive into all the copywriting out there in the big wide world, asking ourselves what we wanted to offer and where we want to be positioned.
We discovered 3 distinct schools, with virtually zero overlap.
1. CONVERSION COPYWRITING
Goal: Drive the audience to take action or progress down the sales funnel
Sometimes sounds like: "Tired of X? Introducing Y, the offer that will change your life forever and ever. All you need to do is leave all your personal details here."
2. BRAND COPYWRITING
Goal: Express the brand verbally and create a memorable experience
Sometimes sounds like: "We are an elite and ingenious agency founded on conscious consumerism and saving the frogs."
3. CREATIVE COPYWRITING
Goal: Flex the brand's "wow" muscles and engage the audience in a fresh way
Sometimes sounds like: "We are. Who we are. Who we are." [huh?]
While there are huge markets for all 3, no one seemed to be offering them together.
We heard from big-name conversion copywriters who had no idea where they'd begin with if asked to create a brand-experience-driven deliverable with no push to action.
We heard from expert brand copywriters who had not the faintest idea how to optimize a landing page or write strategically for a sales funnel.
And we found that most creative copywriters limit their work to advertising.
Why in the world was no one putting them together?
After all, each has a downside.
Conversion copy alone can feel salesy and sleazy, like a pushy telemarketer hounding you to agree to a home check of your windows and doors.
Brand copy alone can feel pointless and arrogant, like a strutting peacock.
Creative copy alone can feel hypothetical and irrelevant, like a yoga instructor expounding on the meaning of life when you ask how to position your feet.
To get the best copy, you need all 3 at your disposal, applied with care on a case by case basis.
And the more frameworks you're working with, the richer your end product will be.
That's how we've structured Silbo: at the nexus of BRANDING, CONVERSION, and CREATIVE copy.
