reynoldswriting.com Blog

Peter Bowerman is one of the most visible and successful copywriters in the U.S., perhaps best known in the mainstream as the author of the Well-Fed Writer books on how to build a freelance copywriting career. One of his recent blog posts addresses a concern that all writers…I mean, all creative artists…I mean, all human beings have to face. And that’s a lack of confidence.

Bowerman notes that no how-to copywriting book can truly prepare a fledgling freelance copywriter for taking the big leap and and really doing it for a living. It’s like standing at the base of Mount Everest, climbing gear in hand, and looking up at the cloud-covered peak as a ticker-tape of uncomfortable questions runs through your mind. Can I do this? What if I take the wrong step? What if the wind picks up? What if I get stuck at the halfway point?

Heck, I still have the occasional Everest Day myself, even after 14 years in the business. You never grow fully immune to them. But you do learn to trust your skills and instincts — and that’s enough to keep your feet moving up that mountain slope.

If we learn by doing, then we learn confidence by doing many times. For instance, what’s the most common fear out there? It’s public speaking. (Or maybe it’s death; I get those two confused a lot.) Most people dread public speaking, and some have an absolute terror of facing an audience.

What do these people do cure their phobia? They face audiences, and they talk. Groups like Toastmasters provide a safe, supportive environment for people to practice their public speaking skills, giving speech after speech until they know they’ve got what it takes. They may never love it — but they know they can do it.

Writing is like that. When we start out, we’re terrified of the blank page because it offers no safety net, no guidelines. What if we write badly? What if we write nothing? What if we miss the deadline? What if what if what if?

Ray Bradbury suggested that writers start their careers by churning out thousands of words a day, just to shake out the bugs of inexperience as mercifully quickly as possible. In his Zen in the Art of Writing he says: “There is no failure unless one stops. Not to work is to cease, tighten up, become nervous, and therefore destructive of the creative process.”

So there’s only one way to gain confidence as a writer. Write. A lot. Write until it becomes second nature. Most importantly, finish what you start. Complete enough writing jobs and over time those nagging doubts will lose some of their power over you. You’ve done it before. You’ll do it this time.

Hey, it’s just a big hill with snow on it, right?

For more about me, my writing services and current package deals, check out my website at www.reynoldswriting.com.

Akiro Kurosawa’s epic 1985 film Ran recasts Shakespeare’s immortal King Lear as a family struggle that leads to war in the days of feudal Japan. Both masterpieces, Kurosawa’s and Shakespeare’s, shed light on our capacity for self-delusion — a capacity not unnoticed by the marketing world.

In the film, Hidetora, aging warlord and patriarch of the Ichimonji family, has decided to step down and bequeath control of the Stooges clan to his eldest son, Taro, counting on the two younger brothers, Jiro and Saburo, to support Taro as the new ruler. Taro accepts the title with false modesty, while Jiro promises to go along in return for his own place in the pecking order. Saburo, however, risks his father’s wrath by denouncing the decision as unwise. Hidetora promtly banishes him, only to watch the two “obedient” brothers tear the kingdom to shreds as they wage war against each other. Hidetora even finds himself banished by order of the new man in charge, Taro, and shunned by Jiro for the sake of political expediency.

Well, as those of you who know your Shakespeare would expect, Hidetora sees the error of his ways and finally reconciles with his youngest, still-faithful son. Drama critics will see Hidetora/Lear as a victim of his own vanity. Marketing professionals will recognize him as a guy who heard what he wanted to hear — instead of the truth.

How many times have we fallen for a too-good-to-be-true description of products and services, only to discover that the dazzling ads either omitted the downside of the proposition or couched it in microscopic “fine print?” I once helped write and produce a cell phone commercial in which the vendor required about a zillion words of legal boiler plate underneath the beauty shot of the phone. By the time we’d wedged all the factual information into the frame, it was so unreadably tiny it resembled a gray haze rather than text. Nobody could possibly bother with all that stuff — and anyway, just look at this beautful phone! Sure, the “special value” requires a two-year contract, full data plan, first-born child, et cetera. Anyway, just look at this beautful phone!…

Want to truly stand out? Tell the truth, if you dare. Be the company that says, “Look, we don’t promise you the moon and the stars. But here’s what we do give you, and we stand behind it.” Be the Anti-hype. Prospects who respond to straight shooting will reject Brand X and turn to you. Prospects who fell for the Brand X glitz and got burned will also turn to you. And your reputation will soar along with your profits.

We foolish humans sometimes have a tendency to shoot the messenger, even when deep down we really do want to hear the truth. But if you’re willing to look down the barrel of that gun without flinching, you may be the one judged worthy before the final credits roll.

For more about me, my writing services and current package deals, check out my website at www.reynoldswriting.com.

Repo Man, the amusing story of a kid named Otto’s accidental entry into the bizarre world of car repossession, has earned its status as a cult classic, in part from its refusal to follow the standard connect-the-dots formula of a Hollywood comedy. It stands out by virtue of its sheer originality — while making its own sharp comment on the lack of originality in our society.

One of the funnier running gags in the movie involves the generic branding on every single consumer product seen on store shelves or kitchen countertops. Beer cans sport plain white labels with the word “BEER.” A liquor store shootout destroys several bottles labeled “LONDON DRY GIN.” One moment singled out in Roger Ebert’s review of the film shows Otto entering his kitchen and opening the fridge door to reveal a cluster of generic goods, then digging into a can marked “FOOD – MEAT FLAVORED.”

Do you buy generic products? I do, when I see no meaningful difference in product quality. A company that doesn’t at least imply some particular feature or advantage will lose out to the generic with the lowest price.

What kind of brand identity scores points? Any kind that speaks to your audience. To many people, for instance, a paper towel is a paper towel. But some brands absorb more fluid, others look prettier, and still others make responsible use of recycled paper. Any of these sales points could very well be the deal-breaker for certain consumers. The brands that make these claims don’t want to compete over price — they want to capture the loyalty of a defined target market. That’s why they have names like Brawny (it’s tough!) or Ultra-Posh (it’s soft!) or Ecolo-Wipe (it’s green! — okay, I’m making some of these up, but you get the idea).

Do you have a brand that appeals to your target market, or are you Brand X? Not all of my clients know what sets them apart from their competitors. I’ll ask them what makes their product or service special, and they’ll stumble like crazy to find something. If you don’t know what makes your product unique, then you can’t aim it at a segment of the population. You get lost in the shuffle.

And before you know it, you’re a punchline in a cult movie.