Soar With Specific Knowledge: Why Copywriters Need to Become Experts On What They Write About

by Matthew Loomis 

Photo by Richard Schneider

Last time, we talked about “general knowledge,” and how it leads  a copywriter to writing excellence.

This time, let’s take a look at “specific knowledge.”

Specific knowledge is just as important to a copywriter as general knowledge.

How so?

Pretend With Me a Moment

Perhaps you are a super smart copywriter with tons of experience. Your portfolio demonstrates a writing prowess on hundreds of different products and services. Plus, you have lived an exciting life, traveled the world, and have done many different things that most people only dream about.

Through all of this experience, you have accumulated an extraordinary amount of general knowledge that  helps you write fantastic copy for clients. Your work is proven to get results.

Bravo to you! That’s wonderful!

[Cue the suspenseful music…]

Suddenly, a new writing project knocks on your door. This is something you’ve never seen before. Ever.

A prospective client is interested in hiring  you to write a marketing campaign for a product called a wingsuit, a.k.a. a birdsuit, that actually enables a person to jump out of an airplane and survive without a parachute.

A…wingsuit?

Yes, this product actually exists. See for yourself.

So, in this hypothetical scenario, let’s say you agree to write a marketing campaign for this client. What comes next?

This is where the importance of specific knowledge kicks in.

Become an Expert of the Product or Service

To write sales copy that gets results, you are going to need to learn everything you can about this wingsuit. The more you know about it (as with any product), the better your writing will communicate the true essence of what you are trying to sell.

Remember, selling more wingsuits is the main goal…not being cute and creative.

Your copy must be convincing.

How Far Are You Willing to Go?

Okay, so to write a whiz-bang marketing campaign on the wingsuit, you will need to jump from a plane wearing one so you can completely understand the product, right?

Absolutely.

I’m kidding!  Actually, there’s no way you could get me to do that. I have never jumped out of a plane with a parachute, so I don’t think any amount of money could persuade me to try out the wingsuit just to potentially write better copy.

You may be different. Personally, if you are a copywriter who happens to be an adrenaline junkie, and you want to try out the wingsuit from 8,000 feet, then by all means go for it!

But if you are scared of heights, relax. As a professional writer, you may not always have the time (or the nerve) to jump out of a plane to learn all the details of a product.

That’s okay.

Sure, using the wingsuit first before writing the campaign might cause you to create better copy than any other copywriter they could have hired. There’s no question a great blog article could come from that experience.

But it’s not mandatory. Relax.

Although it’s great to learn as much as you can, going to that extreme isn’t always realistic, practical, or even necessary in copywriting.

You can chill now.

Being a skydiver or pilot might provide some general knowledge to help you write a slamming marketing campaign on the wingsuit–but if you’re like me, and you’ve never flown a plane or skydived, then other steps will need to be taken.

Do You Think This Wingsuit Makes Me Look Fat?

If I ever did get hired to write a marketing campaign on the wingsuit, one thing I would do is get my hands on one of those suits. Put it on. Feel the material. Wear it for a while. Close my eyes and pretend that I was soaring above the clouds…

Much less chance of injury that way.

Know Your Customer – Know Your Audience

One important piece of specific knowledge for copywriters to know in every writing project they do is knowing who your target market is so you can appeal to the broadest audience and most likely buyers. Then you won’t waste time trying to convince someone who is highly unlikely to buy a wingsuit.

Your client may provide you with demographic information to help you know how to craft your writing to the right audience. Or, you can use the internet to do your own research.

For example, after doing some digging on the market here in America, it looks like people who are most likely to buy a wingsuit are Caucasian males between 20 and 40 years old.

Now, that doesn’t mean people who do not fit that demographic never buy a wingsuit. But, the research reflects a general, majority trend of buyers who are male, Caucasian, and somewhere between ages 20 to 40.

So, if you want to write copy that gets results, spending your time on a campaign to get more Asian females between 50 and 60 years old to buy wingsuits is probably not a good strategy.

Finishing Out Our Scenario

After learning as much as possible about the target audience, I would get to know as much specifics about the wingsuit as I could. Here’s a few ways to do that…

• Read a wingsuit user manual. 
• Talk to people who use the wingsuit.
• Go watch someone use the wingsuit.

Gather as much specific knowledge on the wingsuit. This can only help your copywriting.

The Importance of This Cannot Be Stressed Enough

The end result of not having enough specific knowledge on the product or service you are writing about is weak, uninspired copy that doesn’t compel people to take any action.

Don’t be that guy.

Know your product. Know your audience.

That’s the Kaboomis Copy approach to copywriting.

Next time, I want to share with you something about my children that speaks volumes about my love affair with words.

Pursue This Knowledge If You Want to Be A Copywriter In Demand

Bloodhound by Pears

by Matthew Loomis

What does it take to be a good copywriter?

Knowledge. Plain and simple.

You are probably thinking, that’s a pretty broad answer. What sort of knowledge are you talking about?

Well, general knowledge.

Gee, that narrows it down, doesn’t it?

Okay, before you bail here, understand that I’m dead serious about this. To be a good copywriter, you must chase knowledge like a bloodhound chases a wild boar.

Knowledge Hunters

Throughout history, all great writers, copywriters, novelists, playwrights, and technical writers have had an insatiable curiosity about life. They are voracious readers who delve into various hobbies.

Just ask my wife how easily distracted I am by anything that looks like a magazine, newspaper, or a book. I even stop and read “junk mail.” (Copywriters love junk mail because we learn from both the well done direct mail and the lousy direct mail.)

Take a look at my background, and you will find a wide variety of interests.

• I’m a ravenous reader. From the Bible to the Drudge Report, to a classic novel. Or maybe a biography or Football Digest.
• Speaking of Football Digest, I’m a big sports nut who follows several major sports, especially the NFL. One of my passions is the KC Chiefs.
• I’ve played many sports, like football, basketball, baseball, and still today enjoy golf, racquetball and a bit of tennis.
• I’ve taken ice skating lessons and horseback riding lessons.
• I’ve water skied and snow skied.
• I listen to a wide variety of music, was a member of a huge inner city gospel choir, and have performed as a bass singer with a 16 piece, Branson style band for fifteen months.
• I played the alto saxophone for several years.
• Studied additional college credit hours in the psychology field and worked several years with children and adults who were dealing with mental health issues.
• Majored in English and Communications.
• Studied french, mais je n’ai pas la prétention d’être à l’aise en français. Je sais juste assez pour être dangereux.
• Interested in the arts, including fine art, film and design.
• Religion and politics are two of my FAVORITE topics. I’ve done church outreaches to help the poor, taught Sunday school, played Jesus in a play, as well as volunteer work for various political candidates over the years.
• Am a student of health, nutrition and alternative medicine. I even earned a Personal Fitness training certification.
• Love to travel and desire more opportunities.
• Wrote a screenplay.
• Eagle Scout.
• Interested in wildlife. In grade school, I wanted to be either a conservationist, zoologist or a veterinarian.
• Enjoy fruit and vegetable gardening.
• I’ve been a son, husband, father, uncle and friend.
• I’ve received a paycheck working as a lawn mower, fast food cook, telemarketer, office clerk, swimming pool construction worker, hospital food worker, video store clerk, doing school district maintenance, as a salesman (over the phone, door to door, and in person, especially during my four years as a hardcore Amway distributor), security guard, cashier, mental health tech, youth case worker, family advocate, and a staff writer for five years at a well-known ministry/humanitarian aid organization.

Why I’m Thankful I Haven’t Sat In a Cubicle My Whole Career

A wider variety of interests will lead us to a wide variety of experiences. That’s helpful for copywriters, because there’s this old saying in the writing universe that goes like this: Write what you know.

You never know when you will be able to tap into all that general knowledge that’s stored up in your brain and create some great copy. For example, an experience you had volunteering at a boys home years ago just might provide a spark of creativity for that advertising campaign you’re working on.

Or a funny story from your days playing professional rugby could give you an edge crafting a direct mail marketing letter for a sporting goods retail store.

Or your time working as a barista will come in handy when Starbucks hires you to do some web writing.

Don’t think you are too unfocused if you enjoy many different things. Not only are you experiencing more of life, you are half way to being an excellent copywriter.

Don’t Do This

This last thing a copywriter should do is approach his or her craft with only one tool in their toolbox. If you only have a hammer, then you will approach every writing project like it’s a nail. With more “tools,” or streams of knowledge from different experiences, you will be able to solve more writing challenges.

To be an outstanding copywriter, cultivate a thirst for knowledge, develop a hunger for new experiences, and most importantly…

Enjoy the journey.

Next Time

Did you notice how I said that general knowledge will take you half way to copywriting excellence? There is another type of knowledge I want to cover next time that is as equally important if you want your phone and email box to blow up with prospective clients.

See you then.

Kaboomis Copy: How a Writing Mentor Lit the Fuze

The Kaboomis Copy “Big Bang” Took Place at the Columbia, Illinois Location

by Matthew Loomis

It was a blue sky Friday.

I invited my writing mentor and good friend Demian Farnworth to lunch. He picked Joe Boccardi’s…

Joe who? It didn’t matter…I would have met him for lunch anywhere because food wasn’t my main interest on this day. I wanted to “pick his brain” on how to successfully start a freelance copywriting biz. But for the record, I ordered spaghetti and meatballs.

Delectable.

As he devoured a pizza, I asked him what he thought about a couple of business name ideas I was thinking of using…

Demian listened, stopped chewing a moment and gave me a “are you serious?” look for just a split second. Then, he smiled and said, “Aren’t you going to name your business Kaboomis Copy?”

Kaboomis Copy. I immediately fell in love with the name.

You see, Kaboomis Loomis was a nickname Demian had given me a few years back, when we both worked together. He was my supervisor and editor. I was a staff writer on his editorial team. We worked in this arrangement for two years, and during that time, I wrote lots of print ads. Demian gave me a lot of ads to do, because he liked my ad copy, and when he would take a look at one that was particularly explosive, he would say “bam!” Eventually, he started calling me Kaboomis Loomis.

That’s the story behind the business name.

So, fast forward back to June 2012.

Today, with his recent success as a freelance writer, I wanted to buy him lunch and let him do most of the talking.

Good decision.

This turned out to be a providential meal, seasoned with wisdom, knowledge, honesty, humor, and friendship.

Kaboomis Copy Was Born

After this power lunch, I was even more fired up about going freelance.

That’s what great mentors do…They encourage you and get you excited about your potential. They care about what makes you tick on a personal level, and then graciously provide just the right advice to help you grow. They want you to shine and are completely secure in who they are and who you are.

Those are the kinds of people that make great lunch appointments. Never take them for granted.

Who Lights Your Fuze?

Starting a business of any kind takes some hutzpah. I couldn’t have taken this step without the support and encouragement of my incredible wife, Royale, both of our families, and some fantastic friends like Demian–who recently joined the Copyblogger Media editorial team as Chief Copywriter.

Curious? Read more about him.

Also, if you are ever in the St. Louis area and want some good italian food, give Joe Boccardi’s a shot.

Follow This Blog

My goal is to inform and entertain you here. Pretty much every blog post will somehow relate to writing.  I’m guessing you are probably someone who is interested in hiring a copywriter and want to know more about Kaboomis Copy. Or maybe you are a writer yourself and need some information or inspiration?

Or maybe you are a spambot, and could care less…

Regardless of who you are (or what you are), let me just say…

Welcome to Kaboomis Copy!

P.S.  And if you are ready to talk about how Kaboomis Copy can serve your writing needs, email me: kaboomiscopy@gmail.com