What is Authentic Copywriting?
Ever heard about authentic copywriting? Let me paint this picture for you – you wake up one day with an undisclosed desire in your heart to merge your love for baking with your intense passion for art and dogs. You decide – hey you know what, I’m going to start a bakery where every pastry will be hand-painted with a really bad cartoon image of my neighbour’s dog, Jojo. You fall in love with this dream. It becomes your life’s work, your baby, your creation. If only everyone could see Jojo the way you do -that drooling, goofy, softie – you know they will love him as you do AND to feel love while eating something delicious, I mean yes-yes-yes. Everything feels great, aligned, magical, and then – the dream killer happens.
When you begin to share your vision with the world you find that you are met with comments like – ‘no one wants to eat a brownie with a drooling dog on it Debbie.’ Let’s be honest – they can’t see your vision like you can because they aren’t you. So then, instead of sticking to what you believe – you begin to dive in deep. Instead of a real-groovy, bright-coloured bakery that would have excelled at supplying treats for kids’ parties you are left with a watered-down version of a bakery that has to face daily comments like – ‘yeah, it has nice food, but those spotted curtains are something, right?’
Are your words aligned with your vision?
I dream of helping to create a world where people look at their website, their branding and their copy and think – ‘hell yes, this is me – through and through. If I was an icon, I’d look like this!’ Oftentimes, instead of getting clear on – and sticking to – our vision AND what our heart actually wants to share with the world, we start looking outwards at what the world is doing. There is a deep wound running through the business space that speaks about how success is determined by how much money we make, not by how much something fulfils our soul. And so, checklist and binocs in hand, we take to the market research so that we can determine the ways in which we can do things differently – ever feel like there is so much pressure to just stand out? We begin searching for ‘gaps in the market’, never to fully understand that we won’t ever find our story this way because it hasn’t been created yet. How can there be a gap if the world doesn’t even know about it? Have you ever woken up thinking ‘you know what I need right now – a bright green macaroon with a hand-painted image of a grinning dog. Yes, that’s what I need in my life.’
Yeah. No one does that – yet. That’s because they haven’t seen it yet. But once they do, true as Bob you can guarantee that they will wake up the next day thinking that. See what I mean? So, a little nugget of wisdom: don’t waste so much time trying to shut off your intuition and create a watered-down version of what you think your industry needs – according to who’s rules?!
One thing I would love my clients to ask before we start creating their story is: Does it bring you joy, if not, why do it at all? I am here to bring real stories, based on real dreams, to life. I want to help you figure out what makes you you and then tell that story in such a magnetic way that people just get it. To me, that is a brand strategy that is built for success.
Success looks different to everyone
I often tell my clients to lean into their story. Not everyone is set out to build a 6-figure business, and if you are and that’s what you choose to experience, great – let’s build a story based on that. To some people, success is measured by security and wealth. To others, success may be measured by connection and how many lives were changed. Some may consider how many new things they were able to create that day, perhaps their business is just a space to make beautiful things. Some may value all of the above and more. Every why is validated and welcome, because it is your anchor and driving force. It is important that you are raw and honest with yourself so that we may write from a firm foundation – we need to ensure that your roots are good and strong and proper before we can look towards the sky for the blossoms.
Real people with real dreams
At the heart and core of human existence, there lies the ability and willingness to create. We are all different, with unique dreams, visions, wishes and ways of seeing the world. Only you can do what you do like you do it. There will never be a creation quite like yours, so stop worrying about what everyone else is doing. You do you. Dedicate yourself to that process completely – trust me, I have seen it happen time and time again. Dedicating yourself to your authentic story will allow the most incredible experiences and opportunities to flow into your space. Business is an opportunity for growth, expansion, and experiences. Set out with the goal of connecting with your roots, your why, your story. Don’t try to influence people and convince them that you should work together. Simply connect with them and share what you do and how you do it differently. So, to sum it up – authentic copywriting is simply the act of telling a story that is real, raw and true to yourself in every way. This is where your gold lies – until next time, I’m off to find myself some macaroons.
