Writing Your Own Copy Feels Like Cutting Your Own Bangs
Excitement, fear, and skill (or lack thereof) lead to… mixed results.
I was 12 years old the first time I wielded shears of glory against my mane. Sitting cross-legged on the countertop of our "big" bathroom to get as close to the mirror as possible, I committed the sin that all experienced self-bang-trimmers know not to do.
Holding the scissors HORIZONTALLY, I lopped off 6 inches of my tresses from temple to temple. In retrospect, the results were a nightmare of oddly bent blunt cut strands that, despite cutting straight across, lifted slightly above my left eyebrow because of a cowlick I had failed to train over the years. But I was totally pleased because it was 1989. With my curling iron and an ozone-choking amount of Aqua-net later, my hair was perfect. But, of course, I always knew it would be; if things had gone terribly wrong, all I had to do to fix it was get a perm.
What? You thought this would be a horror story?
No. It's about taking on a challenge, adapting as needed, and feeling assured that there is an ideal alternative if things don't work out as planned.
That's what writing your own copy feels like with my Write Your Own Copy™ series.
You'll feel inspired, amped up - metaphorical scissors in hand - empowered with the guidance that you're on the right track, even if you have to take a few deep, although shaky, breaths before your fingers hit the keyboard.
See, Write Your Own Copy™ is more than templates and swipe files you can... well, "copy" and attempt to add your own spin.
Your content doesn't begin where your pen meets the paper. Instead, it starts with an idea. And, if you're writing sales copy, you'll want to ensure you've got your customer's voice in your head while crafting your message.
Placing your final period on a killer blog/email/About Page isn't the end, either. You need to know how to make that copy work for you as hard as RuPaul works a runway.
Write Your Own Copy™ is my education and career as a copywriter distilled down into only the necessary essence you need to write for yourself and your own business. Because even if you hire a copywriter to do the heavy lifting in your messaging, you still need to communicate effectively with your audience.
Meanwhile, back at the dorm...
Drinking Zima in our bathroom while getting ready to go out, my college roommate told me, "I heard you need to twist them in sections to make them look good." We still hadn't discovered holding our scissors vertically.
This may have been a texture improvement, but I took off too much length. Again, saved by an early 2000's trend, I twisted the tiny hairs left on my forehead and pinned them back with tiny butterfly clips. A style that I kept long after they were grown out to an acceptable level, and IMO my worst hairstyle ever…and I lived through the 80's.
Even well into my 30's, new baby napping, staring at my long, boring new-mom-bob in the mirror, again I took matters into my own hands. But, this time, after decades of trial and error, I knew exactly what to do. I combed an inverted v into my dry hair, from just front of the center top of my head down to the outer 1/3 of my eyebrow - this gives a thick Bettie Page style of bangs. But I like mine a little longer. So after lopping off the hair at my lip line, I let it go and then, holding my scissors vertically, trimmed them to precisely the right length. All those previous attempts brought me closer to this time when everything just fell into place.
It wasn't sheer luck. It was practice. In fact, over the years, probably a total of 6 times, I had done this to myself, with mixed results. Of course, I now have the time, money, and patience to wait for a professional. But, it's very empowering to know I have developed my own ability to do it…maybe even better than some pros, simply because I'm so familiar with my own hair and that damn cowlick that stylists can always seem to get to lie flat, but I cannot on my own.
You are your first copywriter.
And writing for yourself is an essential skill for a business owner, freelancer, or any online service provider.
As a business owner, you're also a content creator. And learning how to write engaging content in your unique voice is a skill that moves people to success much faster.
My most successful clients, the ones with the biggest launches, the ones that have hired me to write their sales page and emails, are successful because they are also good writers.
They know how to connect the dots between their stories and their audience. They are excellent listeners (as all writers should be) to their audience and intuition. And they got that way through practice because THEY were their own first copywriter, as you probably are right now.
Get your free Write Your Own Copy™ copywriting primer - an education created specifically for emerging online entrepreneurs like you! Click here.
Looking for the structure, systems, and ideas to create better content? Book my Content Creation Intensive. Check it out here.
Five ways writing your own copy feels like cutting your own bangs
You know what you want in the end but aren’t 100% sure you can get there.
You come at writing from different angles to see what works best
You take the plunge and hit publish (like chopping off your hair)
You gain confidence, realizing any mistakes are fleeting or fixable
You get better with practice.
