Tips, news and views from Green Light Copywriting

Dig deeper! Apply this copywriting approach for more marketing impact 27 February 2025

How many businesses yearn to sound generic? Not many, you would assume. Yet even a brief look out there reveals just how many companies sound similar to or the same as other companies.

The problem? Not enough digging. Because impactful copywriting – especially in the world of brand or business content – demands going deeper than the surface elements of the brief, the facts and the benefits. Those are just the beginning.

Brand or business copywriting is very much about identity, tone of voice and telling a story. In this arena, copywriting is as much about searching for insights as it is about creating content.

Think of it as an investigation. For example, today I’ve been developing the messaging for a musician’s upcoming album. I could just stick to the brief alone for this relatively short piece of content. But the brief is really just the beginning.

I’ve been delving into that musician’s online presence, getting a better feel for what makes them… them, including listening to their wonderful music. That way I can do a better job of bringing the story of their sound to life.

Digging into the nature and personality of a business is one of my favourite things about being a freelance copywriter. In many cases, it would be all too easy to simply stick to the immediately obvious or the familiar idea. Yet doing so runs the risk of creating content that is less specific to that particular business. That way blandness lies.

Going beyond the obvious involves listening out for clues. It means exploring how the company presents itself to develop insights into the best way to position its content.

Digging deeper also extends to the language you choose to use. It involves seeking out the type of words that build a distinctive tone of voice. Again, doing this helps to evade the trap of the generic or even the ambiguous.

Let’s not forget the importance of digging for more creative ideas around how to frame a brand or business. Where it’s appropriate, take some risks and try out some more unconventional approaches to communicating what a business says or does. That’s all about changing your perspective on the topic or adjusting what you focus on in the copywriting process.

For content that tells a truly unique story it’s essential to keep digging. Because that’s how you find the treasure.