A week ago I was called in to help do some finessing on a big pitch. One of the things I was asked to do was to write body copy for the ads.
Working from home, I wrote four pieces and sent them off. The CDs in charge of the pitch loved them. So much in fact, they asked me to write body copy for the rest of what they were presenting.
Here's the secret: I'm not the world's best copywriter. But I do care about body copy. I do try to craft it. And I do try to give it a voice. That's really quite rare in this business.
It's very easy to fill up body copy with cliches and aphorisms and words like "introducing," and "finally." And why not? Everyone's doing it, and no one reads body copy anyway.
The truth is probably 10% of consumers read body copy, 80% of creative directors reviewing your book read it, and 100% of the people supervising this pitch were reading it.
If you care about body copy, writing it becomes easy. If you don't care, it's a headache. It's having to get out of bed because you forgot to take out the garbage. It's torture.
My portfolio school professor used to say writing body copy was a dying art. I agree. But if you can become proficient in that art, you'll stand out.
