by Steve Kellas

At last night’s Brit Awards, the big story was all Adele’s. After launching her current hit album, the singer had a set-back, needing surgery to her vocal chords. After 8 Grammy Awards and 2 Brits, she is now an official global success. To a copywriter, the lessons in her story are there for the taking, if you can spot them.

Be authentic

There is no doubt that part of the appeal of Adele is her authenticity. She is true to herself in her music, in her (powerful) delivery of the songs and in her appearance. No thin waif presenting herself as a sex object, Adele is who she is and all more loveable for it.

Authenticity is a powerful tool for the copywriter. Writing in a way that appears genuine and that doesn’t hide the truth is what sets great copy apart from the mediocre. This is where establishing the right tone of voice for the brand is essential. By creating a voice that is authentic, you are creating something that your client’s customers will relate to. When they relate to the brand, they are more likely to convert. And that means more business for you.

Tell a great story

We all want a hero to triumph over her set-backs. I’m certain that Adele would sell a lot of albums anyway (currently one every two seconds across the globe), but her openness about her vocal surgery created another powerful theme in her story that hasn’t dampened sales. In fact, I’d bet it is propelling sales.

It’s this honesty and a bit of the ‘under dog’ meme that allows people to so easily relate to Adele. Her set-back makes her success story so much more compelling.

Telling a great story for the product or service is the job of a copywriter, and to do so, you need to find a thread that is believable. That means talking about when things didn’t go right, when the product wasn’t perfect. People relate to (and believe) the honesty of overcoming obstacles. It’s just good storytelling.

Hype is transparent, but strife and subsequent success is persuasive.

Deliver with power

There is no denying the power of the 23-year-old Adele’s voice. The lyrics she delivers would sound hollow in a lesser singer. Even when she spoke to the Brit Awards to accept her award, her speech is powerful and full. Emotional, yes, but never wavering.

Copywriters should pay attention to this quality of delivery. When writing calls-to-action, we must write with conviction and be powerful in our direction to readers.

I don’t mean to beat them over the head, but to clearly and powerfully call the reader to action. This goes for buttons as much as links.

Tell the reader what to do. With conviction.

It’s the difference between a form button that reads ‘submit’ and one that reads ‘get your free ebook’.

Probably the biggest lesson that Adele can offer any copywriter is to believe in yourself and never give up.

by Steve Kellas

When people learn that I’m a copywriter, they often hit me up for tips on how to be creative. Some want to be more creative as writers. Some want to be more creative in their everyday lives. Other still want to learn more about being a creative copywriter.

Here are 3 of my favourite tips on creativity and being a copywriter:

1. Stop forcing it

I really believe that creativity is something we can all tune into, if only we stopped trying so hard.

If you’re a copywriter, this is difficult to achieve due to deadlines. But it’s a necessity if you want to succeed in this business.

You need to just step back and find a way to let the ideas come in their own time; give your creative mind some space to work its magic.

You have likely already had experience with this.

It happens when you are about to tell your spouse or friend about something really cool and then – poof! – the thought vanishes. You get up and wander off to another room to do something else. As you are folding the washing or looking for the book you misplaced, suddenly the thought returns. Eureka!

This is your creative (right brain, non-logical) mind working behind the scenes. It does its best work when you don’t force it. If you are trying to think ‘creatively’ you are usually being too logical.

For me, the magic happens when I’m in the shower. I get my best ideas about a minute after I step under the water because I have freed my mind to do its work and when I am least expecting it, the ideas pop into my head.

The trick is remembering them long enough to write them down! (I use the foggy mirror, much to my wife’s annoyance.)

2. Laugh more

Serious, logical energy snuffs out creativity before it begins. It’s supposed to be fun!

Try point #1 again, then go have a good laugh about things.

If you’re a copywriter and actively working on a creative problem, come up with the funniest, stupidest, wackiest ideas you can. Laugh about them with someone (your art director). Bounce ideas back and forth, and play out the hilarious ones to their end.

Ask questions that make you laugh: what if this product made people invisible? What if we posted cooked chicken to customers? What if demolition engineering was planned like Ikea assembly instructions?

“What if” is the seed of creative ideas.

3. Borrow and remix

Here’s a thought for you to meditate on: being original and being creative aren’t the same.

The great artists of our world borrowed and built upon the inspiring works of their predecessors. They tried techniques they saw others using and then adapted them to their own creative ends.

Every copywriter I know will tell you to study the greats.

Every author will tell you to read and write like the masters.

Creative sparks happens when you take an idea from one place and give it a new use in another.

In business, we can use creativity to come up with new products by borrowing ideas from other industries. For example, Apple asked ‘what if’ furniture design ideas could create computers that look nice, rather than like…computers!

What if you tried each of these 3 tips today? Let’s find out!