31. More than likes: Copywriting for engagement
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A lot of [getting brand voice right] is reading past emails, past social media captions, listening to past interviews, listening to the words and phrases you use. How the words flow when you're speaking, or when you're writing. there's a musicality everybody has to their particular voice, and not everybody can pick that up. it's a lot of research, going back and listening to words and phrases and thoughts and patterns.” – Kristen Channel
On this episode of Flaunt Your Fire, CEO and host India Jackson is in conversation with copywriter and editor Kristen Channel, CEO of Channel Creative. Kristen enjoys copywriting and editing for business owners and authors who are multi-passionate and turning their industry’s status quo on it’s head.
India and Kristen discuss the importance of writing for engagement and connection, and creating conversation to grow and nurture relationships rather than collecting “likes.”
You’ll also hear:
how and why to make people feel seen;
why copywriting is more about close listening and research than actual writing;
how to get a brand voice right;
how stepping into her values attracts the exact clients Kristen wanted, and more…
India refers to Kristen as the “resident disruptor” of the Pause On the Play Community – listen in to find out why!
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Takeaways
[00:03:07] Polymaths, or multipotentialites, or generalists, are people who have broad ranges of knowledge spanning several areas of interest, which help them create a unique vision, business, and find new ways to solve problems that specialists might not.
[00:05:37] Even when your former profession appears to many to be completely different from your current one, the past business experience helps create and inform the new one.
[00:07:03] Comments are more important than likes, because they can actually lead to meaningful conversation and relationship-building.
[00:09:14] Conversation and relationships make people feel seen. Visible. Heard. People want that from brands, too.
[00:10:30] Copywriting is more about listening than writing. Listening to the client, their team, the people they want to reach, their current customers, the client’s alternative services providers.
[00:14:17] When you invest in a copywriter, photographer, designer, or any creative talent, it’s important that you feel comfortable giving feedback and requesting changes. Communication is a very important part of these relationships. Even if you give them creative control, they need to know whether they’re on the right track for you and your brand.
[00:18:00] You need a writer who is on board with your brand values in order to connect with the people you want to reach.
[00:24:53] If you’re only reading business books by white men, you’re not getting anywhere near the full picture of what is possible and who you could be working with. Branch out!
[27:11] A huge part of nailing a brand voice for a client is listening to them speak, and reading what they’ve written in the past. Take note of the words and phrases they use frequently, and what they don’t use. Listen to their speech patterns, how the words flow. The musicality of their individual voice. Be patient and willing to put a lot of time into observation.
[00:30:10] You can tell when someone is interested in who you are, and if you’re in a service-based business your clients need to know you genuinely care and have their best interests in mind.
Quotes
“I need people (clients) to be able to come to me and say, ‘I think this needs to be changed, and here’s why. How can we do this differently? It's really that simple. And even if you don't know why it's not working, you can have a discussion together and try to figure that out. Because you both have the same goal, right? To attract people and to have the conversation. So really, a discussion is all that's needed. And sometimes that might be five minutes, sometimes it might be 20 minutes, and sometimes it means you just don't work well together, and that's okay, too. You can't be for everybody.” – Kristen Channel
“What I'm hearing from you is that you actually need that feedback in order to continue to be able to give them exactly what they're looking for. And so just maybe knowing that, you know, if you're working with the right person, they're not going to take that feedback, personally. They're going to take that as information to better refine what they're doing to support you.” – India Jackson
“ I get so tired of book lists, because it's all the same guys. And I'm like, if you're only reading white men, you're not well-read, you're not getting the full picture of what and who you could be doing and working with.” – Kristen Channel
“When I think About brand alignment and how that relates back to writing, from my perspective is that you really need the buy in from your writer, you need a writer that is on board with the values of your brand. And, you know, is fully supportive of that brand's values, its mission, its purpose and what you're doing in order to get behind you.” – India Jackson
“I don't always know how I do it [get a brand’s voice right], how I pull it off. A lot of it is reading past emails, past social media captions, listening to past interviews, listening to the words and phrases you use. How the words flow when you're speaking, or when you're writing. You know, there's, there's a musicality everybody has to their particular voice, and not everybody can pick that up. I feel like that's one of my gifts. I don't know how else to put it. Yeah, it's, like I said, it's a lot of research, going back and listening to words and phrases and thoughts and patterns.” – Kristen Channel
“I just feel like the traditional business model or business advice really came from this perspective of you don't bring politics into work, you don't bring your beliefs into work. And I'm glad to see that I feel like the world is shifting a little bit and how it sees that.” – India Jackson
Connect with Kristen Channel
www.instagram.com/kristenchannel
Connect with Flaunt Your Fire
Schedule a free discovery call with our team: https://flauntyourfire.as.me/start