What is brand copywriting, and how is that different from ‘normal’ copywriting?
There are many areas of crossover between a copywriter and a brand copywriter, and the fundamental principles of great copywriting apply to both. But, when you choose brand copywriting for your business, you’re still getting excellent writing (obvs), but you’re also throwing marketing strategy and consultancy into the mix for a healthy dose of added value.
What will brand copywriting do for me?
A brand copywriter will take a keen interest in your existing verbal brand strategy (if it exists at all, and if not, they’ll help you develop it). That can include tone of voice, house style, key messaging, and even internal brand messaging such as your key differentiator/s, vision, mission, purpose and brand values. They’ll dig into who your target audience is, what their pain points or buying triggers are, and what they might need to hear to be moved closer to a sale.
To get a true sense of who you are as a brand, they’ll also look at the writing across all your platforms (blogs, social media, website copy, etc.) and identify areas of strength and weakness in your content strategy. They’ll also review any printed marketing materials like pitch decks, brochures and even your business cards. They’ll ask you which brands and competitors you look up to, and what your business goals are in the immediate, medium and long term.
And all that, before a single new word is written.
Why use a brand copywriter?
Your verbal brand is just as important as your visual brand – and they should complement and reinforce each other. If your current messages just aren’t landing, don’t invest a single extra penny in copywriting until you’ve started to understand why – any new copy that’s developed without taking a step back will just cost you money and perpetuate the problem.
If you aren’t crystal clear on who you are as a brand and what makes you special, what the benefits of your offer are and what you stand for (and you’d be amazed at how many brands aren’t clear on all this), then there is a strong risk of coming across as a bit flakey at best, and misleading at worst. Brand copywriting can help you out of this fix.
What are the benefits of brand copywriting?
A brand copywriter will help you:
- Get a clearer idea of who you are as a brand, and what you stand for,
- Set, or reset, solid foundations on which to build your brand,
- Promote consistency in voice and messaging wherever your brand appears,
- Reinforce a confident, authoritative brand identity,
- Raise and maintain written standards across your brand,
- Guide anyone who’s writing for your brand so that multiple writers become one brand voice,
- Subconsciously reassure your target audience that they know who you are as a brand.
But what about the words?!
They come next! Having pinned down your verbal identity, your brand copywriter will then be expertly placed to create new content that’s beautifully on brand and on message – and they can train your team to do the same, too.
At Profound, we’re copywriters who specialise in brand copywriting because of our extensive background in wider marketing, but more importantly, because we firmly believe that good copywriting deserves equally good thinking behind it to help it soar.
If you’re a business owner/founder or marketing lead and you need a hand getting your verbal branding foundations sorted, a brand copywriter can help. We also partner with design and branding agencies on collaborative branding projects.
No matter what stage you’re at, we’d love to help. Get in touch and let’s explore how that might look for you.