Jam of the Week: Smiling Through the Apocalypse and Other Copywriting Insights
When I was asked to contribute a post on the music I listen to while working, I jumped at the opportunity. It was a chance to write about music and copywriting. Two of my favorite things!
What I forgot at the time is that I don't actually listen to music while I'm writing. 🙃
But, that's not to say that music doesn't play a key supporting role in my work as a copywriter.
Sometimes, it inspires me; a snippet of lyric leads me down new creative avenues.
Sometimes, words come to me accompanied by a song or whole album. (More in a future post!)
And sometimes, it serves an entirely different purpose altogether…
A copywriter really only has one job: Leave them with a smile.
Usually not a laugh (those are for open-mic night), and certainly not a frown!
Just an easy peasy, barely-there kinda smile.
Yes, we share the important information: a BOGO on frozen cauliflower rice, the cool new feature on the latest Tesla. But at the end of the day (and often at the end of the sales funnel), it's the smile that matters most.
So, there it is: my work is cut out for me. And when a smile is easily on my face, my job is a joy and a genuine "in the zone" experience.
But what happens when the news is bad every morning?
And the smile won't arrive for my 9-5?
When I fear I'll never smile again, let alone make anyone else smile, I remember there's no one coming to save my mood. Only I can change the way I feel.
Transforming disbelief, sadness, fear and a hundred other negative emotions into a smile I can work with requires a stomach of steel, a heart of best intentions and an alchemist's touch. For an example of how this is actually done, listen closely to Hyperballad.
Bjork finds her smile every morning.
And so do I...many times with her help.
