Category — attitude

Copywriting is about putting ideas onto the page. In writing, as in speaking, you need to put these ideas down authoritatively. You need to know what you’re saying, and you need to say it. That may take work, and it definitely takes revisions. But in the end, you need to do it if you want to write good stuff (and trust me, you do).

I guess that sounds simple enough… and it is in a vacuum. But as you know, startups (and startup writing) don’t occur in a vacuum. There’s attention, rumors, and of course, there’s criticism. Lots of it. The business world and the startup world are full of criticizers - people who are in first in line to declare ‘FAIL‘ and who are first in line to tell you how little you know (and how much you suck).

No matter if you’re one of these people, or if you’re good at dealing with criticism, these things can ding you… they can get you down. The criticizers (no matter how dumb) can make you doubt your ideas, and thus, make it harder to write good idea-based copy.

The solution? Keep working. Keep focused on producing quality-content, not on how stupid people receive it. In the end, you’ll have good copy, a better shot at a successful company, and a better shot at the last laugh.

I don’t think I ever got anything better than a B+ in an english or writing class - all of my former teachers would probably swallow their pocket protectors if they heard I’m writing for a living. And tell you the truth, I have a hard time believing it sometimes. Fact is, I’m not making money off some inherent and incredible talent. I’m making it by being out there, and scrapping for whatever I get. By rolling up my sleeves, working each day to get better, and doing something I like to do for a living. I just saw this tweet from @copyblogger that describes it perfectly: “A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.” ~Richard Bach

The point? Well, this is really part 2 to the previous post, Do Copy. It’s about getting out there, regardless of what ‘talent’ you have, and regardless of what other people think about your stuff. Of course, I’d prefer you hire a professional copywriter (me), and I think you’d be well-served to (because it’s our specialty), but you can do it if you want to. You’re a writer too, and you can write copy. Really.

It’s been my experience that there are two types of people in this world: doers and criticizers. In the startup world, even more so than the real world, there are a bunch more criticizers than doers. You know who I’m talking about – the one’s always there to tell you your idea won’t work, that it’s already been done, and the one I hear a lot (if not directly) – your writing isn’t in the right style. Either it’s not funny enough, or it’s too funny. It’s not snarky and intelligent enough, or it’s elitist and too intellectual. If you gauge your writing by the criticizers, you won’t get anywhere.

So don’t. Self-gauge your work. Do the best job you can do… work to communicate who you really are, and what’s special, cool, or unique about yourself. Put yourself out there, regardless of what the criticizers tell you. Then, if you do that, you’ll have done more than they’re willing to do. You’ll write quality content with some depth (no matter how funny or unfunny), and in the end, you’ll be living the startup lifestyle (instead of trying to keep others from doing it). It’ll work -  You’ll make money, and you’ll be able to sleep at night.

So go…. do. Really.