Why copywriting is like doing a jigsaw puzzle

Ever wondered what it’s like working with a copywriter? Ever wondered what the copywriting process actually involves?

Well, it’s a bit like doing a jigsaw.

No doubt you’ve done a traditional jigsaw before/ But shat about a jigsaw puzzle that had no edge, no accompanying picture, and even a few extra pieces? (Yes! They actually exist.)

Which was more difficult to do?

Without knowing what the end result is supposed to look like, there can be a lot of guesswork and frustration along the way. And sometimes, we can throw it all in before we’ve completed it — just because it’s all too hard.

Sound familiar?

Well, the copywriting process is a lot like doing a jigsaw puzzle. Without a clear vision, there can be lots of guesswork and not much of a result, causing angst for both client and copywriter.

But when you have a clear process, or a picture of the end result, well that’s another story…

Sorting the pieces

The first thing you do when starting a puzzle is to sort the pieces — straight edges together, pieces of similar colour together — you know what I’m talking about.

The copywriting process is similar — we need to sort out the pieces. When you work with me, that involves:

• us having a chat

• you filling in a client brief

• me providing you with a proposal, terms and condition of the project, and a quote

• you signing off on it, and paying your 50% deposit fee.

See — pieces are sorted.

Now we can get to work by creating the frame…

Build the frame

After sorting the pieces, we put together the frame. Because without that, we have no idea how big the puzzle actually is. This is often an exciting time, as we feel the familiar thrill of starting something new, and we actually can see the parameters of what we need to achieve.

The first part of the frame when it comes to copywriting is you filling in the client brief. This provides me with the scope and purpose of your project. And after that, we start looking at the pieces that will give the frame some substance…

Filling in the frame

The next step in doing a puzzle is a little more tedious. It involves filling in pieces around the frame. This bit often takes a considerable amount of time because there are so many pieces to sort through, to find the right one to click into place.

This is where I do a lot of research. Now fortunately, I love research. It’s kind of like going on a treasure hunt for me. But it does take time. Things I research include:

• You — not in a stalker-type way, but to determine what you need to achieve

• Your company — so we understand your brand and tone, and what you stand for

• Your industry — to get an idea of what we’re writing about

• Your customers — to determine what their needs and wants are, so you can better meet them

• Your competition — to see what you’re up against, and what your point of difference, or unique selling proposition is.

The more pieces of the puzzle we can click into place now, the quicker and smoother the rest of the project will be.

Adding more pieces

By now, we’ve probably completed half the jigsaw. When you step back, you really can see how much progress you’ve made. But you can also see how much more you have to do.

Fortunately for you, this is where I do most of the work. This involves me writing your copy, according to the client brief you have provided, and the research that I have completed.

And just like the puzzle, once this is complete, there really are only a handful of pieces left to attend to.

I know! Exciting right?…

The last few pieces

You can now pretty much see the entire jigsaw completed, except for a few little holes here and there. Now we could leave the holes, because we still can see what the picture is supposed to look like. But the best result comes when we fill them all in.

In the copywriting process, this involves you providing feedback on the copy I send you, or clarifying questions I have raised. Don’t underestimate this part of the process, because true clarity is really only achieved when all the pieces of the puzzle have been placed correctly.

Jigsaw finished – copywriting process complete

Aaaah! All the pieces fit! We stand back and admire what we’ve done together. We marvel at how much fun it was (despite the tedious sorting of pieces we had to do in the beginning), and stand back, proud of our achievement.

Your copy is complete and is ready to be loaded onto your website, or included in your next newsletter. And the end result is as great as we anticipated it would be. The process of working together really did go smoothly….and we begin to ask ourselves:

“Is there another project we should work on together?”

If you’re ready to create beautiful copy with me, give me a call on 0414 836 732 or contact me via my website. I’m already fully booked up for 2017, but I am taking bookings for 2018!

Cheers
Nerissa