“There are no more than two rules for writing: having something to say, and saying it”. It’s quite likely that Oscar Wilde didn’t know that in the future, writers would exist to do web positioning, conversion of leads and so on.
What Mr. Wilde really believed was that if you didn’t have something interesting to say, then it’s better to say nothing at all. It’s not that he was wrong, but nowadays there’s a lot more excuses to write. Persuading someone to buy something or do something other than with a “buy it now”, “please love me”, or “make me yours” are good reasons to start writing.
A professional copywriter usually loves what he does (and most of the time hates what he’s already done) but cannot live without writing. If you don’t feel passionate about writing don’t even bother because people will notice and won’t even read it.
Passion for writing though is not a guarantee to get readers, but at least someone might go home happy thanks to what you wrote.
Every company in the world and each product has something to say besides the usual “show me the money” from Jerry Maguire. All companies have a personality and all products were created to meet a need or offer a service and that has to be communicated. You must believe in what you say because that’s the message that you are getting across.
You must be honest. If you’re not the best say it, if you are not the cheapest say it, but being truthful is what is going to set you apart. As a matter of fact due to blunders of telephone companies, energy providers, banks, politicians and so on, honesty is becoming a valuable asset for the consumer.
The Chinese industry doesn’t really stand out by the quality of its products, but it does by their prices. The German industry is not known by being cheap, but its excellence is noticeable. They both have figured out what they have to say, and they say it. A copywriter should do the same. He should study the needs of the consumer and find out what’s the link between his client and their target audience.
Once the copywriter knows his message it’s just a matter of saying it, and this is what Oscar Wilde thought. Although his ways were not always adequate, we can certainly say that he knew what he was talking about.
