On August 17, 2015, I woke up with a swollen eye and a churning stomach. I was in Taranto.
I had no money, no job and no contacts.
I was an ambitious young graduate with 7 years of experience in journalism and possessed no resources.
In fact, one resource I had: words.
On the one hand, I wanted to return to Florence (from which, by the way, I had intentionally moved away); on the other hand, I wanted to stay in Taranto, my city.
All of a sudden, here’s the idea!
I had recently finished working for one of the most famous Florentine portals, my articles were collecting thousands of views, gathering a substantial amount of comments and shares.
Whereupon I asked myself, why not start my own blog inspired by what I was writing for? Within a few weeks of going online, my blog began to garner 7 to 10 thousand visits per month.
Copywriting techniques to develop your brand: let’s get started!
You should know that in the lines you just read there are at least 2 copywriting techniques, which I learned from a Wall Street Journal sales letter.
In the first part there is the so-called “Hook with History.” This is followed by the “open loop of curiosity” that prompts the reader to ask, “What made the difference in this person’s life? How did he succeed?”
It is not about intelligence or talent. When I started the blog“If I Say Taranto,” I had no idea how my work life would evolvenor did I believe that I had any particular talent except for writing. Thinking outside the box and doing something that no one had done until then – namely, telling the peculiarities and stories of Taranto in an ironic, irreverent, unique way – made all the difference.
However, the real turning point came when I decided to step out of my comfort zone for the second time, when I started working at Sabanet and when – a year and a half ago – I put my copywriting skills to work for Larry Agency, the branding agency I founded with Gianfranco and Valeria. I had finally realized what my purpose was.
Here we go again! Here is another of the copywriting techniques: with the previous paragraph I introduced a belief in the audience: thinking outside the box makes all the difference in the world. Not surprisingly, Larry Agency designs and implements Branding projects outside the box (In the previous paragraph, I also introduce Larry Agency by introducing it as the agency with a unique and unmistakable style. Reader/potential client conclusion? If I want to get value from my investment in Branding and am looking for something new, Larry is the one for me).
If I Say Taranto was the (first) key that helped me understand how central content is in a Branding strategy.
Investing time in producing quality content is the first step of any company that wants to make itself memorable (warning: this is the belief I want to pass on to the public).
From the next paragraph, the sales phase begins.
Right now I am looking back at the Communications project that I presented with the team to Larry Agency’s first client. Combines creative madness, images with strong emotional impact, extreme inspiration from the art world, analysis, knowledge. Each page perfectly enhances the Brand; it is a celebration of the customer’s identity, of every part of their business. Larry’s approach, moreover, is unique because we don’t sell products off the shelf. Rather, we are selling the opportunity to transform the company into a much deeper, identity-driven reality that does not end with the trivial proposition of services. The power of Brand, after all, is exactly that. That is, having the ability to position oneself in the mind of the audience and transfer value to them, create relationships.
In the paragraph you just read I emphasize the uniqueness of the product.
Branding is a medium- to long-term investment and is the path that the most enlightened entrepreneurs should take. If you think you are among those, then you will be curious to find out if Larry Agency can do for you what he is doing for dozens of businesses.
Put my claims to the test, ask for a no-obligation consultation. If Larry doesn’t live up to your expectations, we’ll just chat. I assure you that I will use your information only for the purpose we set out to do: to receive information.
At this stage, I remove any clutch at data release.
About my swollen eye and upset stomach that I told you about at the beginning of this article. Ero just got back to Taranto, the life change had devastated me physically and psychologically, and today, after a series of falls and recoveries, I am exactly where I want to be and my professional life at Larry Agency is going on swimmingly. What really helped me? People and the desire to generate an impact on the world through my profession.
We are back to the tension and curiosity loop with which this mega copy opened.
If you have come this far, it means that I have correctly applied some of the copywriting techniques I use for texts that work. Perhaps it would have been easier to start with one of those lists the Web is full of, but instead I preferred to give a concrete example of what it means to write content that keeps you glued to the screen.
Will I have done well? Write it to me in the comments.
