Metacopywriting. Mindfulness in advertising text

Metacopywriting. Mindfulness in advertising text

Natalia Maiorova

editor Tatiana Pashkova

editor Ekaterina Shuvalova

corrector Joe O’Neill

© Natalia Maiorova, 2020

ISBN 978-5-0051-2304-6

Created with Ridero smart publishing system

“In Russian the word ‘benefit’ started so to say from ‘you’ – выгода [vygoda], вы [vy]. Let’s try the calque ‘yousage’ – how you can use it: ‘you will get…’, ‘you will feel…’, ‘you will notice…’.”

“Benefits and advantages are not the same thing, at least in marketing. Advantages are what we have. Benefits are what people can get from the advantages. For example: ‘We are located in the city centre’. This is an advantage. But the consequence: ‘You can easily find us’.”

“The second is you (2nd person), so it is a dissociation from ourselves and an attempt to imagine: what if I am in someone else’s body. It is not ‘If I were you’, but ‘I am you’.”

“If you want to buy some bread and butter in a shop without self-service, you just ask for bread and butter.”

“Some people really do not know what they want to say, which is why they spend hours in front of a blank sheet of paper.”

“If it is hard it means you are doing something wrong. It should not be hard.”

“Nonverbals of the text are something between the lines or beyond them. It is a metamessage. Managing your own metamessage in the text is metacopywriting.”

“People will criticize. They write to me privately saying I wrote a shameful text. – Really? Do you think it is not a shame to write such things to another person?”

“It is very important to bring your interest to everything you do, but the only way to become interested is to invest your attention. You cannot love anything if you do not pay attention to it.”

Hello, I am Nataly, I currently live in Berlin and this is my english edition of the original book ‘Metacopywriting’ in Russian. I write for business since 2010 and teach people how to write since 2014. I founded a private school of copywriting and narrative coaching and I use the method I called metacopywriting.

At first, it was called neurocopywriting, from NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming), but I completely switched to a term ‘metacopywriting’, because historically NLP is a wrong name. There is no direct connection with brain or neurons, but it is about ‘meta’, a prefix meaning more comprehensive or transcending.

However the name ‘neurocopywriting’ is quite trendy (especially in Russia), so my website is still called neurocopywriting.ru.

It was pretty difficult to translate such a specific text, because I work only in my native language, so thanks to my editors I hope I did well. But if you think there is a mistake or a blooper, please feel free to contact me.

Mindfulness in copywriting

Do not continue reading until you slow down, please. Slow down.

Right now…

More slowly… even slower…

Do not read ahead…

Hold still… on this sentence.

Find your breath. Breathe in… Breathe out… One more time.

Breathe out, slowly…

De-e-e-ep breath. Fill your lungs with oxygen. Your breath makes you balanced, steady, unrushed. You can breathe slowly. Please. Breathe out… and let the wave of relaxation continue to spread across your body… and envelop it.

Please. Do not rush through the letters. Feel the moment. Enjoy it. One more time, but smoothly. Flow. A swan is moving across the surface of a pond. As your eyes are moving across the surface of the letters. Feel them. Are they convex? If you touch them with your fingers… be gentle…

Very good. Tenderness… Imagine somebody’s hand is running through your hair… You do everything right… Somebody rubs your back… Wonderful…

Take your time… Don’t rush to do other things… Ten seconds of silence… eight…

After you blink, you continue your best life ever. Today is your smooth, calm and happy day.

That is what I call ‘metacopywriting’.

Beliefs

When I started to teach writing, I noticed that all of my students had the same problem. They could write well, and they received my feedback and compliments from other students, but they didn’t like their own texts. They were still convinced they wrote badly and had no talent.

Every time I did the same thing: I showed every single student the difference between their first task and the last, and I pointed out that their texts were good. I also conducted independent focus groups, which means strangers read the students’ texts having no idea who the author was – and these people liked the texts. I did it to convince my students that they were good writers. Their texts were really good, but it did not always help, so I decided to teach my new students to psychologically analyze their own beliefs in order to improve their self-confidence.

Beliefs are what we believe in, but they can be illogical; they may not always be true, and they can be biased. Usually, beliefs sound like judgments in daily life, but nothing arises from nothing, so every belief has 3 components:

1. Cause

2. Meaning

3. Conclusion

For example: “Everything good has been written” or “The market is saturated with writers. So, there’s no reason for me to write. I won’t write.”

1. Cause = Everything good has been written or the market is saturated with writers.

2. Meaning = There’s no reason for me to write.

3. Conclusion = I won’t write.

You may think that these are three different beliefs, but it is just a system of beliefs, they are together. The conclusion people draw from this: “I have no need to write” and other shortened versions (“everyone writes,” “everything is already written”) repeats and interferes in each new endeavor regardless of their previous work (“I will not launch my project, because the market is already full”).

– I cannot write!

– But you are writing right now.

– Yes.

– And you wrote me a message saying you wanted to take part in my course.

– Yes, I did.

– And you wrote some articles in your school, but you still think you can’t write?

– I can’t write something beautiful.

– Well, how do you know that some texts are beautiful?

At this point, we start to create criteria. Criteria could be internal or external. Internal criteria are my own as an author. I decide how and what to write. External criteria are common, these are rules of the language and editorial recommendations. Some people write quite well without these rules, but there are others who write terribly. The difference between these two categories is style.

– I am not able to learn.

– Why do you think so?

– My mother told me.

– I never get results.

– What result do you expect?

– I never thought about it.

– Everybody is writing. Why should I?

– Everybody is breathing. Why do you breathe?

– Nobody is interested in me.

– Are you interested in yourself?

– Writing is hard.

– Writing is simple! If you find it hard, you are doing something wrong. For example, skaters glide on ice. They enjoy it. So many people cannot be mistaken: if you don’t skate well and fall, you are using the wrong technique. If it’s hard for you, you are doing something wrong.

– I have no talent.

– You need a skill, not talent. Do you really think people are born knowing how to drive a car? But look how heavy is the traffic on the roads. Does everyone have talent?

– I am afraid to show my text to others. It is like getting undressed in front of them or maybe even worse.

– Nobody sees you in your text. People think of themselves and recognize their own emotions in your text. They do not want to understand your feelings. First of all, your texts live their own life, not yours. Moreover, you do not need to write something private and intimate.

– If I write badly, I will look bad.

– Text is your product. It is your work, but it is not you. You do not need to identify your work with yourself. You perform a function. Sometimes you do it better than other times. If you get enough practice, you can do it perfectly. Tomorrow, you will try again. You are studying.

– People will laugh.

– What kind of people laugh at somebody’s training?

– People will criticize. They write to me privately saying I wrote a shameful text.

– Really? Do you think it is not a shame to write such things to another person?

– Hundreds of people have already written about it!

– Well. Look at the list of films. Every single drama, horror or comedy is based on the same story circle (the hero’s journey). Look at the fairytales! They all have the same template. So? Disney continues to make stories. You have to write too. The main thing in writing is interpretation. There are a lot of news channels, and they have the same news, but people prefer a different point of view.

Sometimes limiting beliefs are confused with lack of skills

– I do not have enough vocabulary.

– It is not true. You do not have enough facts. If you had something to say, you would just say it. Ask yourself: “What do I want to say?”

– I do not have enough knowledge.

– What kind of knowledge? Where can you get it?

– I lack perseverance.

– Try to get in the right state. Can you imagine or remember the time when you were productive? Calm? Remember it! Let your body have a rest. Relax. Sit in a comfortable pose, change the pose if necessary. Try to find a perfect position. Breathe normally from the belly. Feel your body. Your body is relaxing, but your fingers are typing. You can work calmly and remain focused.

– I lack patience.

– What do you need the patience for?

– To write that damn text!

– Are you interested in this text? In this theme?

– No.

– How could you possibly be patient if you are not even interested in the things you are doing? You cannot write about something you are not interested in. If the author is not interested in his/her text, surely nobody else will be interested in it.

– But I want to be interested!

– Good. Then I will teach you. The interest is actually a skill. I will explain it to you later. Read on.

– I lack logic.

– You should know the structure, and the composition. It includes three, four or eleven blocks. It takes half an hour to study. Then, write according to the structure. You will get the logic.

– And where do I get this structure?

– Don’t rush. I will tell you one step at a time.

– I do not have the right words.

– Study editing.

– I said I don’t have enough words!

– I see. Sorry. You need to practice freewriting. It is the process of writing all the things you have in your mind. All of them.

– Great! Now I have too many words.

– Well, now use the editing skills.

– My thoughts run like crazy. I can not catch them.

– Put them down on paper. Do freewriting. Take ideas out of it and do another freewriting.

– I cannot write a selling text.

– You have to use conversional phrases.

– Which ones?

– Read along step-by-step, and you will know.

Diagnosis

– I have dysgraphia. Can I write?

– Yes, you can.

– But I have dysgraphia.

– I see. What do you really prefer: to be unique because you have dysgraphia or to be unique because you write?

– I have no inspiration.

– Why do you need inspiration? Inspiration is not the kind of thing that is separate from you. You always have inspiration. You just do not know how to use it. “I have no inspiration”, “I am not inspired.” Why don’t you inspire yourself? What is needed for inspiration? How will you know when you have the inspiration?

– I do not know.

– How could you know?

– I do not know. I just sit at the table and I can’t write.

– You are not even trying to think about it! You have no interest. That is why you have no inspiration.

– How do I get new interests?

– Invest your time! You have to pay attention to the work you do. If you start doing something very carefully in three minutes, you will be immersed in this process. For example, you switch the TV on, you start watching a program or a film from the middle and you do not understand what they are talking about or what is happening. Look! Watch the show attentively. After three minutes, you are immersed; you are interested in the plot, and you are completely involved. Or you are washing the dishes. First, it seems to be boring. You are lazy, and you have no desire, but if you begin to wash carefully, you will be involved. After a while, you are immersed and you continue to wash everything around you – Cinderella syndrome. It is very important to bring your interest to everything you do, but the only way to become interested is to invest your attention. Not only the time you spend on your work but also the attention you pay. You cannot love anything if you do not pay attention to it.

– I cannot start. I am lazy.

– You are not lazy. There is no laziness or inspiration. There is will. Will is a desire, and will is a change from one activity to another, just like rest: also a change from one activity to another. So, why not take a rest by writing? Unplug from the outside world. Find time for yourself, for thinking. Spend time alone, just with your thoughts.

– I need a special place.

– Certainly. But actually no, you do not. You need a special state of mind and a special pose: a correct way to sit. For example, I can write at an airport, in a subway, in an office – I don’t care. Nobody distracts me. All I really need is a flow, a special state, trance. I just remember it every time I want to write something. I open my notes, start to type, and I feel the inspiration. It is that simple.

– I do not know how to start.

– Start with that. “I don’t know how to start, but I need to write a text. I want to write a text. And this text will be about how to start writing texts.” Do you get the idea? This is called freewriting. At first, try to write everything that comes into your mind, even all sorts of nonsense. Over time, you will get tired of writing that stuff, and you will begin to write something important.

– My thoughts move faster than I can write.

– I see. I am writing this book like that: I describe the dialogue with you, but sometimes, new ideas come to me. That’s okay. I just make some notes, a couple of words in the margins, and I write the dialogue again.

– What if the article is quite long? I can not write it all at once.

– You can write it till your thoughts run out. If you feel it is enough for today or you are tired, you can stop. I wrote my novels this way. It is a whole story, but every chapter is separate. Every film script consists of about forty scenes. More or less, every scene is a finished story, so at first, a screenwriter works on a synopsis and describes the whole plot, and after that, he writes one scene at a time. A landing page is made the same way. It consists of about eleven blocks, and it is possible to work on every block separately. I finish one block, and I continue onto the new one later. It is important to bring your work to a logical end before you can take a break.

– Should I think about the idea in advance?

– I recommend that you do not do that. If you think about the idea in advance, it will be boring to describe it, because you already know it. It seems like you have already told the story to your best friend, and telling it again to someone else would be tiring. You have already expressed your feelings, used your jokes, mimics and intonations. It is boring to repeat it. If you have already found the answers before you write, you can not invent something new. Writing is thinking. It is living; it is not a rehearsal. You can realize the theses, the structure, the plan, but never think about the text before writing. Do not pronounce the text out aloud and do not use the recorder, because you will forget this text, and it will be a pity that you can not say it better. So, it is better to open your notes and start writing the whole text from the beginning.

– What if I have a lot of ideas, separate notes, and thoughts? How can I link them together?

– I would rather not link them. As I said, you should write until you run out of thoughts. It is very important. When you run out of ideas and the text comes to a logical conclusion, interest also ends. Your thoughts are running consistently and a structure is being made by itself, while you are writing. So, actually the structure is built intuitively. I have used the passive voice not in vain: it is created by itself. The brain thinks in holistic stories, and the thought process moves along this structure; it cannot get off these rails. This does not mean you do not have to pay attention to the structure and the logic. But if you try to build the structure in a more unnatural way, from the different pieces, you feel terrible, because the puzzle does not fit together. Of course not – the pieces are from different sets.

– So, we do not compile the text from different pieces? We write the whole text or do freewriting the first time. What about editing, then?

– I do not read the text while I am writing it. There is a time to write. There is a time to read. Each process takes its own time. When you are writing, do not stop while you have the interest, an idea and something to say. But if you revise every single paragraph you have just written, your courage will be lost, and it will be difficult to write further. Why? Because you will certainly criticize yourself, correct some parts, and change some words – and your text will no longer be smooth. The editing is important, but it is another type of work, and it needs to be done at a different time. It probably won’t even be you who does the editing.

– But what if I edit or rewrite someone else’s text?

– We do not edit someone else’s text. We read the whole text and other materials. We choose the facts and information. If there is a lack of information, we ask a client (a person who we write for). We write a new text, based on this information and facts. We do not amend texts. It is another profession. I do sometimes, because I already have the skill, but you are at the beginning of copywriting, so you have to study how to write from the very beginning; from an empty, white sheet with the same dynamics, style, rhythm and structure.

Right state and comfortable position

Usually, every coaching session starts with the words: “Hello, nice to see you, and now sit comfortably, please”. Most people change their position, despite the fact that they have already sat on their chairs.

– Why were you sitting uncomfortably before I asked? You didn’t even notice it. Why didn’t you sit comfortably in the first place?

Why do you not write easily from the very beginning? It is important to remember: if it is hard it means you are doing something wrong. It should not be hard. Imagine: you want to shake out the bag of a vacuum cleaner and you are trying to pull the container out. Is it hard? Perhaps you are pushing something the wrong way. You will break the plastic if you do not understand the design.

What could be wrong when you are writing? Three things:

– lack of interest and waiting for inspiration;

– state and position;

– lack of information and wrong meaning.

Right place

I decided to create my writing lessons when my friend asked me how I wrote. He was a coach and he started to explore my writing approach. Modeling in NLP (Neuro-Linguistic Programming) is not only copying something but obtaining a certain skill through the gathering of criteria: internal (beliefs and values) and external (specific rules and actions/behavior). So, he watched everything I did while I was writing.

We noticed that I sat fixedly. My legs and body did not move; only my hands and eyes were doing the work. It might be obvious to you, but my friend was surprised. Normally, when he was writing, he constantly changed his position; his hands were on his face, lips, keyboard; he was bending his legs or sitting with his feet on the floor. He fidgeted.

The beginners’ mistake is that they do not pay attention to the right place, position and condition (state). That is why they think they need ‘patience to work’. When the body is resting, the head is working, productivity is higher, and attention is more focused. The body does not ask for comfort, food, convenience – it is fine. It is in a trance. A trance is achieved when you can fully concentrate on writing, excluding everything else. It is a state of focusing completely on one thing – in our case on writing. It is the only way to love it. But how can you find this state?

Look for a comfortable body position while you are working. Think about your favorite place: the chair, the sofa, the floor? How do you prefer to sit: foot on foot, legs straight, legs under your bottom? Or maybe you like to lay down? Which sounds help you: silence, classical music, office noise, subway noise? What do you want to see around you: a mess, an order, a beautiful interior? Or where do you like to be: at home, in the office, in a cafe, in a co-working studio, in a park, in the countryside? Analyze and prepare your place for work. You do not live in outer space or in a prison, I hope, so you can always leave, change your setting, and arrange a work space, or… just go into a trance. I can write anywhere; I do not care what is around me. I just open my laptop and start to work. My body is still, and my breathing slows down. I achieve a trance-like state and do not notice anything around me. Nothing can irritate or distract me. Remember that a trance is a full mental concentration on one object. It is natural to all of us when we read, watch a film or drive a car. It is natural and useful when we are writing, and it helps us to be more focused on something and, thus, to be calm and productive.

If you know a comfortable place and a body position you can work in while relaxed, you should sit the same way and in the same condition next time. It seems easy: the body can always be seated in the right chair, with your arms and legs perfectly aligned. Well, what about the state then? It is vulnerable and has no shell.

The right state can be achieved as soon as you get into the right place. Actually, the state is achieved with the right pose: when your body is relaxed and fixed in a comfortable position, and your breathing is slow, you feel calm. But there are a lot of states (interest, inspiration, excitement, curiosity), so it is not only achieved by position. It is also dependent on a process. The state does not exist separately from you, you can create it on your own.

Information and meaning

Information is the content, facts, a brief (a client’s questionnaire); it is specifics. If I want to write some information, I ask myself: what do I want to say? Information is something new that I tell the reader.

Meaning is an aim, an idea, a sense, or a significance. If I want to determine the meaning, I ask myself: why do I want to say this? The first answer is for nothing. That is alright. By default, there is enough of everything in the universe, it does not need your texts. This must be accepted and forgotten. The second answer is for myself; the most honest answer, actually. All authors write for great reasons for sure; to change the world, but we write for ourselves, because we love to write, we need to write, we cannot live without it and we enjoy it. After all, when you have accepted that your text is not needed and you write for yourself, you can give the third answer – I write to tell people something. Selling texts, copywriting, and mass-media texts are the kind of text that is written to ‘tell people’ something, because you could live without this text and the readers did not ask for it, but you should write it to tell about a product.

The meaning is what you mean, but you are not saying it directly, although the meaning can be said aloud: it is a thesis, a theme, sometimes it is a title. Ivan Krylov, a well-known Russian fabulist, prescribed the meaning of each fable with the words: “the moral of this fable is…” But at the end of the advertising text, you do not write “this text is published to arouse your trust” or “I wrote a post so that you sympathize” or “This ad encourages you to buy a toothbrush”. Nevertheless, we use conversion phrases (call-to-action): “Buy our new pesticide-free cucumbers”. This task we will consider in selling text structure. Now, we are discussing what prevents us from writing, so up to this moment, we have two questions: WHAT do I want to say and WHY do I want to say it. If you already have the information (you interviewed your client or you have something to say), you know WHAT you want to say and you can put it down. Some people really do not know what they want to say, that is why they spend hours in front of a blank sheet of paper. They should get some information in order to express the clients’ opinion or their own (depending on the goal).