Let’s sweat the small stuff
In The Letterhead Manifesto, we have the phrase, "Your most trivial work will have the most meaning." All we have by way of explanation is, ‘Next time you’re assigned a “your order is on the way” email, keep in mind that these are the bits of copy that will be read by the most eyes and can save their readers hours or days of irritation, confusion and anguish.’
That's the topline summary, and I hope that those skimming the manifesto when they join the Letterhead team will read and believe those words without much explanation, but it's perhaps a good time of the year to share the thinking behind them.
It's 'silly season', 'Dezemba' here in South Africa, summer with the smell of the holidays in the air. Yes, now, in October – because already, the Christmas ads are up, the crackers are on shelves in every grocery store, and retailers are well along the road to festive success. As a wise Twitter user once said, the festive season is a South African lifestyle, and our national sport.
To go back to those retailers: this time of year is simultaneously a dream and nightmare, with make-or-break moments ahead in the form of Black Friday sales and festive deals. From small business owners to the biggest chainstores, the stakes are high. From my years in online retail, I would know. Yesterday, I caught up with a former co-worker (or comrade, or fellow soldier, depending on how you view working in retail over the holiday season) who still works in the online shopping business (or omnichannel retail, as we're calling it these days), and was reminded of the multi-tasking that goes into effective time management at this time of year: glossy, gorgeous campaign creative has to be signed off at the same time that crisis plans are put in place for worst case scenarios, and every small detail needs to be nailed down now before the coming storm hits. It's easy to miss stuff: when the festive shopping campaign needs to launch, who's paying attention to the Ts & Cs on the Returns & Exchanges email?
Well, if you're a copywriter, you are. It's your job to make sure that it explains everything that the customer needs to know – simply and effectively – and that there's no room for ambiguity. It needs to have a calm, helpful, measured tone that maintains the air that everything is under control. All this, when most people don't even read the small print? Yes, not only to avoid legal trouble, but also because you're keeping your side of the bargain: with your tiny, trivial commas and brackets, you're giving them the best possible chance to understand what to do and what to expect, and the rest is up to them.
If this sounds a little intense, it's because this is going to make or break your brand. All the breathtaking ad campaigns in the world are not going to change their memory of your store ruining Christmas morning, so you'd best make sure that they know whether their child's flamingo-shaped pool inflatable will be with them in time to be under the tree.
Now I've dealt with the ghosts of my Christmases past, let me make it clear that I think that this is a wonderful thing, and something to keep in mind all year round. If you're stuck with a spreadsheet of copy for SMSs dispersing voucher codes to potential customers when you'd rather be working on a full-length feature, put that storytelling skill to good use and imagine the customer who'll be receiving that text message. What a difference your words might make between a frustrating, disappointing experience with misleading text and a genuinely useful little bit of help. No-one's going to come and thank you for good guidelines on how to return flip-flops that don't fit, but take heart, copywriter: you're the reason someone's beach holiday is picture perfect.
If that's too much idealism for you, well, just do it to avoid the legal trouble.
* When it comes to copy.
