Clients often misinterpret the copywriter‘s role in branding and marketing. We are not there to write pretty words or to ‘send messages’. We don’t have magical abilities to entrance the population with our words. It is not our job to tell you what you should be saying. Our role is to learn, ask questions, gain expertise, and become the interpreters of our clients’ stories.

In the case of product marketing, there is no way that I will ever be as adept at anyone in the line in making and understanding the ins-and-outs of their work. There is so much research, refinement, and expertise in every second of production. Decades of work, effort, and evolution. If I want to be able to write persuasively, you need to be able to ask the questions that will help you to translate all that knowledge into a story the intended audience can understand.

This also means that you will have to spend some time getting to know the audience. You can’t tell a story effectively without first understanding who is going to be hearing it. This is important because many times you see copywriter’s miss this step. Drafting the story in general is different from targeting it towards the intended market.

Once you have the research in place, you play double duty as interpreter and storytelling. Not only do you have to translate the technical magic behind your client’s work, but you also tell it in a story that will engage the audience. A key part of this is highlighting the words and phrases that the audience will cherish, making connections from their values to the story of your client.

Being a good writer is just the first part of your job. The copywriter’s role is to be a researcher, interpreter, and reporter.