How listening to rap, writing philosophy essays, and reading billboards made me a better copywriter and content creator.

The ability to write effective copy is one of the most sought after skills in the marketing world.

Words have an incredible ability to guide us into buying products, sharing content, and becoming brand advocates, or just as powerfully shatter a brand’s reputation.

They can also have absolutely no effect at all – a problem that brands frequently face as status updates, ads, and calls to action fall on deaf ears.

So how do you write copy that positively impacts your brand, generates engagement from your audience, and grows your business?

Whilst growing my own personal brand, as well as those of my clients, this is a question I’ve asked a number of times.

There is only so much you can learn from reading ‘Top 10 Copywriting Tips’ listicles.

Real improvements in your copywriting skills will come from, well, writing, reading, and listening to copy…

Listening to rap, writing philosophy essays, and reading billboards have all helped me develop my own critical thinking, creativity, and copywriting skills.

Here’s why:

1. Listening to rap

I’ve been listening to various forms of rap music since I was 11. From old school hip-hop, to the diverse UK scene, to more conscious laid-back tracks.

Recently, I have developed a fascination for studying the make-up of these raps, diving deeper into the thought processes artists go through to structure their tracks.

What I’ve learned is that quality rap is much like marketing in general, a fine balance of science and art – being creative, but being creative strategically to get a message across.

Rappers are, fundamentally, storytellers.

The best among them can create clear images and stories with their words. They are really skilled at discovering the tales – and the details in them – that their fans want to know. Plus, they do it with feeling, guiding the listener on a journey that sticks with them.

These are all skills that copywriters should be masters of but typically struggle with.

If we’re to build a powerful and profitable brand, we need to tell stories that resonate with our readers, we need to create content that they want to consume, we need to leave a lasting impression.

If telling an effective story wasn’t enough, rappers also have to fit their story to a beat.

This often involves breaking the kinds of structural rules that copywriters religiously adhere to.

It takes a level of creativity that copywriters often lack, perhaps out of fear of risks not paying off.

We’re too quick to play it safe.

What happens is all copy ends up looking the same.

One thing rappers hate is looking the same. They want to own a style and be remembered for it.

Listening to rap encourages you to explore your creativity, break rules, and generate emotional engagement from the reader through powerful storytelling.

That’s a recipe for copy that stands out.

2. Writing about philosophy

Much of my writing ability was honed as a student.

Philosophy isn’t the only subject I have written about – psychology research reports consumed a lot of my time too – but philosophy stands out.

It’s abstract.

Whereas psychology – and most other disciplines – are based on research, rationale and data, philosophy is theoretical.

That makes writing an essay on it particularly challenging. You have to convince humans, who largely use reason to argue, that your theory makes the most logical sense, even though you don’t often have any ‘real’ data to back it up.

Doing so challenges you to write more convincingly, to break down your argument into steps, to make a persuasive case for yourself.

Marketers have been trying to master the art of persuasion for decades. Actually practicing it is the best way to learn the skill.

And this kind of persuasion isn’t the black-hat psychological manipulation many marketers aim for, but an ability to communicate value clearly and convincingly.

If you want to become a better copywriter, I strongly suggest you write a few mini-essays of some sort – or even join a debating club.

3. Reading billboards

Most marketers cast billboards out of their minds during the advent of social media and probably haven’t considered them since. But they’re still used by many of the world’s top brands…

And are incredibly fascinating too. Why?

The copy on them has to be extremely short.

One of the worst things as a reader is trawling through pages of unnecessary copy to find the information you need. In fact, your readers are probably too lazy to do that… They won’t bother with your content, seeking out a competitor’s advice instead.

There’s no room for that on a billboard (or in Tweets, another great example).

A great copywriter is able to get their message across powerfully in as few words as possible. They cut ruthlessly and find smart ways of communicating their value proposition in as few words as possible.

These billboards from Apple spring to mind.

The ‘songs in your pocket/on your wrist’ value proposition is eloquently put.

Apple could have gone into the dimensions, functionalities and specifications of their products, but the focus is on what the customer wants: convenient music.

Whilst I’m not saying all your copy should be limited to just a few words, I do think billboards show the sheer volume of redundant copy we tend to include in our content.

Summary

A quick summary of the skills you can learn by listening to rap, writing about philosophy and reading billboards:

  1. Listening to rap – inspires creativity and powerful storytelling
  2. Writing about philosophy – teaches you to write more persuasively and clearly
  3. Reading billboards – challenges you to highlight the key message you want to present and ruthlessly cut copy that doesn’t contribute to it

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