Nelken - A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters

A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters

A resource for writing headlines and building creative confidence

Dan Nelken

Every effort has been made to trace or contact all copyright holders. The publishers will be pleased to make good any omissions or rectify any mistakes brought to their attention at the earliest opportunity.

Copyright 2021 Dan B. Nelken

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or used in any manner without written permission of the copyright owner except for the use of quotations in a book review.

First paperback edition December 2021

Book design by Sara Creative

ISBN 9336-XXX-XX (paperback)

ISBN 9336-XXX-XX (e-book)

Published by TBD

www.nelkencreative.com

To you,

Create something you have complete control over.

It doesnt matter if its perfect. All that matters is that its yours.

(To Sara, Finn + Poppy, I love you times a zillion)

Ingredients

(Insert glowing review from the ad industry legend of your choice here)

I wrote A Self-Help Guide for Copywriters to help myself. I wrote the thing I wish Id had at the beginning of my career, five years into my career, and last week. But thats not where this journey started for me.

A few years ago, I was having lunch with a friend, who at the time was creative director for a global brand. I mentioned toying with the idea of creating an online course about writing headlines. I explained the gist of my approach and went back to slurping my miso soup.

Part of me knew this course would be no different than the countless other ideas Id had over the years. Id talk about it for a while, get a few people to say, Thats great, Dan. Good for you, and then as soon as a newer, shinier idea came along, Id toss it into the nearest dumpster.

Yet, here you are reading these words. And these three.

This is because a few hours post-miso, my friend emailed asking if I could teach this non-existent course to his creative department.

Uh-oh.

I sent a high estimate to scare him off.

Can you also organize lunch?

Uh-oh.

My estimate consisted of a three-hour session, plus a leave-behind in the form of a booklet thingy the writers could one day pass on to their copywriter grandchildren.

I had eight weeks to create a course and write this thingy, while working full time. One month in, it was sixty pages long with no end in sight. I hadnt even thought about the presentation deck. Or dietary preferences.

I decided to do what any rational human being would do in this situation - fake my own death and flee the country.

But before the glue had dried on my fake moustache, I caught a lucky break. My friend was let go (sorry, Chris) and my little course was headed right where it belonged - the nearest dumpster.

I was relieved because I liked my life in Canada but disappointed because in preparing for this course, I realized I needed it as much as anyone. I realized that throughout my career there had been little to no professional development focused on the craft of copywriting or creativity. I heard a lot of talk about the importance of working on your craft, but there was little walk.

In the ad agencies I worked at, I was surrounded by hilarious and talented people and exposed to the worlds greatest ads through award annuals. But there were zero resources put toward deliberately teaching and growing the teams craft.

For those of us privileged enough to go to an ad school, we developed a foundation and learned how hard we had to work (to do great work), but the intentional development ended when the career started. At least it did for me.

Theres always going to be an element of sink or swim to start any career, but its in every agencys best interest to proactively develop talent once someones proven they can float. The fact theres little to no ongoing professional development for most creatives in advertising is batshit crazy for several reasons. Here are two biggies:

1. Creativity is our bread and butter

This industry prides itself on being at the forefront of creativity. But instead of creating conditions to help creativity flourish, its often the opposite.

Many industries look for ways to create efficiencies in their work. But us, were either too caught up in the busyness of our days or too proud to admit that a term like efficiencies could apply to creativity. And so, our answer is often working longer and harder. But what if we could find ways to get to better ideas, faster? As the demand for content grows and budgets and timelines shrink, this should be at the top of our to-do list.

And numero dos

2. Creative self-doubt

Self-doubt, you know, the asshole inner voice thats always telling you youre not good enough? Yeah, that. I havent met a half-decent creative who doesnt have that. And Ive met many who were so impacted by it, it drove them out of the business altogether.

I think some degree of self-doubt is normal and can even be a motivator, but left unchecked, it can become paralyzing and impact more than your work. Ive had to deal with it on almost every single brief. But in creating this book, Ive become so much more aware of my process. The result has been a greater confidence in my abilities and a heightened level of self-awareness that allows me to whack-a-mole any self-doubting thoughts before their ugly little faces can take a breath.

It took me a while to admit I struggled with it but once I did, I was surprised to learn how many other people felt the same way. Yet still, most of the industry doesnt acknowledge it. Or we just accept that it comes with the territory and dont give it a second thought. Or maybe its because its tied to mental health and thats a subject were all supposed to keep to ourselves. Feelings are for the weak. Whatever the reason, creative departments have to start getting proactive with helping employees build their craft. Otherwise, the work needlessly suffers, and so can people.

For these two ginormous reasons, I felt compelled to start down this path of helping people understand the creative process and become happier, healthier, and more confident.

Welcome to the course that became a booklet thingy that became a book. And might one day become a course.

Why the focus on headlines?

From aspiring to expiring copywriters, I kept noticing a lack of confidence in the craft of writing headlines, which is crazy because its a huge part of our job. Some might say that is our job.

For me personally, this insecurity stemmed from being a writer in an industry thats been shifting more and more visual for over thirty years. I forced myself to think visually because thats what was valued. And I was consistently rewarded and awarded. But my writing muscles, if I had any to begin with, had atrophied.

Breaking down the craft of writing headlines has provided me with a foundation for all creative thinking and writing; from a headline on a billboard to a subject line in an email, or a witty line in an office birthday card.

So, whats in this book, and whos it for?

Its exclusively for copywriters. And also, for people who want to write like copywriters. Its a little about the creative process and a lot about the craft of writing headlines, including more than two hundred examples.

If youre looking for killer headline formulas that cant fail, data-driven headline conversion hacks, SEO secrets (Google doesnt want you to know), or cant-miss clickbait headlines, you can find everything you need in a search bar. If you want to learn how to come up with a crap ton of ideas and turn them into headlines that bring personality to your writing and help you communicate like a human instead of a robot, this is the place to be.