What Makes Top Copywriters Tick (and Why?) Part Three

Top freelance copywriter and blogger Lorraine Thompson

In this exclusive interview with top copywriter Lorraine Thompson, you will learn how to:

• Bring your copy to life – through your imagination and by empathising with your customer
• Deliver on time, every time – with the French secret of “la répétition”
• Have fresher, more imaginative ideas – by “letting go” of your copywriting
• Clear your mind – with the help of some leading modern artists

Lorraine Thompson is a renowned freelance copywriter and blogger. Based in New York’s Hudson Valley, Lorraine has written successfully for organisations including: Novartis; American Express; and the Sadaf/ Sabic Suadi Petrochemical Company.

Many copywriters come into the business from other industries. But Lorraine’s story is more interesting than most. “My first career was in the theatre,” Lorraine says, “I was an actress.”

Here Lorraine explains how theatre and visual art influence her copywriting – and what lessons you can take from her impressive 20 year career.

How to bring your copy to life

Lorraine says that imagination and empathy are vital for bringing your copy alive. She tells us: “I believe I transfer my actor’s conservatory training to copywriting. I also believe the ability to vividly imagine an inner life and empathise with a character helps me write copy.”

She explains: “Often I’m tasked to write persuasive copy for goods and services I don’t need or want – yet I need to engagingly speak to the customer. As an actress I prepared rigorously for each role. I imagined the emotional make-up that motivated my characters to say and do everything the script required.”

Lorraine continues: “Acting training helps me put myself “in the customer’s shoes”, in a very real and immediate way, and to write copy that speaks in a warm, conversational tone. I also use what actors call “sense memory” when called on to use sensorial details in my writing.”

How to deliver on time, every time

Lorraine’s acting experience taught her valuable lessons about method, discipline and performance. “Theatre requires a very disciplined work ethic,” she says. “In French,” Lorraine continues, “rehearsals are called “la répétition”, because the players rehearse their lines, scenes, blocking and acting exercises over and over until these practices are deeply ingrained.”

Lorraine recommends the same work ethic for copywriting. She says: “Though I’m a freelancer, writing is a daily discipline for me. In twenty years I’ve never missed a deadline.”

How to have fresher, more imaginative ideas

Lorraine says: “I find if I can get away from my copy for some time, I come back to it with fresher, more imaginative ideas that improve the work and speed rewrites.”

“My copywriting is much better if I can “let go” of it,” she says. “First I must do the work – researching product line, competitors, customers, identifying benefits and conversion goals, and familiarising myself with the media and format. I mindmap, brainstorm, and get a draft out. That’s the work – but the copy will go through many revisions before I’m ready to deliver it. That’s where “letting go” helps very much.”

“Letting go” is another lesson Lorraine learned as an actress, she explains:  “Here’s the thing about the hard work of acting: You “let go” of it when you perform. You do all the thinking, planning, writing and exercising in rehearsal, but you don’t think about any of that, or “hold on” to it once you’re on stage.”

How to clear your mind

When you’re swamped with work, clearing your mind can be a tough job. But rather than hitting the bar like a modern-day Don Draper or Peggy Olson, this New Yorker prefers to head for an art gallery instead.

“Visual art is one of the best ways for me to take a break from the copywriting grind,” Lorraine says, “and come back to my work refreshed. I’m lucky to live close to great museums and galleries and to be able to visit them regularly. When I feel burned out, I refresh myself with works by Rothko, Pollock, Rauschenberg, Serra, Beuays, Elizabeth Peyton, new artists or an exhibition “on tap” at a nearby museum.”

Thanks for reading.

For more about Lorraine Thompson, please head over to her excellent business website MarketCopywriter.

Visual art fans can check out Lorraine’s local museum, New York’s MOMA.