Content Crafters is an interview series where we de-construct the tools, tips, and tactics that top bloggers use to get so much work done. you’ll walk away in mere minutes with actionable takeaways you can try out right away. Let’s dive in!
Alex Fassam is a copywriter at Infinity, a call intelligence platform based in the United Kingdom.
At Infinity, Alex is in charge of a variety of copywriting tasks, such as:
Despite working in B2B now, his background is in fashion and fashion journalism, which we’ll explore in this interview.
You can find Alex on Twitter at @AlexWritesCopy or on LinkedIn here.
I didn’t necessarily aim to get into content marketing.
I knew that my natural talent was in writing and, after some research, I discovered you could write for businesses as a copywriter. I immediately fell in love with the world of copywriting.
It was only after I got my first job as a copywriter did I start to begin learning about content marketing and its numerous benefits.
As I said, I think I always had a natural flair for writing but I knew I had to sharpen up my skill set by working as a full-time copywriter.
In terms of content marketing, I think imagination and a “think outside the box” attitude is probably the best skill that makes me a great content marketer. I think the Britishness inside of me wavers on using the term “Great,” but you said it first so I’ll take that.
Sometimes in content marketing, you can get bogged down by the numbers and the statistics.
These things are great as a granular glance into your marketing but if you write some pretty imaginative stuff, refuse to settle for less, and market it creatively that’s what’s going to appeal to people. Not your impressive CTRs or how many likes you got on Twitter.
Firstly, what I think stops people from taking fashion and fashion journalism seriously is that they are often frightened of it.
Just because you spend your days writing about a beautiful McQueen dress or the latest curly hair serum it doesn’t make you a dull or superficial person. It’s how you choose to present it. Fashion is the pinnacle of creativity and having to constantly be creative gets under your skin and it’s hard to shake off.
That’s what happened to me when I started working in B2B content. No tea, no shade but some of the topics in B2B writing are incredibly dull and boring. However, it’s how you choose to present it. You can still write the need to know information that people will use as relevant takeaways from your pieces, but wakey wakey darling, you don’t have to be boring.
I recently wrote a piece on the questions you need to ask before you invest in any Martech.
It’s hardly going to inspire anyone to create great works art or films based on it but the way I wrote it was that Martech is similar to online dating. Not every person (or Martech stack) you meet is going to be for you, and that’s ok.
Creating that sort of parallel gives people a reassurance that what they’re about to read is not too complicated or dull, but they’re still going to learn from it.
Most enjoyable aspect? Going home for the day. No, not really. I would say that knowing that all your hard work and your creativity has actually had a genuine impact in your company.
When I find out that my copy/content marketing has converted a visitor into a potential lead, that makes me happy. I feel I’m contributing to the wider aspect of the business, which can be quite hard when you’re sometimes known as “that guy who sits in the corner and writes blogs”.
Using the word influencers to start with.
I’m so tired of seeing this fake and inauthentic content being shoved in our faces every day. I know there’s been a huge industry-wide shakeup about who is actually “influencing” and who is actually just buying their followers or likes. I think the biggest mistake is working with an influencer JUST because they are an influencer. No, stop that at once.
What relevance do they have to your brand? Do they support your values? Are they actually engaging with an audience that is 1) real 2) relevant to your target audience.
I would most likely want to work as a window dresser for a luxury brand or probably a creative consultant. Anything that’s creative. If money were no object, I would be a dolphin trainer.
1) Don’t look at the screen when you write.
Look at the keyboard. When you split your focus between the screen and the words you can fall into the trap of editing your work as you go. Just let the words flow through you when you write and then edit later.
2) Don’t be first, but be right.
I think we live in a day and age whereby everyone rushes to get content out as soon as possible, and 90% of it is total bullshit. No-one wants to read something that’s Frankensteined together all for the sake of being first. I would much rather wait a bit longer for my favourite blogger/content team to produce a well-written, well-informed, and well-researched piece that actually gives me something I can use.
3) Constantly appreciate your readers time.
We have a limited amount of time in the day and you’re going to waste theirs by writing / producing content that doesn’t really give them anything useful? No! Don’t be lazy. Do your research. Ask others for opinions on what they think before you publish it. Are you respecting your readers time? This will inform your writing by keeping it sharp, to the point and succinct but also leave room to pepper it with creativity.
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