What literary greats can teach us about Copywriting

George Orwell

The prose of proposals

Great men of letters have described writing in diverse but nonetheless intriguing and instructive ways.

Friedrich Nietzsche

Friedrich Nietzsche said “A good business proposal encapsulates the spirit of your team and reflects your company’s personality. While it needs to be consistent, it may be better to show a few different perspectives.

In essence, he’s saying that a good writer possesses not only his own spirit but also the spirit of his friends.

Voltaire said “Proposals are already complex and lengthy pieces of writing that require a high degree of attention. If you want to make sure you put your reader to sleep, take him through ALL the stages and aspects of your project.

He must have meant that the secret of being a bore is to tell everything.

Scott Fitzgerald

Scott Fitzgerald, the author of the famous novel 'Great Gatsby', was writing short stories at night, but little people know that afterwards, in order to make a living during the day, he was also working as a copywriter. It’s true that good grammar and punctuation can make or break your proposal, but listen to his words and don’t overdo it.

Cut out all these exclamation points, he said. An exclamation point is like laughing at your own joke.

Exactly as George Orwell put it in his essay ‘Why I write’ copywriting should be transparent. After reading a good sales proposal, the client should see where your ideas came from and where they are heading.

Good prose should be transparent, like a window pane, said George.

Ernest Hemingway

Ernest Hemingway mastered the art of writing simple, short, but powerful sentences that made amazing stories. A powerful proposal is written in the same concise style; always try to exclude extraneous details which will only distract from your idea.

His aim, he said, was “to put down on paper what I see and what I feel in the best and simplest way.”

Choosing the right word is a time consuming and quite frustrating activity, but it is critical in order to make sure you are expressing your ideas in the best, most convincing way, said Mark Twain.

The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.

Courtesy of Qudos.

Edited by ‘Dele Dele-Olukoju, Marketing Communication strategist and publisher of the online Marketing Communication Digest. He writes from Lagos, Nigeria.