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Writing Is Advertising
A few days ago, I wrote an article about a trick I use to make myself more productive, and I was struck by how enthusiastic the comments were. Everybody loves a good productivity hack of course, so I wasn’t surprised that people liked it, but I think what really made the difference, is that it was clear that I’ve used this advice myself.
As writers, we sell ideas to our readers. Each article we write is like an advertisement. Each idea we endorse is like a product.
Sometimes we advertise an idea because it’s eye-catching, or because somebody famous uses it, and we hope to ride the wave of popularity. But the adverts which connect most powerfully with our audience are for the ideas that we use ourselves. The ideas that we genuinely believe in because we rely on them every day.
Just as we can tell when a celebrity is going through the motions as they endorse a product, our readers can tell when we’re going through the motions as we advertise an idea. Slick packaging and persuasive ad copy are all great. But good writing becomes great when we believe in it.
