In the movie "Case Study: LSD," a hot dog turns into an angry troll. Now that's an arc.

I’ve been wondering this for years, because as I explained to a client recently, while I think case studies are valuable, I think the case study format is tired. And I see a lot of tired writing plugged into case studies.

I like Jack Price‘s answer to this question on Quora. He writes:

“A common mistake is to describe the benefit in such glowing terms that it strains credibility. A better strategy is to describe the arc.

Definition: The arc is the range of change from beginning to end.

How much did the hero (client) change from the beginning of the story (before engagement) to the end of the story (after engagement)? That’s the arc.

Rule: It’s not the size of the arc that matters, it’s the amount of change that creates the emotional impact.

For example: you figure out a way for Bill Gates to earn a million dollars. It’s a lot of money, but he already has billions. Not so impressive. If you figure out a way for an unemployed factory worker to make a million, that’s impressive. There’s a big arc to talk about.

Rule: The greater the arc (amount of change) the greater the emotional impact.

The mistake writers make when they try to maximize the size of the arc is to concentrate on how impressive the benefit is at the end. It tends to sound like an exaggeration.

A better strategy is to concentrate on the beginning. What weakness was the client experiencing? What was the depth of the need? What did the client desperately want? What naive plans had they pursued and abandoned?

You can go just about as deeply as you wish in dramatizing the “before”, and it doesn’t sound exaggerated. In fact, it sounds empathetic.

Then when you describe the “after” picture, the reader perceives a greater arc and experiences a greater depth of emotional engagement.”

The problem I see here, however, is that not everyone has a case study story with a big enough amount of change to be, er, game-changing. Sure, the client may have suffered some unmet need, some strategic problem that they really had to overcome in their business. But all too often, the case studies I see out there show a result that is similar in nature to results achieved by competitors serving similar clients.

That said, considering the arc and degree of change is a very good idea. But I’d like to see clients invest in case studies that go beyond copywriting and a few screen shots. I’d like to see interviews in video, animation, motion graphics. You know, the kind of stuff we’re readily using these days to create dynamic and superior content. Those would be case studies worth engaging with.

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And let’s face it, I didn’t expect to be in a position to be advising anyone on which products to stock.

But over the course of two years, I had the unique opportunity to be a part of the Organic Beauty Now brand from idea to full-fledged online retailer of organic beauty products.

That meant delving into a new industry and applying strategic skills as well as copywriting chops to a bi-weekly blog on organic beauty products. It also meant wearing lots of hats, not the least of which was assisting in product evaluation.

As a marketer, I’m trained to look for the differentiator in any situation. It’s in my blood.

So when I saw my own daughter, whose love of the pretty little bangles and baubles of Claire’s, home to beauty accessories galore for tweens, had turned to their new makeup kits, I got curious on several fronts.

First, I looked at the ingredients, as anyone who knows organics would do. Sure enough, I spotted several on the no-no list.

Immediately after, I wondered, do moms know there are cancer-causing ingredients in this stuff? (I bet they didn’t.) And if, like me, they were horrified at the prospect, would they be able to find an organic play makeup alternative? Did one even exist?

So with a few hunches in hand, I did what any good consumer and marketer does. Market research.

I started with our competitors. Nope, no one carried anything for kids other than shampoos, soaps and toothpastes.

Then I looked for organic play makeup altogether. Turns out, almost no one made organic play makeup for kids. Almost. There was one little-known wholesaler who made a cute little 5-piece kit.

Bingo.

With a swift decision to stock it right before the holidays, plus a strong outreach campaign to mom-centric blogs and move to put some of our PPC dollars into focusing on the kit, we sold out. Three times over.

The organic play makeup kit was our hottest-selling item of the 2010 holiday season and remains one of the company’s biggest-selling items to date.

So, if you hire me, will I pick your next big seller? Maybe. (I’d love to try!) More to the point, I’m always thinking about your business, not just when my hands are on the keyboard. So contact me if you want a copywriter who’ll do more for you than just put words on the page.

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What I found for most clients is that, at a minimum, it’s best to set a quarter as a goal for your plan. Even better is to look at a whole year and create a roadmap of topics that are seasonal, newsworthy and topical.

While many of the tips I’m giving here relate to the blog calendar I created for Organic Beauty Now, online retailer of organic beauty products, you can use them no matter which industry you’re in.

Here’s what I recommend:

1. Tackle seasonal topics. In the beauty industry, there are obvious seasonality topics, such as solutions to the dry skin of winter, sunscreen for spring and summer (although sunscreen is actually a year-round topic), fashion trends for each season as well as the trends for the coming year, holidays, weddings, etc. But you can find seasonal topics for any industry.

For example, on the other end of the spectrum, B2B technology has new product releases and upgrades, yearly tradeshows and industry events, and budgetary cycles. You can also follow the seasonality of industries that use B2B technology products and services, such as education, travel, and retail, which is pretty much every industry.

2. Cover industry-specific topics. In the organics industries, there’s still much education to be done for consumers seeking to avoid harmful chemicals and new information is coming out all the time. The key, for any industry, is to be tied into several good sources of news and information so that you can educate yourself and share them. I find it to be helpful to use a reader service such as Google reader to keep abreast of news throughout any sector.

3. Look abroad. By seeking sources of news outside the US, you get an interesting angle on any sector or topics you follow. In the organic beauty industry, for example, there’s a widely divergent set of standards in Europe and Australia than here at home. Often, I’d find news that impacted the kinds of products being imported into the US (as many organic beauty products come out of other regions) as well as regulation of the term “organics,” types of ingredients used, sustainability, etc. It pays to look beyond US borders.

4. Follow the personalities. In the world of beauty, there are flocks of celebrities hawking products and brands and the organic sector is no exception. By following the personalities in any industry, you can keep on top of the trends and topics many people will be interested in.

5. Be ready for late-breaking news. There are news flashes in every industry. In organic beauty, for example, when a new report came out that a sunscreen ingredient actually caused skin cancer, it was all over the news—and in our blog.

All this said, being a professional copywriter has a lot of advantages in both planning and executing a blog because, of course, you already know how to craft a topic as well as how to write. It is a skill that, like all others, gets refined the more you do it.

So if you need ideas to plan your blog calendar, what to publish in your blog, or just want a copywriter to take over the task of writing so you can focus on your other responsibilities (which are legion, no doubt), email me. I’m always happy to help.

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The best advertising and the best communication, when it comes to business, is that which makes you smile, that which makes you think, that which makes you ponder.

People “want to be inspired. They want to aspire to something. … You can have the best product, the best service, the best argument in a debate,” says Luntz. “But without the effective words you still lose. In the end you need good principles and good language if you are to succeed.”

As a copywriter, I couldn’t agree more, regardless of who is delivering the message.

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It’s a perennial discussion because people continue to get it wrong: Marketing gurus and sales geniuses (and even some DM copywriters) continue to promote features and ignore benefits as if hubcaps or a QWERTY keyboard would convince someone to buy.

So let’s end this now, shall we? It’s easy. Here’s how.

The simple addition of two little words can force you into thinking about benefits. Just by adding the words “which means” after every feature, you’ll push yourself out of “what” and into “why”.

“This car comes with hubcaps, which means your car will look better.”

“This computer comes with a QWERTY keyboard, which means you don’t need to learn a new keyboard configuration.”

Simple! By adding “which means” to your features, you force yourself to consider why it really matters to your customers and you’ll be able to communicate it more effectively. This works if you’re writing marketing copy or if you’re in a face-to-face selling situation.

But it doesn’t stop there. Adding “which means” just once might not be enough. In fact, as you prepare your marketing or sales presentation, add “which means” until you run out of things to say. Then you’ll have discovered the real reasons that people buy your product or service:

“This orange juice is loaded with vitamin C, which means you’ll get your daily requirement of vitamin c in just one glass of orange juice, which means you’ll be healthier without having to eat a whole bunch of other things that contain vitamin C, which means you’ll feel great and look great but save time, which means you’ll enjoy a longer, healthier, and more fruitful life doing the things you like to do.” Ergo, Vitamin C helps you enjoy a long and healthier life.

See how easy it is? Adding “which means” to your features will create powerful benefits statements, which means you’ll close more deals, which means you’ll earn more money, which means you’ll have money to spend on the things you like and you can retire sooner, which means you can move to Bermuda sooner than you thought possible. Ergo, adding “which means” can help you retire to Bermuda faster.

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Instead, I’m going to give you a quick peek into the (potentially alarming) psyche of your DM copywriter:

1. We study you. Constantly. Always. Looking for what makes you tick, what it takes to get you to do what “we” (aka, our clients) want. In the nicest possible, most constructive way, of course. And you means you. Because everyone is our target audience, some way, somehow. Including you.
2. We crave offers. Not just those you make to us (although those are fantastic), but those we can make to your audience. Because a good offer makes it about 80 trillion times easier to get them to take the action you want them to take. Which makes our job 80 trillion times easier. Period.
3. We’re always selling. Selling is in a DM copywriter’s blood. We’re always looking at the angles, figuring out the opportunities. In every brainstorm session, every meeting, on the phone, and in day-to-day life. Doesn’t matter where or when. In fact, if I truly billed you for all the time I think about your business, you wouldn’t be able to afford me. Because I’m always thinking about your business, and how to get you more. A DM copywriter can’t help it.
4. We can be pushy. I recently wrote a direct email for a client that got a 6% open rate (hooray!) but a .2% conversion (sadness!). The client asked me for a rewrite and I wrote not one, not two, but three distinctly new drafts, then pushed them to test at least two, which they’re doing. We will push you to test. Why? See #5.
5. We see it all as a game. Which is a good thing, because people who like to play games like to win. Any DM copywriter worth her salt wants to get or beat the metrics you set. We want to win. Which means you win.

If you’re looking for a DM copywriter and can live with these peculiarities, you’ll find yourself in good company. Or at least, in the company of someone who can help you get success.

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Here’s the deal. If you need a copywriter, you don’t need an article about 10 tips on copywriting. Like, if you need a heart surgeon, you don’t need an article about 10 ways to perform a vascular suture. You need someone who’ll get in there, assess the damage, fix it, and make you better than you were before.

Better. Stronger. Faster.

(For those of you who didn’t grow up in the 70s, that’s a Six Million Dollar Man reference. You know, back when $6 million was a lot of money and we built cyborgs with it.)

What you really want is someone who is a student of the human condition. Why? Because all the people reading these ones and zeroes are still people. They’ve only been around this whole Internet thing for the last decade or so. Not that long.

Measure that against emotions and instincts that have developed over billions of years. (Evolutionarily speaking, of course. If you follow the Bible literally, that’s 10,000 years or so. Still a lot longer than 10.)

You also want someone who is a student of marketing strategy.

Marketing strategy is a combination of rules, insight, attitude, application of said attitude and adjustment to results. Many of the best rules come from direct marketing, of which I’ve been a student for 20 years and counting.

This whole Internet and social media thing has more in common with direct marketing than anything else. It’s about making offers and getting them accepted. (Do I offer to follow you? Do you offer to follow me? What’s in it for each of us?) Brevity or length and knowing where to use which (Twitter vs. blogging, anyone?). Testing and measuring (try something, see if it works. Refine. Repeat.). Structuring arguments, engagement (still with me?).

All good direct marketing skills.

If you want 10 tips that include things like when to use subheads, or how to write a winning headline, there are lots of places to get that.

But that’s not what you need, is it?

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