Many people consider copywriting one of the most financially lucrative skills you can possess. But can it help you hook up?
While I’ve never been much of a poet, nor a scribe of lengthy love letters filled with purple prose, I can attest to the power of the written word in matters of the heart, since that’s how I convinced my wife-to-be that I wasn’t a loser.
I first saw her across a crowded bar at our law firm retreat in the Texas Hill Country. She was fresh out of law school and brand new to the firm, so I decided to make her feel welcome in my own dubious style. As she gazed apprehensively at a shot glass, wedge of lime in hand, I sauntered over and said, “You don’t know how to drink tequila.”
It went downhill fast from there.
Luckily, I was able to win her over in the coming weeks—over email. A few witticisms from me led to flirtatious back-and-forth electronic banter, then to lunch, then a night out, then two kids and a mortgage. Yes, I’m leaving some important parts out, but you get the point.
Ten years after my inappropriate use of firm IT resources, we now have consultants who will use their copywriting skills to help you find a date or a mate via online personal ads. Here’s the story of Fran Hartman, “a young looking 66 year old grandmother” who was striking out with Yahoo Personals:
[W]hen she didn’t meet a suitable man, Hartman, now 67, paid New York City–based PersonalsTrainer $159.95 to polish her narrative. The new story generated more responses from prospective mates and “made me feel like I walked on water,” Hartman says. “And it was very much me.”
Whether love or money, copywriting skills can help you get what you want. Just keep in mind that love tends to be a bit more expensive. 🙂
Reader Comments (22)
Absolutely true, and not surprising in the slightest. Personal ads, love-letters, approaching someone in person; these can all be related to copywriting, direct marketing and personal sales. And if matchmaking sites are already capitalizing on love, it doesn’t seem that much of a stretch for advertising professionals to throw their hat in the ring as well.
And there’s certainly demand for it. I’d bet anything that if you offered your “headline remixing” skills to people posting their ads on any of the matchmaking sites, your inbox would be bursting.
nice title!
Haha. that is true. I do PR for a company and now I am writing the copy for people’s myspace site and their match.com profile.
As I like to say…
If you can write well, then you should be a good talker.
A little love letter now and again to our wives would be good for those of us that are married.
Nice use of Story by the way Brian.
Mike
How about following around some guys that just seem
to ‘have it’ with girls (or vice versa). Record the spoken or written data and analyze for trends. Sell it as a Word Plugin or stand alone software app. Sell it to everyone who wants to practice their writing or even talking skills to potential mates. Bet the results wouldn’t be too far off from regular copy?
I wondered if anyone would get the follow-up connection to the previous post. 😉
Glad you didn’t write her this Brian (a person I know was procrastinating marriage so I wrote this as a gag):
“Women and Waves”
Marriage is like surfing.
Women like waves.
Commitment ebbs.
Excitement we crave.
Should we drop-in on the closest one.
The one we see first?
Or, wait around for the perfect run.
Quenching not our curiosity’s thirst?
Each one is good enough!
May not be the best.
Play out each ride.
Fill your memory chest.
Each one is good enough!
The best may not be your first.
Drop-in with a vow anyway.
Enjoy the surf.
It would most likely be better if those that are seeking out companies that could provide the service of writing a love letter would instead teach them how to do it. That way the ones that truly want to win someone over with their words will have the chance becuase if its true and honest the paid writer will not even come close compared to what someone personally wrote.
Brian, nice story! Similar to you and yours, my husband and I met online in a general chat room (no internet, no photos, just monochromatic green and amber diode monitors) on GEnie in the mid-80s.
All we had was the words. Email and chat. Chat and email. It was enough, though, to get him to ditch work and grab a plane from Boston to DC to meet me one cold and drizzly November morning. Sight unseen.
Now almost 20 years, 3 kids, 2 cats and a big mortgage later, well, you get the picture.
It’s all about the words that lead to the deeds.
(BTW, I actually got curious about PersonalTrainer.com a few years … They are always looking for writers, if anyone is interested.)
What a great story… and true in my case as well, since my fiancee and I met in a similar way. Email can be the glue that keeps things going in situations like this, especially in the early stages. I’ve heard from female friends that if a guy can’t write well over email, he’s history — which ought to be incentive enough for us guys to sharpen up those writing skills.
Wonderful story…as I’ve said in my book, part of keeping a relationship magical is having good communication skills and part of that is writing messages to our loved ones…by text, email, postits, or on good old paper which can stick on the fridge, by the bed or as they walk through the door…I just never thought about copywriting before now…I shall mention that to my clients…thank you.
If it wasn’t for BBSes and the Internet, I’d still be a virgin.
Facebook is going to change the landscape for geeks forever.
Interesting piece Brian,
Funnily enough, my very first elance project was a steamy personal ad. Ahh the good ole days.
The friends online dating site profile makeovers are not as financially lucrative. However, incentive based agreements such as one case of beer per successful sale, I mean date, works well. Not to mention, it’s also tax free 😉
Great choice of an article Brian!
It posts like this that show how creative the human mind can be. The ability to take one topic and totally relate it to another is a valuable skill in life.
Kinda relates back to your “Story” post (connections…)
Great choice for a post. Read it twice.
Great story… now if I can just knock off that headline and write a salesy story to go with it.
Copying (pun intended) is the easiest form of flattery.
A lovely post, well written as always. Engaging to the end. I love the story and yes I agree that writing skills are really handy in love. Its when they push you to the next level that the hard times start 🙂
Funny, but we are all selling something almost all the time. Copywriting is first and foremost a selling skill. I need to remember that as I look for the “next chapter” in my life across the crowded room of a local bar.
Ed
http://www.CarolinaEventPlanning.com
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