An Interview with John Broughton (Wizely)
Name:
John, though I go under the pen name Wizely.
Age:
Young enough to be on the dancefloor at 6am but old enough to ache the next day (33).
Location:
Global jet-setter currently in Hong Kong
Your websites:
Vivid Copy for professional copywriting services.
Escaping The Word Cage for copywriting articles.
You can also find some of my articles specifically written for web designers in Copy Corner on Web Design Forum (WDF).
Bio:
I’m a professional copywriter specialising in SEO copywriting for websites – text written to attract more customers not just visitors. I came to copywriting from a career in Business Analysis and Marketing.
I love to travel and have spent the last 6 of 9 years travelling/living/working all around the globe from the Andes to the Great Wall.
I’ve got more and more into web design primarily so I could gain a better understanding of the process and to communicate more effectively with designers.
Why do you call yourself Wizely?
Because of the sagely advice I give! It also gives me the opportunity for terrible puns such as “Wizely does it” and “Vote Wizely”.
Are you freelance or do you work for a company?
Mrs. Wizely and I are partners of our own business.
What is your dream job?
Dive instructor, travel writer and photographer. That’s not 3 separate ones – I don’t see why I couldn’t do all 3!
How long have you been copywriting?
3 years as a dedicated copywriter, several more years as part of being a Business Analyst/ Marketeer
How to do clients find you?
About 60% by word-of-mouth referrals, 20% through ’social networking’, 15% through good old-fashioned networking and 5% through organic searches.
Did you go to university, if yes do you have a degree/masters?
I did and I’ve got a 1st class honours degree in Physical Chemistry and Business Studies, along with a university prize. Sounds a strange combo but both chemistry and business are both about understanding complex systems, creating new ideas and analysing performance. Research needs a business head to guide it and business needs research.
I’m not a big fan of Masters as I don’t think you should be able to complete one until you’ve got a good many years’ experience and can truly be considered a ‘master’ of your field. I’ve also interviewed many folks with masters and none got any of the jobs!
Where do you go for inspiration?
Around the world! I like to immerse myself in other cultures, explore far flung corners and try every experience I can! For me I can draw inspiration and get ideas from firsthand experience and nothing beats that. Influences from other cultures help broaden my imagination as I don’t see the world from only one perspective.
Also, having had to overcome language barriers so many times has helped sharpen my instincts for communicating clearly in simple terms and for expressing a lot by saying a little.
What programs/applications do you use when copywriting or designing?
Word gets the majority of my attention and it’s hard to beat when you want more from a word processor. Apart from the obvious – I use ‘Track Changes’ for editing and have a suite of my own custom VBA routines for tasks such as automatically marking-up documents into XHTML, merging edits, creating reports and lots more.
I use Google a lot for SEO copywriting – search, Trends, Insights… to research a lot more than just keywords. As an experienced Business Analyst/ Marketeer I know that effective copy is based on a sound understanding of customers and the marketplace.
I also use Homesite and XML Spy for XHMTL markup – their tools are especially useful when marking-up to custom schemas.
For design I use Fireworks for mock-ups and then Homesite as an editor simply because I have customised it lots to speed-up the whole process.
Do you have any favourite websites for keeping up to date and interacting with others?
Web Design Forum (WDF) is my absolute favourite for the blend of friendliness and knowledge.
I have subscribed to some copywriting/marketing/business feeds and newsletters but some of these are little more than sales pitches.
I find many other forums to be full of incredibly opinionated egos, with trans-Atlantic bias or people regurgitating the same tired advice over-and-over again.
I’m terrible with staying in touch with friends through the latest online gimmick and at keeping-up things like Facebook and Twitter.
When starting a new project how do you start?
After initial discussions the first step of every project is research. I look at the client’s business, their competitors, potential customers, SEO, current news, future trends etc.
I then send the client a ‘Copywriting Requirements Document’ tailored to their needs – as much to get a feel for the client’s individual style and expectations as to get definitive answers to questions.
What do you feel are the most important skills for a copywriter to have?
Apart from an obvious need for language skills I would say, when writing for business, most important is an understanding of consumer behaviour and of business itself. When it comes to business, writing well means creating copy that sells. It’s no good writing a technically perfect linguistic masterpiece if it doesn’t sell.
It makes me cringe when I see a lot of the copywriting advice out there – the same regurgitated drivel that’s dangerously misguided and comes from the “make $1 million in 1 week from writing” websites and books. It’s so far removed from what your potential customers will actually respond to that, if you followed it, you’d be missing so many opportunities.
What do you feel are the most important skills for a web designer to have?
Same again really – sound business knowledge. Unsurprising really as web design and copywriting are about the same thing – effective websites. For a commercial design to be effective it must sell the client’s products/ services. This means understanding what will attract and convert visitors.
I see lots of sites out there where the design has taken over – it dictates the content, doesn’t create the right brand and forgets to sell. For me a business website’s design is only effective if it increases revenue; if it doesn’t work hard to make sales then I don’t care how technically marvellous it is or how pretty. Without commercial acumen, how can a design be effective?
Anywhere other aspects of a website where copywriting comes in?
Oh, just about anywhere you see words online! The internet is mostly words and copywriting is a powerful tool for anyone wanting to improve the performance of their online business.
Take SEO. Imagine optimising your site so that it not only goes down well with search engines but with potential customers too. I have seen many sites made impotent by so called ‘SEO’. Google will tell you that the way to top rankings is through quality content and it’s coincidentally the way to convert visitors into customers too.
Then there’s marketing and promotion – through emails, newsletters, social networks, ads, directory entries, descriptions in SERPs, articles and so much more.
I guarantee that the most successful business websites have more copy than images, more pages of unique copy than unique design and the copy is updated much more frequently than the design or any graphics. I also guarantee that it’s copy more than anything else that is being constantly generated for marketing and promotion.
What is your favourite word, and what word(s) do you refuse to publish?
My favourite word, just from the sound and shape of it, is probably “onomatopoeia”. You’ve got to be dead inside to say that word and not feel like smiling!
I never refuse to publish anything, but I’ll fight tooth and nail to eradicate meaningless ‘izings’ and ‘izations’. Words such as “verbalizing”, “legitimization” or “incentivization”. They’re ugly, pompous, utter drivel and often completely wrong. If you see one kill it immediately and replace with a real word.
How do you deal with clients who will not accept your good advice?
No differently to any other client. I can only offer clients guidance but it’s their money and their business, I still do the best job I can given any constraints. When it comes to business I like to be honest, approachable, open and fair but that’s where my feelings end – I don’t get frustrated or even over-excited, I just do the job as well as possible.
What sectors do you most enjoy writing for, or dislike and why?
You’d think I’d say travel writing for my favourite but it’s not! That’s because it involves a lot of fact-checking and is constrained to the ‘vanilla’ options – it has to appeal to the mindless backpacker masses who need guidebooks!
I’d say there’s no particular sector I enjoy, more it’s about the brand and personality of the business I’m writing for. A strong identity that’s not afraid to be different (the best way to succeed) allows me more creative input than a weaker business that just wants to blend in with corporate banality (never a good way to succeed).
I guess that’s the same for web design… do you get the same sense of achievement and pleasure from the same old standard designs or from ones where your talents were unleashed? Does it matter whether it’s for an accountancy firm or a film studio?
What are the most common mistakes made in copywriting?
The lack of copy is often the biggest mistake. People think concise means short and I think it’s fear of writing that leads people to believe so readily that they don’t need much copy or that it’s simply something to stuff in at the end of a design. Another very common mistake is trying to sound too professional/ posh which comes out as cold and unnatural – putting people right off your business.
This is often compounded by people thinking writing for business means sucking all life and personality out of your words. Instead of being unique and connecting to people, most web copy doesn’t stand-out and is just passively sits there rather than engaging the reader.
Then there’s ignoring copy’s vital role in successful organic SEO and focussing only on little tricks and endless link-chasing.
All this comes from a fundamental misunderstanding of how good copy and the sales process work. That’s why having been a Business Analyst/ Marketeer really helps when it comes to effective copywriting.
What skills are you currently developing?
I can now count to 100 in Cantonese!
I have an interest in developing my web design skills, particularly in terms of ‘back-end’ things like PHP and SQL for some future business opportunities I have in mind. Web design and copywriting go together like strawberries and cream when it comes to creating commercially effective websites.
I have many years’ experience of offline database development so really want to concentrate on creating database-driven sites. This would allow me to not only create and manage quality content, but serve it up too! Strangely to some, I have no interest in developing graphical skills as I think there are great graphic designers out there.
When you’re not working what are you 5 favourite things to do?
Only five? Tough…
Travelling – really getting immersed in other cultures and trying new things.
Scuba diving – I’m an Advanced Diver with over 100 dives. Best ever – riding the dorsal fin of a Whale Shark off Gordan Rocks, Galapagos.
Worst ever – caught in strong currents on a drift dive off the Perhentian Islands (Malaysia).
Skiing – this is a new passion but I love it. I’m totally useless (having shunned lessons) and have minimal control but still hurtle down the slopes at breakneck speed!
Offroading – give me a 4×4 and some back-country tracks and I’m away. Best ever – rallying around Fraser Island in Oz. Worst ever – getting my jeep shot at in Indonesia.
Eating – I love trying new dishes in new countries and am a bit of a gastronomic snob. Best ever – Kaiseki dining (Japanese fine-dining) at Kurokawa Onsen. Worst ever – the exploding innards of a squid-on-a-stick on a beach near Sihanoukville (Cambodia).
On your many travels what one place was the most memorable, and why?
This is the hardest question and I get asked it a lot. For me the most memorable places are a blend of the people, the sights, sounds, tastes, smells; how you got there, what you did and the feeling it all gives you. It’s so hard to compare places.
How do I compare the adrenalin rush of a 134m bungy jump to canoeing the Amazon? Or being shipwrecked on a desert island to the exquisite delights of authentic Japanese fine-dining in a traditional ryokan?
If you really do insist then I can only narrow it down to 2 that I really can’t chose between.
The first is Angkor Wat and that’s entwined with my whole trip through Cambodia. I went there 9 years ago at a time when it wasn’t that easy and I saw only about another dozen western tourists the whole time. The ride across the Thai border from Aranya Prathet to Seam Reap was about 10 hours of joyful hell. I was literally hanging off the back of a pickup truck, legs dangling over the back and every time we hit a bump (about every second) I flew into the air and had to be grabbed to stop from ending up in the road. The road was so bad we often drove in the fields, they were smoother, and we inched over many ruined bridges with just tyre-wide girders remaining. Many buses and trucks had plunged into the rivers. I arrived at about midnight in Seam Reap with literally black legs from the bruising and caked in an inch of dust. Fantastic!
Angkor Wat should be a wonder of the world. A huge temple complex which, at the time, was still very overgrown with jungle (it’s since been cleared a lot). For 5 days me and my friends zoom
ed around the complex on motorbikes exploring the stunning stone monuments, bas reliefs and statues. It’s vast and it’s impressive.
The particular place that could be my favourite is the library at Ta Prohm temple. I sat under a tree and ‘zoned out’ in utter tranquillity, my friends found their own spots and did the same – all unplanned, none of us saying anything. It was nearly 2 hours later when a bird started squawking and the spell was broken. An indescribable peacefulness that I’d never experienced before or since.
Second is the Galapagos Islands. I spent 2 months there and it really is a Garden of Eden. All the amazing creatures and, once away from the hotspots for the 2-hour daily invasion of tour groups, unspoilt and gorgeous. Every day walking around hundreds of sunbathing seals to get to the beach and then snorkelling with penguins, seals, turtles and much more. Then there’s the diving! Swimming with Hammerhead sharks, more turtles, reef sharks, moray eels and hundreds of other species. And of course the moment a dream came true! One day, out of nowhere, a massive Whale Shark cruised right over me and I swam next to it for as long as I could.
Add to that cruising around from island to island hitching lifts on boats, kayaking (including somehow not dying in a suicidal attempt to run a viscous maelstrom of a channel and ending-up getting shredded on razor sharp basalt), horse-riding, descending into volcanic craters and a hundred more things.
What are you 5 favourite pictures from your travels?
Just FIVE? Ah, you’re killing me! I’ve got thousands to chose from and it’s even harder then saying where my favourite place is and for pretty much the same reasons. Some photos capture exciting moments, others are just snaps that bring back a flood of memories, others capture moods, others the beauty of a place…
But here’s 5 of my favourites in terms of the pictures themselves:
Bayon Temple, Angkor Wat, Cambodia.
On the Quilitoa Loop looking towards Cotopaxi, Ecuador.
Streets of San Gil, Colombia.
Daisho-in Temple, Miyajima, Japan.
Champagne Pools, Rotorua, New Zealand.
With all the distractions of being in so many lovely places, how do you organize your time?
The secret here is not wanting to lose my way of life and return to the 9-5 rat race making someone else money. That’s a big motivation.
Although I live very much for the now and focus on time not money (I can always earn money in the future but I can’t earn more time) I still need money to keep going.
So, everywhere I go, I have to do a kind of time/benefit/cost calculation to balance working and exploring. It all depends on how expensive a place is, whether I’m based somewhere or travelling lots, where’s next, will I be back, what jobs are coming in, how much I’m enjoying where I am etc.
Even if a place is perfect on all counts I still think about where’s next – the world is a big place!
What would you like to be remembered for?
The man who Angelina Jolie left Brad Pitt for.
Failing that I think I’d just like, when the time comes, to be remembered as a good Dad. I despise all things celebrity and so am not interested in shallow fame and money is obviously not a driving force in my life.
I would just like to pass on my experiences and tales to people that matter… I’d like to write a huge travel journal in the style of the old Victorian explorers – full of maps, sketches and tales from all corners of the world and it become a family heirloom.
Ok finally, got anything in the pipeline? What’s next for you?
Well the next project that’s nearly completed is a website giving web designers an amazing deal on offering copywriting services to their clients. It costs nothing, there’s no commitment and, not only does it allow designers to offer clients more of a ‘one-stop-shop’, the heavily discounted rates allow plenty of room for designers to make more profit too. Everybdy wins – me, designers and their clients.
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