Lauren Jefferson- Importance of Copy Writing

Lauren Jefferson, co-founder and CEO of FocusCopy, partners with entrepreneurs to help them better communicate with their customers. As a former digital marketer, she realized the power and impact of words on a business’s bottom line. Fueled by coffee and grace, Lauren helps businesses focus on their copy.

Connect with Lauren!

m. (210) 275-5752

ljefferson@focuscopy.com

focuscopy.com

Bringing Clarity and Focus to All Business Communications

Your hosts: Colton Cockerell & Trisha Stetzel
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Colton Cockerell
Trisha Stetzel

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Transcript

Colton Cockerell: 0:05

Hello and welcome to another exciting

episode of Bridge the Gap: 0:07

Connecting Business Perspectives with your hosts myself, Colton Cockerell and Trisha Stetzel. Our goal is to bridge the generational, gender, and life experience gap in business through our unique styles of gathering information from our guests. This podcast is sponsored by Jim Butcher, who is a relationship banker with Allegiance Bank now let's get it started. All right. Hello, everyone and welcome to another exciting episode of bridge the gap where we're connecting business perspectives. My name is Colton Cockerell. I'm a Certified Financial Fiduciary and an Independent Financial Advisor with Sharer McKinley Group and we have an incredible guest on our show today, but before we introduce her, I have to go and introduce my incredible co host my partner in crime. Miss Trisha Stetzel

Trisha Stetzel: 0:55

Colton, You are so sweet. I thought you're going to skip me. You can't do this show without me. Hey, everyone, Trisha Stetzel here Results Xtreme Business Solutions. I am super stoked about the guests that we have on with us today. Lauren Jefferson, she and I have been doing some work together over the past few weeks. And I'm excited about that. But I'm even more excited to have her on the show to really talk about what it is that she does. So Lauren is the co founder and CEO of Focus Copy partners with entre she partners with entrepreneurs to help them better communicate with their customers. As a formal digital marketer. She realized the power and impact of words on a business's bottom line. She's fueled by coffee and grace, and helps businesses focus on their copy. Welcome, Lauren.

Lauren Jefferson: 1:46

Thanks. I'm glad to be here. Man, you and I had something in common. I'm also fueled by coffee. Fantastic. So I got to clear the air here just to make sure that people understand this because a lot of people get this confused. When I say copyright, a copywriter they probably think of a copyright. They're writing a copyRight? Which is done by an attorney. So clear the air here. Tell me what is a what is copywriting? Yeah, absolutely. Well, the English language doesn't make it simple. So oftentimes, when I tell people that I'm a copywriter, they think that I do copy right. So R I G H T. That's for an intellectual property attorney that deals with IP, trademark and copyright. So copywriting is basically persuading a reader to take a specific action. So on a website, on a blog, on a landing page, email, we write all the words that go on those platforms, and that's what copywriting is. So copywriting W, WRIT Gosh, W R I T I N G, that is marketing. Copyright. Alright, gh T is legal. Yep, absolutely.

Colton Cockerell: 3:01

Awesome. Just had to clear the air before we got started. How

Trisha Stetzel: 3:05

do you feel smarter?

Lauren Jefferson: 3:07

I've literally got like a five minute explanation, because I've made the exact same mistake full disclosure. So that's what I had to clear the air starting off.

Trisha Stetzel: 3:16

Well, and even generationally, right, we were having that conversation generationally, from where I stand. I didn't know what a copywriter was, I had no idea. So somebody like Lauren had to explain exactly what that meant to me. And now I now that I understand how important it is to partner with a copywriter. I tell everybody about it. And I get the same question. They're like, what is that? And you'll tell me if I'm wrong more and but I hear people call it copy as well without the writing at the end of it. So is that like an industry thing?

Lauren Jefferson: 3:51

Yeah, so I'm a copywriter, my product is copy, and my copy can be copyrighted R I G H T. So it can get really confusing, very quickly. And when I started this business last year in August, I didn't realize that my number one question that I'd have to answer is what is a copywriter? What is your product? Are you know, are you doing copyright and trademark protection? And so generally, generational Lee, I thought everyone knew what a copywriter was. And I walked in a room and they're like, Oh, so you do trademark protection? I'm like, no. Let's back up, go to the fundamentals, spell it out. And so I've been doing a lot of training for both my referral partners, for customers for people that I've networked, and what the difference is over the past couple years. Well, and this will be the last thing and I'll get off of it. You obviously have done your research into copyright because I love how you know what copyright is because you've probably got that so much that you're like okay, here's the differences. So I love that. Now let's talk about the process. So working with a copywriter. Copy, kind of walk me through the process. What does that look like? Yeah, absolutely. So obviously, working with a copywriter is different for everyone. Everyone has their own unique process and how they do it. Our process because I'm a big fan of systems and getting it done right the first time, we actually spend a good amount of time up front, learning how our clients talk. And so we ask questions like, what is the brand voice that we're mimicking? How do your customers describe your personality? What do you want your customers to believe about you? What are your go and no go words and phrases that you say in your business. And so we take all of that information, document it, and then produce what we call a brand voice guide for the clients. So not only do we use this piece of documentation for us, so that my team of copywriters can write, copy that sounds like our clients, but then also, our clients can use that spread out their voice with their team or hire another service provider, and everyone's still writing like the brand. And so it's really allowing us to create a level of consistency in our clients branding, and especially with their voice branding.

Trisha Stetzel: 6:15

And then I know,

Lauren Jefferson: 6:17

and then we get to writing.

Trisha Stetzel: 6:21

And then and then. So let's talk a little bit about so I understand the process coming in everyone's experience is going to be different with whomever they decide that they want to work with. Right. But why would I use a copywriter in the first place? Why would I Why would I want as a business owner to engage with somebody who does copywriting?

Lauren Jefferson: 6:41

Yeah, absolutely. So one of the big things why you would want to hire a copywriter is a You're terrible at writing, and continues to shock me that there is a good percent of the population that just doesn't have the time or doesn't have the care to write properly. So that's one big reason if you don't write well go ahead and hire a copywriter, especially if you have some high risk deliverables to to write and produce. The other reason is if you don't have time, this is our biggest pain point. I don't have time to write website copy. I've been procrastinating, you know, redoing my website for 5-10 years, we've heard it all. And so we'll be able to take all that stuff free time off of our clients plate and take over the writing. What was the other part of the question?

Trisha Stetzel: 7:36

We were it was really just guy would I hire? Yeah. Why would I hire a writer? Yeah, yeah.

Lauren Jefferson: 7:42

So the two big reasons why you would hire a copywriter. Every single client fits into those two buckets is if you don't have time, or you're not good at writing. See what I think's really interesting about, you know, the idea of hiring a copywriter someone in your position, there's definitely a different tone from millennial versus, you know, all the way up to a baby boomer. And so you have to kind of like you said you have to research how they talk. How's that? How's it? And that that sounds like a lot of work. And it sounds like a multiple personality type deal. So walk me through that from a generational point of view. First off, who's the easiest generation to work with? But second, what does that look like to someone outside of your generation? Like, how do you how do you? What's the word connect or really mesh when it comes to writing? Yeah, that's a great question. I'm a definitely relate to people that are like me, regardless of generation, I've had some people that are just so similar to where I am as a copywriter, as a person as an individual that I relate to. So I've written for people that are 70 plus years old. And I'm 25 currently, and that's easy for me. So it's really that personality that I really key on. Now. We've had personalities all across the board, from you know, college consultant who has their PhD to an aviation services that, you know, runs a half a billion dollar company. And so being able to understand that those are some of the more challenging ones. But that's why we do what we do is to have that challenge, and to be able to get creative and right like those clients. So again, it goes back to that brand voice guide that we wrote in the beginning, that tells us how to write like the client, it gets us into their head, it makes us understand, okay, this is the character I'm playing today, I'm going to be a 50 year old white man, or I'm going to be a 27 year old black woman or whatever that may be. So that's kind of what we come back to. It is so fascinating. It's like like I don't even know I'm trying to compare to something and now I think about like all like politicians or like, or like businessmen that literally Probably don't have time to tweet or anything like that. And now it's coming together. Like they actually probably have a Lauren. That's they know the voice. And they're actually the ones that are tweeting or they're texting, or they're sending out this mass message. That's really fascinating. Yep. And just listening. You know, even before I started, focus, copying, became an official copywriter. I was in digital marketing. And for years, I wrote like a 50-60 year old white man who was a CFO. And it was so funny because he would be at these networking events, and people will tell him, Oh, I love your blog. And so he called me afterwards. And like, Lauren, what the heck did I write this week? Because I had written the blog for him. So it was, you know, it's been a really fun adventure, getting into this, you know, starting as an intern, and like growing into my own company and getting into these characters. It's an absolute blast, especially if I can get behind what they're doing, and who they are as a person.

Colton Cockerell: 10:59

Yeah. And find the scenes actor, basically. Yeah.

Lauren Jefferson: 11:03

Yeah. I do love to be on stage.

Trisha Stetzel: 11:07

Yeah, exactly. When I love your process, right, you're really trying to understand who it is that you're writing for, you're not just writing copy, which means if you have, let's say, three, or four realtors that you're writing copy for, it would all be different, you would you wouldn't just reuse copy over and over and over again, right. And it would help them differentiate themselves, because the process that you go take people through. So one of the things that I run into all the time are people who are updating their website, or they're getting a new website, or they're working with someone building a website, whether it's an update or brand new. And the person building, the website says to the entrepreneur, where's your copy? What would you like to put on here? Right? So there's a, you would actually work with someone who's building the website, because they don't necessarily write copy is that am I headed in the right time,

Lauren Jefferson: 12:05

like, I would never be a web developer, I would never be a financial advisor, I would never be a business coach, because that's not my lane. So it's getting someone in someone's lane. So a website designer, absolutely, if they're not specialized and writing copy, they shouldn't be writing the copy. And same with the client. If they're not specialized, or don't know how to write their message, effectively, they may not know how to verbally do it, but translating verbal to written communication completely different. So if they don't know how to do that, then it's best to outsource versus spending weeks months, I just heard of a recent client, that there's a website developer that's waited five years for the client to deliver the written content. So that's when you need to hire a copywriter. It's a lot cheaper than waiting five years to deliver effective communications to your top clients. I heard it all.

Trisha Stetzel: 13:12

So and it really I love that you talk about staying in your lane, right? If you're good at something, then work in your lane. But if you're not good at something, so I would say my advice to business owners is if the website developer says, where's your copy, and you don't write, then you need to go find somebody like Lauren, right. So that they can write for you. But but also in your voice. You know, though, I think the last thing you would want is for somebody to just be writing for you. Right? Without getting to know that character, right?

Lauren Jefferson: 13:45

Yeah, like Trisha, you've built a voice, not only in your career on a business coaching company, but you've felt your voice over an entire lifetime. And so we take extreme care about that, because we don't want to disregard all of your years of experience. And so we capture that, and really treat it as an honor to be able to write like you. So as a financial advisor, you're taking care of someone's money. So you have to take extreme care because you're dealing with their livelihood, and their financial future. And so it's the exact same thing, we just take care of their voice. Man, that is so incredible, literally, I'm literally looking at this profession more and more and more like being a professional actor, because like you're literally having to play all these different characters and you have these scripts and you have to get into character. So if you have multiple clients, I'm just trying to imagine that process wait to get the right script here. That's so fascinating. That sounds really fun. It's a blast every single day is different. And I tell people because I do a lot of the proofreading I do some of the writing but you know as being an entrepreneur growing the company got to work on other things as well. But I mean in a given day, I'll work on four to six different voices. And it is so much fun getting into those brands understanding what their customers want to hear and need to hear to make a buying decision. It's it's the funnest job in the world I could not have made or found a better profession to be in, especially for you know, my personality type and the way that I want to build my life.

Trisha Stetzel: 15:25

I like to be copywriters in writing,

Lauren Jefferson: 15:33

okay, well, actually full disclosure. So I've actually, I'm so bad at writing that I've actually hired and I got an app, where all my text messages all my emails, I always put it through this little thing for to just like correct any great, it's mostly grammar, I correct my grammar, and then send it out because I'm pretty the grammar aspect. But I do want to ask this, umm I always ask a really weird question. Random question, off the wall. If you were to have any type of dessert anywhere in the world, what dessert would it be? And why? Something with chocolate? Absolutely. Okay. Ah,

Colton Cockerell: 17:33

I think chocolate, dark chocolate, which would what kind of chocolate.

Lauren Jefferson: 17:38

I like chocolate mousse with the texture of it. And then multiple types of chocolate in that. I once had an I'm trying to think where in Austria we had it. But it was at some little restaurant in Vienna, Austria last year. And it was I still think about all the time.

Colton Cockerell: 18:00

Chocolate Austrian mousse. Okay. Yeah, dessert. Perfect. Yeah. dessert, not

Trisha Stetzel: 18:06

the animal. All right, Colton. Okay, so, Lauren, you already divulged your age. And my question is, what generation are you part of? So let's pull it all together.

Lauren Jefferson: 18:19

Yep. So I'm a millennial. However, there are people that like to think Gen Z because I was born in 95. But I'm definitely I cling to the millennials. The young uns are way too young for me.

Trisha Stetzel: 18:34

Okay. Well, and that and that was my follow up question. Right. Which generation do you most identify with? So you really feel the pull back towards the millennials versus the Z's? Absolutely.

Lauren Jefferson: 18:45

Absolutely. hometown, and then learning all the technology.

Trisha Stetzel: 18:49

Yeah, absolutely. Well, and I suspect that you're able to identify with most generations, especially in the line of work that you're in, right? Yeah, absolutely. Being someone else's voice. Man, what a great podcast Colton. This was awesome. Lauren, thank you so much for being with us today. We really appreciate you coming on and talk to me talking to us about copywriting with a T and not a gh. Yes. And thank you for all the clarification. So in closing, Lauren, would you please tell us again, the name of your business and how people might be able to contact you as follow up to the show? Yeah,

Lauren Jefferson: 19:29

absolutely. Again, Lauren Jefferson FocusCopy. That's all one word, focus and then copy. And you can reach out to me at L Jefferson at FocusCopy calm and you can follow us on all social media at FocusCopy LLC. And just to clarify for all of the all of our listeners, it's L A U R E N J E F F E R S O N. so perfect. And then focus copy fo ca If you can't spell focusCopy F O C U S C O P Y. One Word Perfect. Fantastic as awesome Lauren, thank

Trisha Stetzel: 20:07

you again for being with us today. And this concludes this week's podcast Tune in next week for another exciting episode of Bridge the Gap: Connecting Business Perspectives.

Colton Cockerell: 20:16

Thank you again for tuning in to this week's episode of Bridge the Gap: Connecting Business Perspectives. If there's a certain professional or profession that you want to hear from leave a comment in this week's Facebook posts. Please subscribe and share this podcast. Thanks again to our sponsor, Jim Butcher, a relationship banker with Allegiance Bank, Colton Cockerell with Sharer McKinley Group, LLC is located at 820 South Friendswood Drive Suite 207 Friendswood, Texas 77546 phone number to 281-992-5698. Securities and investment advisory services offered through NEXT Financial Group, Inc. member FINRA/SIPC Sharer McKinley Group is not an affiliate of NEXT Financial Group, Inc.