When I was in college, I told everyone that I was going to be a copywriter. I thought that a career where I could write, have my own business, and travel the world was the best fit for me.
I was wrong—copywriting wasn’t really my calling.
Although I took a copywriting course in my spare time, I procrastinated on practicing writing copy because I felt negatively about a copywriting career for reasons I couldn’t quite put my finger on.
As time passed and I learned more about myself and the world, I figured out the reasons: one, convincing more people to buy more things is bad for the planet. Two, I’m on the autism spectrum, and autistic people are less affected by advertising than neurotypical folks. So of course it didn’t feel right for me to have a career where I’m both hurting the planet and manipulating people into purchasing decisions that I wouldn’t make myself.
Additionally, most of the advertising about a copywriting career that I was exposed to was incredibly self-centered. Copywriters preached about all the money you could make, the flexibility in your schedule you could have, and the places you could travel to as a digital nomad. I realized that this ultimately wasn’t appealing to me because I need a career that’s meaningful—a career that makes a positive impact on people’s lives.
When copywriters talked about the meaning and value of their profession, they mainly spoke about how conveying benefits to the customer was helpful to them. This didn’t really ring true to me. I didn’t understand why the customer couldn’t figure out the benefits for themselves through their own research, such as reading online reviews of a product. Reviews from actual users of the product would be more trustworthy than any kind of copy, right?
So, instead of going into copywriting, I first studied web design, then worked in retail, then studied basic construction trades skills. But—guess what—now it looks like I’m going to become a marketer after all. (A content marketer though as opposed to a copywriter.)
My dad has a business where he builds zero gravity workstations for people with disabilities (i.e. ErgoQuest Zero Gravity Workstations). This is a fairly complicated and unique type of business. When I scrolled through his long-winded email chains with clients and prospective clients, I noticed how many people asked question after question after question. Even though my dad has an FAQ page on his website, people were still asking a TON of questions. (I don’t blame them, because even after a lifetime of listening to my dad talk about his business, there’s a lot I still don’t know either!)
I then recently read a book called They Ask, You Answer. In the book, the author says that your entire marketing strategy for your business should center around answering people’s questions. Sounds simple, right? Doesn’t every business do that? Turns out: no. They don’t. Or if they do, there’s a misalignment between the questions they’re answering and the questions that potential customers want answered in order for them to feel comfortable with buying.
I especially loved two things about this book.
First, I love that it’s based on the author’s real life experience of saving his fiberglass pool business during the Great Recession by answering customer’s questions through blog posts and YouTube videos. It’s a proven strategy that he’s coached other entrepreneurs to implement.
Second, the author makes a strong case for being brutally honest. For example, he says that you should acknowledge when your competitors are better at something than you are, because that actually makes customers trust you more! And he also gave a personal story from his own life to prove that point. I absolutely love this because this aligns with my personality and my values. I am someone who is naturally a very honest person (which, I admit, is not always a good quality in excess) and I value honesty in others. My problem with the copywriting/marketing profession was that it felt like it was asking me to be fake, but They Ask, You Answer made me realize that it’s possible for a marketer’s success to come from honesty rather than deceit, which makes me more excited to dive into the profession.
I wish I had discovered this book when I was in college, but I’m glad that I at least got the chance to read it now, and I’m looking forward to implementing the They Ask, You Answer strategy in my marketing efforts for my dad’s business next year.
Loran Vanden Bosch is a Chicago-based writer, tradesperson-in-training, community organizer, and long distance runner who graduated from Calvin in 2021 with an English degree. You can also follow them on Medium @loranvandenbosch.
