Second And Park — Web Copy That Works by Tiffani Jones

I like shopping for vintage clothes. I like it when I buy a pair of gray pumps from 1990 that go really awesome with the blue jean shorts from 6th grade I rediscovered over the summer. In the fall, I can wear this combo with my teal flower-patterned tights from H&M, and pair the whole thing with my mom’s old leather jacket. This inspires me.

In fact, when I go vintage shopping, I come home feeling good about life. I feel more creative. I have more energy. Come to think of it, the feeling I get right after putting together an outfit that may or may not make me look insane is the exact same feeling I get right before I create really good work. I’m talking about professional copywriting work. The work I do for money.

It’s the sense that I did something in a way that felt good and made sense to me personally. Kind of “natural” and “authentic” or “inspired,” if you will. Mystically, my clients seem to like work produced under such conditions.

I’ll go out on a limb: when I shop for vintage clothes on Sunday, I write better on Monday. Even more provocative: sometimes my outfits inspire my work.

Now, don’t get me wrong. I’m not suggesting that 1) you should start wearing your uncle’s tube socks on purpose (done it!) or that 2) you should feel a rush of inspiration preceding all client work. This isn’t realistic. No matter how many trips to Plato’s Closet you make, writing copy for Acme Real Estate won’t feel the same as writing copy for the New Yorker.

What I am saying is this: you need to find (or acknowledge) your muse—that thing that gets you all jacked up and ready to clean/cook/read/start a business—and go toward it. Go toward it a lot. Then, let it bleed into your work. Along the way, you may find that your work is the thing that gives you inspiration; you just haven’t been thinking of it along those lines. Maybe you’ve been thinking, “this is so much work. I can’t have fun.” Instead you might consider, “how can I have a lot of fun doing this?”

Maybe your muse is fashion. Maybe it’s food. Maybe it’s Mad Men, or football, or Doom. I don’t know. Alls I’m saying is, respect the energy you get from the thing that gives you energy. Then sprint toward that thing, and let it lead you along and guide your work.

That is all.