Damn Good Client: Green Amigos
Hiring a copywriter can feel like a put-everything-you-got-on-red level gamble, particularly when you’re just starting your business…
What if they miss the mark or they just don’t get your brand?
What if you despise what they come up with?
What even goes into writing the copy?
Are they just gonna pull random words outta their fedora and smoosh them together because they sound good??
Spoiler: There are zero fedoras involved here. Sorry to disappoint.
But if you’ve ever wondered what writing copy for a brand actually involves, this is your chance to peek inside.
So grab a coffee and get comfy, cause I’m dishing the deets on a recent client project — Green Amigos.
What even is Green Amigos?
Green Amigos is Australia’s first online plant marketplace. They make it easy to find and support small plant brands, wherever you are in Australia.
What’d I rub my brain juices on?
Hannah, the very clever cookie behind Green Amigos, wanted the main web pages sorted before launching.
Via a Buy My Brain sesh we sorted out copy for the Home, About, How it works and Contact pages.
What’s the vibe?
The Green Amigos vibe is direct, fun, friendly, fresh and inclusive. It aims to be a valuable resource (of plants and education) for plant lovers and plant parent noobs alike.
That translates to using simple, casual (but never cringey!) language, avoiding terms that exclude people and adding a very generous pinch of wordplay.
Figuring out what the copy even needed to say (aka. What’s the point?)
After reading through Hannah’s Brand Discovery answers, and before writing a single syllable of copy, I got clear on what the main points were that the copy needed to communicate.
This saves any stuffing around and ensures that whatever I do come up with, is based in meaning (rather than just fluffy nonsense).
The 3 main points for Green Amigos:
Online plant shopping is waaaay too complicated, especially if you live in a state with (plant, not covid) quarantine restriction
You can support small plant brands without having to visit a bazillion sites or traipse around town
And, a green space is a happy place
My fave lines
The best bits of copy are the ones that get an important point across, but do it in a way that's fun, entertaining and/or thought-provoking (depending on the brand).
This is usually where a bit of wordplay comes in, and where the brand voice really comes out.
My litmus test for a damn good line of copy is when I can’t help but physically and/or audibly react after coming up with it. Fist pumping, self-fives or a slightly aggressive “YES!” are all signs I’ve struck word gold (yep, it’s just as awkward and nerdy as it sounds 😬)
For this project it was kinda hard to narrow it down, but if I had to pick, it’d be these 3:
More plants than you can shake a branch at (Home page)
Finding plants online is a pain in the Azalea — so we created an easier way (About page)
We don’t just talk to plants, we also talk to people (Contact page)
What made this project such a winner?
Hannah had a clear idea of what the business is, who it’s for and how she wanted it to come across. The foundations were already there.
She’d also gone through my DIY Messaging Playbook course and came prepared with potential messaging points and a fist (or google doc) full of research.
And while this isn’t part of the official process, it gave me a great starting off point — which also meant less time finding and defining the points, and more time finessing the copy.
TL;DR: How well you know your brand will impact how your copy turns out