Breaktime News chats with Joe Emery about copywriting, hot topics and 007
Introductions are done and dusted. Copywriter Joe Emery and I are settling into our chat. My first thought is that he looks and sounds just like a (young) Gary Oldman. ‘I’ll take that,’ he laughs as we talk about the actor and his various guises, writes Duncan Little.
It turns out we’re both big fans of Oldman’s movies, including his portrayal of Norman Stansfield in the 1994 movie, Leon. For me, Stansfield is probably the greatest screen villain of all-time.
It was one of my former line managers who clocked a post written by Joe just a few months ago. The algorithms had clicked in and I saw she’d ‘liked’ an incredibly powerful statement.
A statement not normally associated with professional social media platforms. A statement which hit hard. It was an honest post. A post with 15 simple words: ‘I’m desperate for work. And desperate to get my bank balance out of the red.’
It’s still ratcheting up engagements, reposts (last count: 4,000) and 3,000+ comments. Then there’s his 37,000 followers on LinkedIn.
‘There were 11 million impressions and 75,000 likes. It did connect and I think I know why,’ explains a relaxed looking Joe as we chat on Zoom.
‘I think the main reasons are that people appreciate some honesty in a social media world where people only post their wins on LinkedIn and some people even make up stories to look good, like ‘I hired a homeless woman with no legs and stuff.’’
‘And because it resonated with them because they know they can be pulled in tomorrow and be in the same position.’
The power of words
The future changes of tomorrow are certainly rapidly galloping their way towards us. Artificial Intelligence (AI) isn’t just posing a threat in the wonderment of a Hollywood Summer Blockbuster – it’s posing a threat to real jobs in the real world.
Our biggest strength against AI is our humanity. Our ability to feel. To be able to express emotions. And that’s why professional copywriting is so important. It gives you the emotional clout that a computer never will.
‘Without words, nothing sells. This is important: make sure you get this one in. Words have the power to either make you a millionaire – or make you go broke.’
‘I’m terrified of AI and I’m not going to pretend otherwise. It’s going to impact a lot of people and I liken it to Thatcher’s coal mine closures in the Eighties.’
‘Those coal mine closures only hit a certain part of the community in England and Wales – but AI is going to rip through on a lot wider scale.’
‘The overarching problem is economic downturn. And, of course, if there’s economic downturn then people are watching their budgets and tightening their purse strings – then they’re going to use the cheap version which is AI.’
‘You’ve got to be silly if you think copywriters are the only ones under threat. If you use a laptop for work then it’s going to impact (you).’
‘You can get an AI personal trainer where you stand in front of a mirror and it corrects your form. Personal trainers don’t use a laptop – but they’re in danger. It’s going to impact so many people but everyone’s gunning for copywriters at the moment.’
‘But, I honestly think AI could ruin marriages, tear families apart, send people to early graves, make people depressed and make people ill because how it’s going to strike through the heart.’
Connecting the writer’s soul with the reader’s mind
Think that’s hyperbole? Type ‘AI threat to jobs’ into a search engine and see what the ‘AI overview’ makes of it all. On the one hand, the online AI feels an apparent upside to AI is in its’ ability in ‘creating new opportunities and transforming work.’ (Me neither).
On the downside, it’ll require ‘employees to adapt and acquire new skills.’ Hmmm. That’s a euphemism if there ever was one. But, the potential problems of the future don’t negate the problems of the present.
Copywriters pour their heart and soul into their work (think Samuel Taylor Coleridge’s Kubla Khan). It’s a personal thing. It’s the ‘personalisation of writing’ which connects the soul of the writer with the mind of the reader.
It’s something which can only really be achieved by a living entity. Something which actually contains a soul.
Think about the stuff which you read which makes you feel happy – or sad. It’s the simple words which can power the biggest punch. In short, writing is an artform.
Unfortunately, a Boardroom’s ‘Powers that Be’ can sometimes write in a very different style. A style which doesn’t connect. A style which lacks emotion. And a style which lacks feeling. It’s a style which isn’t suited for a coffee and a chat with a friend.
And yet, a chatty, informal approach is exactly what you want to generate when you write. It’s where a professional copywriter, like Joe, can make all the difference.
Matching target audience’s tone
‘People who aren’t writers, who think they can write, they start writing formally and using big words and long sentences to sound important, to sound knowledgeable, to sound experienced – but you should match your target audience’s tone.’
‘So, you should never say anything that you wouldn’t say to your target audience in person. And that’s where my skill is and people can’t see that and a lot of people can’t do that.’
‘The thing with writing is it’s always been an undervalued skill because most people can write so that means they can write well.’
‘The number of times I’ve submitted a piece and senior stakeholders have torn it to pieces and massacred it because they think they know how to write.’
‘You wouldn’t take the hairdresser’s scissors out of their hand and tell them how to cut, do you?’
‘But, with copywriting, people do that, because it’s always been undervalued and everyone’s, like, ‘AI can do that.’ It’s always been undervalued and now AI can do elements of it, it’s getting undervalued even more.’
And, if people feel undervalued then it can affect their sense of self. Their sense of wellbeing. Their mental health. Which brings me neatly back to the start of the article where I talked about Joe’s search for work.
His post ‘hooked me in’ and I started to read more and more of his articles – including the ones around mental health. (By the way, I feel I should mention the mental health charity, MIND, provides an array of support, advice and guidance on its’ website).
Overcoming stigma
‘My first post was a blog about it (mental health). I wrote a LinkedIn article: ‘Can you pass me a piece of that fruit cake?’’
‘I wrote up a few years ago and it’s uncomfortable to share that online but I do that to help other people. And if I can help just one person then that discomfort will be worth it.’
He explains that the reaction to the article was ‘98% positive’ which saw a ‘lot of people message me to thank me, particularly guys, to say that I would never admit that on-line.’
I point out that posting some of our inner most thoughts and feelings on social media is a ‘brave’ thing to do. He disagrees and points to the 9/11 firefighters as being brave. Fair point. But, it turns out that I’m not the first person to echo such sentiments.
‘There’s still a big stigma attached to it. Loads of people were telling me: ‘I would never post that. Kudos to you for posting that. I feel the same but I’d never open up about it.’’
‘So that proves people are too scared to talk about mental health still. I only said how millions of people are feeling but I was the one posting it online.’
‘Whereas millions of people feel like I do but they don’t feel they can post it online because people would tell them that it was a ‘weakness,’ and ‘desperation’ is a ‘weakness,’ and ‘vulnerability’ is a ‘weakness.’’
‘I think it’s important to normalise conversations about mental health because mental health has come a long way – but the conversations about it still aren’t normalised.’
Writing which demands attention
And it’s conversations which Joe is good at creating. I’m quietly listening to Enya as I type up my week old notes of our conversation. It’s a relaxing way to write – but my thoughts are juxtaposed against a whirlwind of the weekend’s news stories.
These have included human rights groups voicing concerns for LGBTQ+ rights and the LA protests which were sparked by workplace immigration raids. In other words, subject areas which have long been reflected in Joe’s online posts.
‘Illegal immigration, trans people and Trump are probably the three most divisive topics on the planet right now.’
‘So, I’m not afraid to ask people what they think about what they think about immigration or trans women in women’s sports. I’m not afraid to ask about that. They are disruptive, I guess.’
‘I know how to get people’s attention. I would be a pretty bad copywriter if I didn’t know how to do that. So, I think, the fact my posts have got so much attention proves that I’m good at my job.’
‘This is another important one: I bet if I was to ask AI write me a job seeking post to get me 11 million posts then it would fail.’
We’re drawing to the end of our conversation and I’m already sensing the allocation of 750 words for this article isn’t going to be enough. We’re now heading into the ‘And Finally’ segment of the interview.
And finally…
It’s not often I get to legitimately chat about Bond movies with interviewees – but today is different. He explains his ‘For Bond Fans Only’ website is a good way fund raise for charity while allowing for discussion on all things Bond related. So, his favourite Bond?
‘Timothy Dalton’ is the immediate answer. Good choice. He was the fourth actor to play the 007 role having ‘taken over’ the role from Roger Moore in 1987.
‘I feel bad for Roger, Sean and George as I love them. But life or death situation and I would say Dalton. I just think he did something completely different with the role after Roger Moore.’
‘Only Roger Moore could do Roger Moore. Dalton made the role his own. Dalton has a real identity and stamp on that role. I like Daniel Craig.’
And Joe’s choice for Bond villains? Max Zoran (Christopher Walkin) in A View to A Kill. Mine? Blofeld (Charles Gray) in Diamonds Are Forever. (Joe smiles at my choice: ‘He probably wasn’t the perfect Blofeld – but he was the perfect villain.’)
‘I also liked Sanchez, Robert Davi in Licence to Kill. I interviewed him. The top three are: Zoran, Kananga, Sanchez. Joseph Wiseman set the level with Dr No.’
My pen hovers over the page as I note that Joe’s interviewed Robert Davi (he was a childhood favourite villain of mine).
It turns out he’s also interviewed Joanna Lumley, John Glenn and Julian Glover. But, perhaps, these are all topics of conversation for us to chat about for another time.
To find out more about Joe’s copywriting services, head to: https://jwemeryltd.com
