Eman Zabi, Make Copywriting More Human – InnovaBuzz 270

Eman Zabi, The Scribesmith

In this episode, I’m really excited to have as my guest, Eman Zabi a launch copywriter and founder of the Scribesmith. Eman started her career writing about climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, which then led to work as an outdoor copywriter before her love of research led her to work primarily in the launch space.

In our discussion, Eman and I talked about:

• Her research process which involves acting as the audience
• What can be learned from the voice of the customer
• Using humour and personality in copywriting

Joel Klettke in episode 233 introduced us to Eman.

Listen to the podcast to find out more.

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Show Notes from this episode with Eman Zabi of The Scribesmith

Key points and takeaways from this episode include:

• You can be a great writer but if you don’t know how to market yourself, you are just going to be the industry’s best-kept secret.
• Read what your target audience is reading. Do a lot of social listening and understand the language that people are using to communicate their struggles. Understand their humour and the sub-culture in which they operate and be able to adapt that into a strategy.
• Use the kind of language that your audience is comfortable with.
• Don’t be afraid to bend some grammar rules to sound friendlier.
• Humour is an important thing. If you can make people laugh, they will like you. If they like you, they will want to work with you or buy from you.
• Authenticity is incredibly important. Being authentic means showing up as more than just a corporate droid figure but a real human being who has a team that is motivated towards something bigger.
• Show your audience that you are trying to do more than just getting their money. Respect and caring about your audience are key.
• Be a bit sensitive when putting together an email. Know which timezone your audience is in. Segment them by timezones and be respectful of their hours when sending them an email.
• An email is a phone call and social media is a billboard. Don’t send an email to someone at an hour that is not acceptable to give them a phone call. 
• Treat your audience as a human being and not just as a number on your subscription list.
• Capitalise on your strengths. Don’t try to be everything to everyone.
• Slow down. If you climb too fast, you don’t acclimatise the altitude and you are putting yourself at risk of altitude sickness. A business is like that as well. If you don’t know when to slow down and do things at your own pace, you are at risk of burnout.
• The easiest way to get someone to open your email is to put their name on the subject line.
• You get higher engagement and open rates when you have a relationship with your audience and when you are providing value more than just the occasional super salesy email.
• Jokes work really well sometimes. Don’t be afraid to push the envelope a bit and have a little fun with your subject line. Do something that is a bit unexpected.
• A good launch strategy is all about looking at the demand that you have, where your audience is, and the reach you have. All good launches stem from those three.
• A launch is an iterated process. You have to be building on what you did the previous time.
• Start with a minimum viable launch.
• Make your story relevant to the message that you are trying to give. Make that emotional connection based on your actual content rather than your hook. 
• Craft your story backward. Begin with the end result knowing what message you want to convey and then mould your story to suit that.
• Being an over-thinker is a great asset for any writer.
• There is no room for ego when trying to grow a business.

The Buzz – Our Innovation Round

Here are Eman’s answers to the questions of our Innovation round. Listen to the interview to get the full scoop.

1. #1 thing to be more innovative – Being OK with failure.
2. Best thing for new ideas – Reddit. Listening to people’s ideas. 
3. Favourite tool for innovation – Reddit, Amazon Review, Social Media, and Quora
4. Keep project / client on track – Have a good online business manager, Regular check-ins and follow-ups.
5. Differentiate – Show up, do good work, and focus on the client experience.

To Be a Leader

Be comfortable in the idea that you are very likely to fail at some point or the other so you might as well get it over with. Test your ideas out. Getting over that mental walk is key for success in any field especially if you are trying to do something innovative. Everything in your life should be minimum viable.

Reach Out

You can reach out and thank Eman through her website and on Twitter.

Suggested Guest

Eman suggested I interview Neuroscientist and Marketer, Mariana Norton, and Copywriter, Haley Greene. So Mariana and Haley, keep an eye on your inboxes for an invitation from us to the InnovaBuzz podcast, courtesy of Eman Zabi.

Links

• Website – The Scribesmith
• Twitter – @Eman_Zabi
• LinkedIn
• Facebook
• Instagram

Cool things about Eman

• Her favourite superhero is Wonder Woman.
• She speaks Arabic, English, French, Spanish, and Urdu
• She currently serves as the President, Sparring Instructor, and Instructor of Shotokan Karate at the HBKU Women’s Martial Arts Club, a female-only club focusing on the empowerment of women through martial arts.

Listen to the Podcast