By Tom Vaughan in Action Lines — Nov 26, 2024

A screenwriting tip from copywriting.

Neither screenwriting or copywriting are the end product. They are a step in a process. Both of these forms are a call to action.

Peggy Olson. Copy Chief.

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We think of ourselves as artists, and we are. But we are also entertainers and we are also in sales. It’s admittedly icky to think of it that way, but it is true.

Because I am also an online business, I have learned a bit about copywriting in the last year or so. You will see some of it on the sales pages of my courses.

Now, I believe in what I teach and how I teach it. I have been doing it for a long time and have seen the difference these courses make. I have seen students go pro, and I am particularly gratified when other professional screenwriters take these courses and hire me to consult.

What I do is genuinely unique, and it has value.

The challenge of copywriting is how do I communicate all of this to you?

How do I get you to see what I see? How do I transfer my enthusiasm and confidence to you, the reader?

This is where screenwriting and copywriting differ slightly from other types of writing, like novels, or poetry and even the final movie itself.

When the audience engages in those forms, the transaction is already complete.

We want the audience satisfied, of course, but once they are engaged, there is no more action on their part to take.

We just want them to sit back and FEEL.

That's what all of this is about, after all. The emotions. And that's the commonality of all the types of writing I have mentioned.

We want the reader to feel something.

However, screenwriting and copywriting have one more thing. Because screenwriting and copywriting are not the end product.

They are a step in a process.

Both of these forms are a call to action. We want the reader to do something afterward.

In screenwriting and copywriting, we are looking for YES.

In copywriting, that "yes" might mean buying the product, signing up for the newsletter, or sharing with others—but the goal is always getting the reader to take an action.

In screenwriting, the “yes” takes many forms.

“Yes” to pass it on to their boss.

“Yes” to represent the writer.

“Yes” to take it into the studio.

“Yes” to direct it.

“Yes” to star in it.

“Yes” to finance it.

But we are always looking for YES.

Enjoying the material is not enough. They must be so enthusiastic that they take additional action AFTER reading it.

To get a yes, we have to believe in the thing ourselves.

This is one of the many reasons confidence is so important.

Our job is to transfer that confidence to the reader. We want them to see what we see. If you don’t see an amazing movie, there is no way for you to communicate an amazing movie.

If you don’t communicate it, there is no way for the reader to see it.

And if they don’t see it; they don’t say “Yes."

One of my favorite tricks of copywriting.

I talk a lot about establishing a relationship with the reader in the first 10 pages. It’s just as important as anything else we do in the opening.

The reader has to have confidence that they’re in good hands. Writing with confidence and establishing that relationship is a vital part of that.

Here is the fastest way to establish that relationship.

Last year, I wrote about picturing yourself in the movie theatre watching your movie (I’ll link to that email at the end.)

Your job is to convey in real time what you see on the screen to someone who cannot see it or hear it themselves.

And here is that trick:

You’re not just imagining what’s on screen. You’re imagining who you are describing it to.

Writing to one specific person.

In copywriting, it’s your perfect avatar. That singular ideal customer. And maybe that works here, too—that perfect avatar of an executive.

Or an actor or a director. Maybe it’s your best friend. Or a sibling. Anyone you’re close to.

What’s important here is the rapport. The singular voice. The direct communication between two people as you transfer what you have in your mind into theirs.

You’re not trying to please all of Hollywood. Or the future crew that you should never worry about anyway.

You are not trying to please everyone.

You are writing to one single individual, and your relationship is with them.

Only one person is reading your screenplay at a time, anyway. Why not speak directly to them?

An exercise.

Next time you write a scene, worry less about the format, the technical stuff, and how you think you’re “supposed” to write something.

Instead, imagine that movie or show on screen. And then imagine who you genuinely want to envision it, too.

Just pick one single person. Speak to them.

Communicate to that person specifically about what you see on screen.

See how it feels.

My trip to Qatar.

I had a wonderful trip to Qatar. I was worried about the long flight and how I would handle it, but it was a delight. The flight back on Qatar Airways was particularly painless.

I was a little too jet-lagged to enjoy the Ajyal Film Festival as much as I would have liked, but what I saw was marvelous. More than anything, it was the people I met that made it special. They are very kind to guests in Qatar, and the filmmakers I met in my workshop and participating in the festival were inspiring.

Something I noticed that shouldn't have surprised me, yet did, was how much their concerns are the same as ours. They have the same questions we do: