How a strong copywriting process helps you deliver under pressure

You probably weren’t a Zoids fan as a kid, but I was.

This Tomy line of mecha-monster model kits was the coolest thing in British toy shops in the 1980s. Or at least, I thought so – none of my friends gave a stuff about them.

I wanted to collect them all. There were three I remember owning: a giant Godzilla-inspired thing whose eyes glowed red with LEDs; a sabre-toothed tiger that walked (I think); and a “Scarab” beetle thing that pulled two trays on wheels behind it, for collecting scrap.

I distinctly remember asking my mum to take the Godzilla one out of my room the night I got it, because those LED eyes were just too scary.

Although Zoids are still popular in Japan, they came and went in the UK. I grew up and moved on.

Then, decades later, something cool happened.

The Zoids were calling me.

Return of the Zoids

One day in 2020, I got an email out of the blue.

(Yes, this was six years ago. I don’t blog often enough.)

Zoids were making a comeback in Europe, in video game form.

Somehow, the perfect writing job had come my way.

Now, I’d never mentioned my love of Zoids to anyone I knew professionally. I hadn’t been sending begging letters to Tomy Japan.

Zoids had actually found me through my game-industry experience. Through a relationship with a game company. And because someone there had the instinct to know I was exactly the right person to write about Zoids.

…Or was I?

Big opportunity (and fear)

Doubt crept in fast.

When I was a child, TV ads were BIG. Toy shops were BIG. Brands like Tomy were BIG. They were beautiful and they spoke directly to you, offering something you wanted more than anything.

This is probably why I work in marketing today.

For my words to represent Zoids, to create that voice for children today… that was also BIG.

I felt pressure and uncertainty I thought I’d left behind in my junior copywriter days.

Did I break? Did I crumble like out-of-date crackers?

Yes, I’m afraid I did.

When pressure hits, process helps

Kidding 🤡

Writing copy is a process. A process has steps. A lot of the steps are pretty mundane.

When things get difficult, I just get on with the steps. Such as…

Reading/watching: Always the best place to start. Immerse yourself in the world. Get familiar with the brand and the product. Start to feel at home.

Asking questions: A chance to ask the makers of Zoids about Zoids? I took it. More generally, asking questions creates dialogue, dialogue leads to understanding and better working relationships. You also get the answers you need.

Scribbling thoughts down: Or what Americans call spitballing. The no-pressure way to write, which often brings up surprisingly good ideas.

Giving yourself time: If a job is high-pressure, it’s often a good idea to split it over several days. Get to grips with the challenges on the first day, then sleep on it. Solutions often simply appear the next day.

By the time I’d done all that, I was ready to draft my Zoids copy.

But… would it be good enough?

Would it win the Zoidsmasters’ approval?

Trust the process

I’ll spare you the fake suspense. The job went well.

A few months later, I saw it in the Stockport branch of Smyths Toys. The product I had worked on, there on the shelf.

The box was small. The number of copies was small. Hell, the sales were probably small too.

But my pride, my sense of achievement, my sense of a job well done… those were all BIG.

My love of Zoids had helped me get there – but so had a strong process.

If you need help with a high-pressure copywriting job, whether it’s about Zoids or not, please get in touch.