Jen is a copywriter and editor for sustainable businesses and those that are heading that way. If you’re saving the world but struggling to write about it, Jen can put your actions into words that get noticed. Jen is pivoting into copywriting after 16 years as a German-to-English translator and editor for clients working on climate change. She’s a published writer and is now using her communication skills to help clients sell their ethical products, green services, and planet-friendly content.
Jen Metcalf 0:01
I'm slightly concerned, this might be controversial, but I'm gonna go there anyways, my biggest challenge making this pivot was deciding to enter this niche. And it's because as an outsider to the sustainability field, there's a real sense you have to get it all right, you have to live 110% sustainably, you have to know all the right things to say professionally, you have to have all the answers, I think a bit of a sense that the sustainability niche is full of saints. But I definitely don't get it all right, I can't get it right. None of us can, because we live in a system that is powered by fossil fuels. So that was a real obstacle for choosing this niche. Now I'm in it, I realise that it's not that clear cut. But I think for me, that's an interesting issue to think about now that I work in sustainability communications, I suppose, is trying to break down that sense among people, the public that you have to sacrifice everything on the altar of sustainability.
Katherine Ann Byam 1:04
This is Season Five, the great debates of our times, Season Five will be centred around the great debates. And we will be comparing and contrasting different viewpoints on various topics that are consuming the public discourse at present. The reason I've decided to take this approach is because, we or at least many of us, are losing the skill of debate. And I think this is an essential skill for us all to practice once more. I don't see how we get to the point of saving the world and saving our planet, if we don't know how to discuss our differences. I also think that the solution to most of our challenges is somewhere in the spectrum of views but never at either extreme. I will be working with guests to curate the content and discuss beforehand, I will understand their positions, their areas of genius, and navigate my questions around that so that the conversation is challenging and stimulating without being combative. I hope you enjoy Season Five of Where Ideas Launch; The Sustainable Innovation Podcast. Jen is a copywriter and editor for sustainable businesses and those that are heading that way. If you're saving the world but struggling to write about it, Jen can put your actions into words that get noticed. Jen is pivoting into copywriting after 16 years as a German to English translator and editor for clients working on climate change. She's a published writer, and is now using her communication skills to help clients sell their ethical products, screen services, and planet friendly content. Jen, welcome to Where Ideas Launch. It's such a pleasure to host you.
Jen Metcalf 2:34
Thanks so much. I'm really pleased to be here.
Katherine Ann Byam 2:36
I want to thank you, first of all, for signing up to work with us on the WISBYS this event that's coming up in May 2023. And I really value your keen insight on ethical copy. And of course, this is a conversation I'm keen to get into. So tell us a little bit about your background and how you came to be in Berlin, first of all, and then your pivot to copy and sustainability.
Jen Metcalf 2:56
I studied French and German at university. And as part of that I spent a year in Hamburg. And during that time my boyfriend was out visiting. And we decided to go to Berlin for the weekend I'd never been before. And we argued all weekend. It was dreadful, but so we were kind of falling out of love with each other. But I really fell in love with Berlin that weekend. And sometimes I wonder if like, it was also a bit of a scratching a genetic itch, because my parents actually met in Berlin years ago. I mean, they're both from the UK, but they just happened to be both in Berlin in the 1970s, and in the same bar or wherever. So I kind of owe my existance to Berlin as well, which is kind of weird. I fell in love with the city. And then I went back to the UK. And a couple years later, when I'd done my masters in translation I decided to try living here. So I got a job at a subtitling and translation company, I spent a couple of really happy years translating obscure German films into English with some brilliant people. Then I moved to a translation agency that did just text translation, and sort of by accident, I became a bit of our in house expert on translations of texts about renewable energy, climate science, climate action, climate policy. So I got really interested in it through the work that was being put on my desk. Basically, I took that niche with me when I went freelance as a translator. And over the years, I gradually started doing more editing of English texts and translation, and more and more the editing would sometimes be complete rewrites. So I was starting to get into writing. And a couple of years ago, I decided, look, I'm quite into this. I would like to make it you know, more of a focus of my business. So I got interested in copywriting, but I didn't want to leave the sustainability niche and I, was, felt a bit quite high climate anxiety. So I didn't want to go into a role where I felt like I was just selling stuff. And then I discovered that there was a whole community of people out there using marketing and copywriting to sell sustainability and persuade people to go down that route. And so I decided to do that. And here we are.
Katherine Ann Byam 5:03
So you told me that you were drawn to Berlin? Is there a higher consciousness about sustainability in Berlin? Is there something about that place that also kept you awake to it and also probably kept your eco anxiety alive a bit?
Jen Metcalf 5:17
That's a really interesting question actually, I think, I've never sort of thought about it in that context. And I'm definitely here because I just, I've just always felt very comfortable here. And I think what, an interesting, interesting thing about Germany and sustainability is outside of Germany, the country has a really big reputation for being really into recycling, and quite green. And as much as I love this country, when you live here, you realise that that's, I mean, like all these things, it's not always, you know, as wonderful as it appears from the outside. And certainly, Berlin has heightened my climate anxiety and my awareness for all the different puzzle pieces that need to be addressed. To tackle the whole problem it's definitely heightened my awareness of that because it's a city, but the number of cars here is quite overwhelming, like they don't have double yellow lines, for instance. So in my neighbourhood, every inch of every curb, is parked up with cars, even the parts of the curbs that go down. So that are supposed to be for the pedestrians to be able to go across. And there are rules about where you're supposed to park and where you're not supposed to park, but they're not enforced. So over the years, that sort of, you know, drilled more and more into my awareness, and it certainly from my perspective, I think it really reduces the livability of the sort of the quality of life of the city. And it's a very big topic here as well. So I think that's definitely heightened my awareness and my, I guess, my desire to sort of do something that tries to find a solution to the problem in some way. So I'm not sure about higher purpose. And I don't know if this awareness would have come regardless of where I was living. But certainly living in the middle of a very urban city in a country that is very tied to its car industry, understandably, I mean, it's been built on its car industry to a large degree. So as much as I'm a huge proponent of reducing the number of cars on the road and switching to electric vehicles and designing cities around people instead of vehicles. I understand why there is you know, why Germany is so tied to its car industry, so I think those aspects of living in Berlin have sharpened my thoughts on climate.
Yeah, I get that, I interviewed once a guy who works for a sustainability advisory in Munich. And the whole focus of his advisory service is around pivoting to electric and moving to electric cars. And, and I want to challenge him about that. I'm like, Well, why do we need cars at all right, but I didn't realise even at that time, how deeply entrenched the car is in Germany's culture, you know? So it's, it's really not quite heard of, I mean, yes, I've seen that, you know, Germany has made its train fares very cheap, recently. So something like nine euro or something, and you can get to most places, I don't know how, how that has impacted or positively impacted the country, in your view?
Well, the nine Euro ticket was, it was only available, I think it was July, August and September. I think that's I think I'm right in saying, it was for three months. And on the one hand, it was great, obviously, from my perspective, people have different views. It made, you know, public transport all across Germany, or train travel all across Germany, available to everyone, even if you didn't have much money. And it also, Germany is a federal country, so the states all have their, states and the cities have their own public transport authorities. I mean, like we do in the UK, as well. So every state and city has a different kind of tariff structure and a different way of buying tickets. So, but this nine Euro ticket was valid across the whole country. So that was great. People started to complain a bit because obviously, lots of people were then using the rail network, and the trains were very crowded. So it was very good in one sense, because it proved that you can shift people onto public transport if, if you make sort of the conditions better, more affordable. But it showed that if you're going to do that, you have to invest in the infrastructure as well. And like, I mean, it's not as bad here is in the UK, but there's not enough investment in the in the rail network. So you need more trains, you'd need more regular services. So it was definitely a good move. But it showed up some flaws in the system. And certainly Berlin now is introducing a 29 Euro ticket, I think, I haven't checked out the actual details of it but they are trying to sort of carry on the nine Euro ticket in some form while charging more than nine euros.
And do you have any other influences in your life that would have led you to this place of working for sustainable brands, what else pushed you in this direction?
I would say, I mean, sustainability has, certainly since I've been at university, it's always been in my universe, because some of my friends either worked in the sector or have devoted their entire careers to fighting climate change with their career, so to speak. So one of my friends opened an ethical clothing boutique in London, just after university. And that was quite a while ago. And it was, I think, certainly, from my knowledge, it was one of the first shops that I'd known that sold sustainable clothes that you actually wanted to wear, they were really stylish, they were much more stylish than I am. So that was sort of my first meeting with the idea that you could make sustainable choices without having to completely sort of sacrifice, glamour or making yourself feel good. So that was a really interesting learning for me, I suppose. And a very good friend of mine has devoted her entire career to tackling climate change. She works for an organisation that looks at sustainable cities. And she is also behind a new journal that's just been launched with research into sustainable cities that have very high levels of policymakers and mayors and that sort of thing. But obviously, she's a very close friend of mine. So I hear a lot about that from her. And I just find her incredibly inspiring, and she does her work without sort of preaching without making people feel bad. And so having those kinds of people in my universe showed me that I could devote your job to helping tackle the climate crisis, it was a viable career.
Katherine Ann Byam 11:38
And we're gonna move now to a different tack, and I'm gonna put you on the spot, because I like doing this to marketing people. But I believe that marketing and persuasion and psychology has the power to transform and not always for the good. I wanted to know what your thoughts are about that. And what's happening in the field of marketing and copy and persuasion?
Jen Metcalf 11:59
Yeah, I mean, that's a really good point. And it's a really good question. And it's certainly one I asked myself when I was thinking about getting into this niche when I was thinking about pivoting into copywriting. And, you know, like any superpower, persuasion can be used for good and for evil. But the fact is, we have to sell sustainability, we have to sell the need for climate action, we have to persuade people and businesses and policymakers that well, now we have to take quite radical action. I think marketing and copywriting offer really good tools for doing that, these persuasionary tactics have been sort of driving our desires for decades. And there's nothing to say that they can't be used to drive our desires in a different direction. I mean, there's no higher reason why we desire BMWs, or why we desired cigarettes back in the day, you know, marketing took us there. And marketing made us think, well, I don't mind parting with 50,000 pounds for this luxury car or parting with five pounds for this mascara. So I believe that those same tactics can be used to steer us in different direction. And I think what copywriting and marketing do really well is they they spend a lot of time and effort and money getting to know their target audience or their clients target audience. And then they work really hard to talk to that audience, in their language on their terms to make, to sort of touch their emotions, don't wany to get too poetic about this, but it's about emotion a lot of the time. And I think that those tactics are really valuable for moving people into more sustainable behaviours, moving people into voting for parties that are going to do something about climate change. And you know, getting people involved in projects in their local community. It's an endless list. And I think that that is needed in the space of sustainability and communicating climate change. Because I feel like for a long time, the communication in that space has been sort of from a bit of a one size fits all perspective, like there's an assumption that everybody feels this sort of reverent love for nature, or everybody thinks that it's bad that there's cars on the road, and it's sort of come from this one size fits all place. And I think that if there's more thought given to 'who am I talking to?', 'what's important to them?', 'and how can I tie that into sustainable choices or taking climate action?', that we can achieve a lot with that. I've just read Katharine Hayhoe's book called saving us, I think, and her point is that climate change affects every single aspect of everybody's lives, whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not. And so that in a way gives us endless opportunities to talk about the need for climate action or the need for sustainable choices with anybody and you know, she, she is a Christian and she has had a lot of success in talking to other Christians about the need for climate action in the context of the teachings of the Bible, I won't go too far into that, because it's not my specialist field. But instead of meeting those people and talking about what she thinks is important in climate change, she thought about what's important to these people, talks to them in that context, and then they're working from a common ground, and nobody feels spoken down to and you can see how climate action affects your own personal life. So I think from that perspective, marketing, and copywriting has a lot to bring to the table in terms of understanding that everybody sees the world differently, and finding ways to persuade people based on their concerns and their interests.
Katherine Ann Byam 15:43
No absolutely, I like how you put that because often, I've been debating with myself, I mean, I've been in business now for four years, roughly, and I've not pushed sales, I've always been reticent about pushing my product or service, even if I know the intention of my product and service, even if I know the customer and the client that they need help. I'm often cautious about being really forceful with my marketing efforts with my persuasion efforts, because I want that people come to their own conclusion. But then time and time again, I see potential customers go to less ethical brands for support, get burned, and then I asked myself, well, should I have pushed more? Like, would it have been better to push more? And I think this comes to to something in psychology that they talk about, which is Machiavellianism. Right? Is it? It's for the greater good. Like, if it's for the greater good. Should I push more? And, you know, this is this is kind of the conversation I have with myself a lot. Right? So it's definitely the, I think if you're not having some ethical debates, you're not alive, right? And this is one of mine. And I found it so difficult to kind of just focus on perhaps, you know, getting my message out there as clearly as possible and as consistently as possible, as opposed to worrying about being like the others. And I think that, that's probably where I've gone the most wrong in my, in my four years of experience. I don't know what your your thoughts and reflections are on that?
Jen Metcalf 17:19
Well, I think that's interesting, because regardless of what you're selling, a lot of small business owners have those same thoughts, and I have them myself when you're marketing yourself that, God I don't want to be pushy, am I being too salesy. So those are legitimate concerns, and entirely understandable because everybody hates salesy things. Nobody likes to feel that they're being put under intense pressure to buy something. But I think, first of all, if you're offering something that's going to benefit people benefit the planet in inverted commas, you have every right to promote that, and you should promote it. And I know there are ethical ways of doing that. There are ways of promoting something that basically makes people feel like you're holding a gun to their head, or making them feel stupid for being in the situation they're currently in. Or you can speak to them ethically, and maybe come to this a bit later, but show empathy for the situation that they're in, and then talk to them about your solution and give them the chance to buy that solution, but sell it in such a way that they don't feel under pressure to do it.
Katherine Ann Byam 18:29
Absolutely, totally get that and I like where we're going with this. So love this conversation already. What successes have you had so far? And what has surprised you the most in your journey so far?
Jen Metcalf 18:39
Well, I'm chalking it up as a success that I've made this pivot because I think pivoting at any stage of your career is not necessarily an easy thing to do. I've certainly had an awful lot of doubts about it, but I'm pleased that I've done it. And I'm doing it. In actual copywriting, I recently had a very nice project where I wrote a couple of email marketing sequences for a small family run business in the States. And so that involved developing a tone of voice with them and drafting the actual structure of the emails. And the founders are really lovely people. They're really kind and really encouraging to their target audience and to their staff, their target audience is of people setting up or running small, creative businesses working with them on that was really rewarding. And they were really happy with the result, which was also really rewarding. That's what I want at the end of the day. So that was a nice copywriting success for me recently. And I think in terms of what surprised me most has probably been discovering this huge community of really inspiring people working in the ethical marketing, ethical copy arena, and seeing you know how dynamic it is, all the discussions going on, how dedicated people are to this cause, so to speak. That's been a very pleasant surprise. Not that I didn't expect it was there but I've never really thought about it. So to discover that has been very nice and very uplifting. Also, I feel whenever you discover something that's going well, in terms of climate change, climate action, it's very uplifting because if you just look at the newspapers, it's all doom and gloom.
Katherine Ann Byam 20:12
Absolutely agree. And I think we don't toot our own horns enough, we don't celebrate the wins enough. And this is one of the things that I really, I really wanted to embrace with the WISBYS. Because I recognise in my own voice, I speak exactly from the heart. I don't think about a brand voice, pillars, strategy. I mean, I have some pillars that I talk about in my personal life, or, or whatever, but I am my business. So I therefore speak from my heart. And for the WISBYS I made a deliberate effort to create a brand voice that's overwhelmingly positive, and not to annoy people, because that can also be annoying, but mainly to, to just look at things from a lens of hope, because it's so easy to get sucked into well, what's the point, and do what everybody else does, if you lose hope. And I think this idea of hope has to be the most important idea, like there is nothing more important than selling hope at the moment.
Jen Metcalf 21:12
Absolutely. I totally agree. And I think there's a lot of content and books at the moment talking about, we're not going to get anywhere by just talking about doom and gloom, we're not, it turns us into rabbits in the headlights, you know, we're just so overwhelmed at the awfulness of it all, that we don't know where to start, or we're too scared to start. And so it's a natural human reaction or reflex to just blend it out. And I had an interesting conversation, I saw some of my family recently, and she said to me, it's just, it's just awful, no one's doing anything on climate. And I could totally understand the sentiment, but I also was like, oh, loads of people are doing loads of things about the climate, it's just they get such little air time. And unless this space is your business, or you just personally want to spend a lot of time in it, you don't hear those stories. And so I think, you know, like the WISBYS having a really positive brand voice and giving space to people who are doing great things for the climate is so valuable right now. Because if you think that nothing's being done, then it feels all the more pointless to do anything.
Katherine Ann Byam 22:19
So we don't have to talk about the challenges, though. So this is this is a necessary part of of life and not necessarily to dwell on them or not necessarily to discard them either. Tell us about some of the challenges and obstacles you've encountered in making this pivot and sort of your reflections on that now.
Jen Metcalf 22:36
I'm slightly concerned, this might be controversial, but I'm gonna go there anyways, to be honest, my biggest challenge making this pivot was deciding to enter this niche. And it's because as an outsider to the need to the sustainability field to working in climate action, with climate change from the outside, there's a real sense that you have to get it all right, if you're gonna go into that field. And actually, even if you don't just as a person, there's a sense that you have to get it all right, you have to live 110% sustainably, you have to know all the right things to say professionally, you have to have all the answers. And I'm sure a lot of that comes from my own anxieties. But there is, I think, a bit of a sense that the sustainability niche is full of saints, but none of us are saints. And I'm certainly not a saint. And I try to live as sustainable a life as I can. But I definitely don't get it all right, I can't get it all right, none of us can because we live in a system that is powered by fossil fuels. So that was a real obstacle for choosing this niche. And now I'm in it, I realised that it's not that clear cut. But I think for me, that's an interesting issue to think about now that I work in sustainability communications, I suppose, is trying to break down that sense among people, the public, that, you know, environmentalism, you have to be a do gooder, you have to sacrifice everything on the altar of sustainability. I'm exaggerating a bit here, but you get my point. And now I'm in here, I sort of want to be a voice that says, look, we're not all perfect. It's just about doing the best you can right now and keep improving. But to go back to the obstacle, now from where I'm sitting, I wonder if this sort of aura of perfection that surrounds environmentalism, I think it's quite detrimental because it puts people off taking any action at all. And I wonder if some of it comes from the heavy focus on greenwashing. And again, this might be controversial, but there's so much talk about greenwashing in the press and in the world that I wonder if that also puts people off doing anything. And it is because now we have the term greenhushing, which is where people or businesses don't talk at all about any of the good stuff they're doing sustainability wise, because they're scared of being shamed for not doing everything right. Of course, we need to call out greenwashing when it's being done deliberately. But I just wonder if we need to shift some of the focus away from the greenwashers and give that oxygen to people, businesses, politicians who are doing it right or righter because none of us can get it 100% right. And that I think might make the overall field of sustainability and climate action more open and welcoming to everyone, to other businesses who want to talk about what they're doing, or who even want to learn about what they can do. So that was my main obstacle. And it's given me a lot of food for thought, but I'm glad I'm over, I overcame it. And I'm glad I'm in here.
Katherine Ann Byam 25:35
I love this, like, I'm so excited listening to this and having this debate with you, because I think these are important things to talk about at the beginning of the WISBYS. And this is a bit of airing of it, the laundry of the WISBYS. But this is part of our brand ethos, we had a very interesting and involved debate amongst all the volunteers about which brands to request sponsorship from. And on the one hand, I had a particular brand that people have particular feelings about, not positive ones, willing to give me some money. And then on the other hand, I have other brands I could I could approach but the problem with those other brands is that they're so they're so out there that they probably have everyone going to them. So here I am in a situation of an open hand, basically extending me some money. But for the team, this was not the kind of image we want to associate the work that we're doing with and this is a difficult conversation, because again, you have to go where the money is at times in order to put it where it needs to be. And is it, is this a case of us, for example, condoning the business practices of said entity? Or is it a case of us trying to make that money, do something more positive and going deeper into that, I know the people working there, so I know that people are responsible for the social impact work of that company, I know them personally, they've been committed to social impact all their lives, and then doing this work is because they want to go where the money is to put the money where it needs to be. So as you start thinking about that, and as you start scratching the surface of everything, you realise there's a lot more ethical sort of nuance to how you make a decision about who to get funding from, you know, who to post your brand with, how to talk about that relationship, you know, and how to navigate that space, even within your close quarters, far less for any external world because of exactly what you say there's a lot of judgement. So all the judgments on that brand suddenly comes on to my brand for receiving that money, even though my intentions are completely pure with it. So there's a lot in there.
Jen Metcalf 27:42
Yeah, absolutely. I mean, it's literally an ethical minefield. And I think perhaps in the past that hasn't been made clear enough, or it hasn't been admitted enough. And you get the real sense, certainly from outside. I mean, I'm sure if you've been inside the field for a very long time, you see things differently, but I'm talking about someone who's been outside it for a while, but and you have a real sense that you're you know, you're either greenwashing or you're a good company, you're either good, or you're bad, basically. And there's a very clear line, and you have to stay on either side of it. And it's just not that simple, primarily because the whole system is environmentally unfriendly, you know, we can't snap our fingers and live in a system that allows us to make 100% ethical choices, sustainable choices all the time. And I think admitting that we're in an ethical minefield and accepting that, but also talking about it and discussing the issues is really important to make some real headway and to get more people involved. If we all accept that there's often no right answer, like in any other area of life, there'll be less fear about trying to start making steps in the right direction. And in your case, obviously, that's a real ethical dilemma. But like you say, like, if you take the money from that brand, or that company, you can do something good with it. So you know, there's an argument clearly, there's arguments on both sides, and there's nobody standing there with, you know, it's not a maths exam, there's not a right or a wrong answer. You have to weigh it up.
Katherine Ann Byam 29:10
Absolutely. And I think this is such an important conversation. So thank you for bringing it thank you for bringing the controversy. And I think like ethics conversations, I like them because I feel as if there's always a net gain when we spend time talking about ethics, you leave an ethics conversation bigger with growth, if you understand what I mean, there's no way for you to stay the same and stay static when you're talking about this sort of debate. So I feel really good about that. Moving on to your big hairy goals and and what you see upcoming for you in the future.
Jen Metcalf 29:42
Okay, so my one big hairy goal, I suppose the first one would be I really want to become the go to copywriter for clients who are willing to think outside the box and be bold when it comes to their sustainability content when it comes to talking about their ethical products or their water saving projects, it's so common to see really baige writing in this field. And I think that's partly because people are understandably nervous about talking about it for the reasons just discussed, but there's so much value in bringing the same kind of creativity, the same kind of strong, unique voice to your sustainability content as any other brand brings to its content. So you know, there's brands like who gives a crap, Tony's chalkalone, chocalonely, I can never pronounce it, reformation, and of course, Oatley, they all have really strong brand voices, and they are all sustainable to a greater or lesser degree, they're all trying to do good things. And they're so fun, they're so engaging, their message stays with you much more than if they're using the same bland sustainability language that everybody's using. And there's, I mean, there's a lot of people talking about this at the moment, I'm not reinventing the wheel. But I think it's a really exciting area. And I would really love to help more businesses, more clients or organisations be bold in their sustainability content. And I suppose my biggest goal is that I hope that one day, I'm forced to give up this niche because it doesn't exist anymore, because all businesses and all products are, and all services are sustainable, or regenerative or whatever word we're using when it comes to it. So I hope that becomes the norm so that my niche doesn't exist anymore. And one more thing that I'm really aiming for is I really want to contribute to the discussion around how to communicate sustainability, how to communicate climate action, and climate science. I'm reading loads of books at the moment about it. And I've just got a million ideas and opinions in my head. So I'm trying to pluck up the courage to start a substack or something like that, so that I can get those ideas and opinions out there. And then get feedback on them, whether good or bad, because I think it's such a fascinating area. And I really want to progress in it. And I want to contribute to it. And so I want to put myself out there for people to say yes, no, I see it differently, because then you can really make progress and grow.
Katherine Ann Byam 32:07
I love it. I love the goals, and all, all here to support you. Moving to some tips. And I know that my listeners would have already enjoyed a lot of what you shared. But can you give us some thought processes and frameworks to consider how to make our copy more ethical and still do the job that copy needs to do?
Jen Metcalf 32:27
I think the overarching aim, you want to think about; if you're writing sales copy, so you want people to buy X that you've made, be kind. So if you're writing sales copy, you're selling a product or a service, I think your overarching goal needs to be, be kind, ask yourself, if I was reading this would I feel like someone was holding a gun to my head; buy this product, buy this service. So that's overarching and you can do that by when you're writing your sales copy, be empathetic, of course, you need to talk about the problem that your audience is having and that your product or service is going to solve. And you can do that by making them feel bad for having that problem. Or you can do that by emphasising with their problem and making them feel like hey, you get it because you do because that's why you've developed this product or this service, and then show them what your product service can do for them and allow them to buy it if they want. Obviously, don't use false scarcity, don't have a clock counting down to some randomly chosen deadline. Don't create unnecessary pressure for your reader to buy your product. Those are sort of some very general things. So I think be kind, be empathetic, don't put your reader under unnecessary pressure. On the other side of the coin. I would also say think about; am I making my reader feel bad for not being sustainable enough. Am I being preachy? Am I being sanctimonious because I think that doesn't get talked about a lot. But for a lot of people out there sustainability has a real sheen of preaching us and sanctimonious. So I think it's important just to think a bit about that. When you're writing copy, don't make your readers feel bad for having the problem that you're solving. But also don't make them feel bad for not being sustainable enough. Be diverse. Don't use cliched gender roles, don't automatically assume that mums is going to be doing the cooking or that you're going to have a mum and a dad, if you have any influence over the visuals that are going to be used make sure that they're not all white people, particularly white men. So that's an important consideration and then greenwashing - don't greenwash. greenwashing is where you overstate your green credentials, and you don't say anything about what you're not doing so well, don't do that. It's dishonest. And some countries are actually introducing regulations and laws against it. So be open about what you're doing well, if you're talking about your sustainability actions, but also be open about where you still need to improve, and this is from a business perspective, this is also a really good thing to do because it makes people trust you and if people trust you, they're more likely to buy from you or choose your services, so honesty, and then more going into just sort of the more general copy things, don't be afraid to use a unique tone of voice. Like I said before, you know, you've got brands, like who gives a crap and reformation, they're really bold with their tone of voice. And it just makes it so much more interesting and so much more fun to read. And you're putting this marketing out there, you're putting the sustainability content out there so that people read it. So let them have fun reading it or enjoy reading it. And another thing to consider is you don't necessarily have to put sustainability front and centre in your copywriting even if you have a sustainable product, because especially if you're trying to attract an audience that isn't exclusively made up of people who are already keen to save the planet, sustainability might not be the main concern of your audience. So think about that. We've got a vegan doughnut shop here that makes amazing doughnuts. They do say they're vegan in their marketing, but the focus is on the doughnuts, and they're great. So you don't have to always stress, we're sustainable we're ethical stress the other benefits of your of your product as well, because that is also what helps you stand out.
Katherine Ann Byam 36:06
Tell me listeners, how can they get in touch and work with you if they want to.
Jen Metcalf 36:10
So I'm pretty active on LinkedIn, Jen Metcalf on LinkedIn. So come and find me there and tell me your opinion of something that I've posted. I'm always interested to hear what people think you can also email me at hello at Jen metcalf.com. And if you're in Berlin, we can just go for a coffee. I know a very good doughnut shop.
Katherine Ann Byam 36:27
Oh, it's absolutely wonderful to chat with you today, Jen, I loved your tips. I loved the ethical focus and openness of your conversation. So thank you so much, and really a pleasure to have you.
Jen Metcalf 36:40
You're welcome. It was a pleasure to be here.
Katherine Ann Byam 36:45
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