I’m a weird person.

But I don’t mind.

Being weird means I’m free to say weird things and come up with weird ideas.

As a copywriter, I see that as my job.

It’s my responsibility to question the norm and wonder if there might be a different way of doing things.

But here’s the problem…

Not all weird ideas become good ideas.

Some stay weird.

Some become dull and fall flat on their ass.

Some become bad ideas.

But that’s OK.

You have to take the risk.

Because when weird ideas work…

When they turn into great ideas…

They can be startlingly original. They can break new ground. They can transform a business.

So, if you’re weird like me: that’s great.

If you were worried about it, you shouldn’t be. As a copywriter, your weirdness is actually your best quality.

But wait…

What if you’re not weird?

Or what if you’re struggling to realise your weirdness on the page?

How to be weird

Being weird isn’t about putting underpants on your head, pencils up your nose and repeating the word wibble.

Sure, you can try that…

But it’s not the weird I’m thinking about.

When you’re looking to be weirder in a creative way, you need to take a different approach.

You need to practice for one thing.

You see, having mentored a lot of copywriters in the past, I’ve found that even the weirdest people often struggle to be weird on the page.

By that I mean they seem restrained when it comes to expressing their ideas.

I think it comes down to risk again.

It’s commonly seen as being risky to suggest a weird idea. There’s more chance of it being wrong. Much more sensible to go with what others are saying.

This is bad logic.

It’s by far riskier to do what everyone else is doing as you’ve got a much greater chance of being ignored.

Sharing a weird idea will a) get you noticed and b) because it’s weird, you can back out if it doesn’t float.

But like I say, in reality, it’s tough.

So my advice is to practice in private.

Grab a bit of paper, a voice recorder, or the back of a dog – whatever it is you normally use to record your ideas.

Then dare yourself to be weird.

Come up with the silliest way you can think of expressing an idea.

Don’t think in practical terms at this point. You won’t need to use this stuff or show it to anyone.

So just be silly.

Let your weird loose.

During this process you’ll notice you start to make different connections.

You might say or write down a word in jest but then it leads to a more serious thought or idea.

When this happens, leap on it.

Start exploring that idea. Go weird again and then reign it in when you make another interesting connection.

Eventually, your weirdest thoughts will produce something that might not seem weird at all. In fact, it might seem like a damn good idea.

Once you’ve built your confidence in private you can start to practice your weird thinking in public.

In time, rather than seeing you as a weirdo, you’ll soon become the person people lean on in the meeting, the person people look to for new ‘weird’ ideas.

As for why you’re still wearing those underpants on your head?

Well, I can only help so much.

P.S. Are you still reading? What the hell for? This is the PS you maniac. No one reads the PS. My word. Go away.

P.P.S. You’ve got to be joking. What do you want? Please. This is weird. We need to go, for both of our sakes. People will talk.

P.P.P.S. No, you hang up.