Great Copywriting: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & the Infamous Sherlock Holmes
What makes great copywriting? The answer varies widely depending on whom you ask. However, there is a constant string of qualities that embodies what the industry classifies as great: engagement, emotion, strong storytelling, and facts. But sometimes reading ‘how to’ material about creating great content for our website isn’t enough. Sometimes we learn a great deal more by example. That is why we are going to look to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and his infamous detective, Sherlock Holmes, for some great copywriting advice.
Conan Doyle Creates an Icon
The great Sherlock Holmes, who appeared in publication for the first time in 1887, is more than an iconic character from a rather old series of books. His evolution from paper to screen is the ultimate display of great copy in action. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle managed to create a character that has stood the test of time and inspired numerous recreations—and even an inception into the modern world.
According to Wikipedia, Conan Doyle’s fictional stories about the quirky and brilliant detective are “generally considered milestones in the field of crime fiction.” He was a major hit in the late 1800s, and it speaks volumes to see the variety of venues and recreations inspired by his books.
Image Source: wikimedia.org
The Most Recent Evolution of Sherlock Holmes
The Sherlock Holmes book series covers a period from around 1880 through 1914. In 2014, while the majority of the population have not once laid a finger on one of Conan Doyle’s books, they know exactly who detective Sherlock Holmes is. In fact, since 2009 he has become a bit of a poster boy.
The 2009 Sherlock Holmes movie starred none other than Robert Downy Jr. as the eccentric detective. It was succeeded by a popular sequel, Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows, in 2011.
Holmes evolved his way to the television screen in 2010 in the BBC’s Sherlock. Portrayed by actor Benedict Cumberbatch, the detective is dropped into 21st century London in a modern update to the iconic series. The series is still running, drawing in a massive fan base populated by a young generation who know little about the books the character originates from.
What We Can Learn From Mr. Holmes
Although the famous sleuth can teach us a great deal about seeing what’s right underneath our noses, he comes with a much greater lesson for those of us in the copywriting world. He is the ultimate icon for how a single, brilliant idea can be molded to fit many forms of content and never ever outdated. Here are just three few of the brilliant lessons business owners, webmasters, and copywriters can glean from the notorious Sherlock Holmes:
- Great storytelling isn’t always fictional. One of the little known facts about the Sherlock Holmes detective novels is that quite a bit of the technical information is based on fact. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle wasn’t just a novelist; he was also a physician. The takeaway lesson for us is that you can mix great storytelling with hard facts. The content you produce can be 100 percent factual yet still grip the reader emotionally through the art of storytelling.
- Great copy is timeless. Did you know that Sherlock came from the late 1800s? If there’s one thing we can learn from Robert Downy Jr’s portrayal of Detective Holmes, it’s that this character is timeless. Audiences were glued to movie screens for the 2009 and 2011 movies, and they didn’t see a recreation of a novel from the 1880s or even 1914. No, they saw a timeless character that gripped their attention, drew out their emotions, and even taught them a thing or two about logic, the science of deduction, and loyalty. Great copy is timeless. Invest in creating copy that excels at engaging, compelling, and involving the audience. Provide facts. Mix with storytelling. Result: timeless content.
- Great copy can be repurposed. Holmes began his journey within the pages of a series of books. The books were so compelling that he sprang up as an engaging and thought provoking character on the big screen. Numerous movies and television shows have delved into recreating the science and storytelling contained within the pages of Conan Doyle’s books. Then, in 2010, the ultimate repurposing of content took place. Sherlock Holmes was modernized. The science and storytelling was brought into 21st century London to create one of the most compelling, engaging, and outright titillating renditions of the detective to date. What’s the lesson we can learn? It’s okay to repurpose content. In fact, modernizing and updating our content can be one of the smartest and most audience inspiring actions we ever take—if we take care in crafting it!
It’s elementary, my dear reader! Examples of great copywriting surround us. We need merely take the time to see and contemplate what is right under our noses to create brilliant copy.