"Poetry? What’s that got to do with copy?" you're thinking. (Or you weren't but now you are. Isn't writing a wonderful thing?)

As a copywriter in my first, capital-R, "Real" professional position, I've regularly pondered the difference between copywriting and what one might call "writing for fun."

"Copywriting is strictly business!"

"Copywriting is running A-B tests to see which metric comes out higher and picking that option."

"Copywriting is planning out every inch of the flyer, email, postcard, or other messaging analytically, based on the list of audience characteristics, to maximize odds of action and engagement."

"Copywriting is the intersection of cognitive psychology, mathematics, graphic design, color theory, and behavioral economics."

All true.

But here’s where my lifelong love of poetry has served me mightily in writing copy:

In poetry and copy, there isn't room for a single word that doesn’t make a difference.

- Robert Graves