If you search “ethical copywriter,” you will get as many definitions as search results. That’s OK as long as copywriters are clear about what they mean. At Brandcendent, my ethical copywriting services are guided by trauma-informed principles. Those include clarity, consent, and transparency in the client experience and the copy itself. Read on for more on what to look for in an ethical copywriter and how they can help you attract amazing clients.

What is an ethical copywriter?

What makes someone an “ethical copywriter”?

What are the principles of ethical copywriting?

1. Centering Clarity

2. Leaving Pain Points in the Dust

3. Embracing Nuance

What is it like to work with an ethical copywriter?

Clarity

Choice

Consent

What difference can an ethical copywriter make?

What’s possible for your marketing?

What makes someone an “ethical copywriter”?

Everyone defines “ethical copywriter” differently. (And if they don’t define it at all, that’s a red flag.) Here are some concerns ethical copywriters might center:

• Sustainability
• Accessibility
• Responsible use of AI
• Diversity and inclusion
• Transparency 
• Trauma-informed practices

Some copywriters brand themselves as ethical in part to appeal to nonprofits and businesses with explicit missions around sustainability. Most of my clients aren’t nonprofits. They’re entrepreneurs who are trying to make good money to improve their lives and those of their immediate communities. I’m excited to support them with great marketing material. The more good people with money, the better!

I focus on responsible ways of communicating effectively using trauma-informed princip. Conventional marketing advice encourages business owners to get clients in a heightened emotional state in order to make a sale. It’s often manipulative and potentially triggering people’s shame and trauma. Trauma-informed marketing takes a different approach. In copywriting, it means using a framework of choice, consent, and clarity. 

What are the principles of ethical copywriting?

As a trauma-informed copywriter, these principles guide the content I create.

1. Centering Clarity

Most of us have had this experience: A business coach we follow starts hyping an offer. We’re so drawn in by the emotion of the marketing that it takes a while to realize we don’t even know what the offer is.

Don’t get me wrong. Poetic, emotive language can be effective. An ethical copywriter, though, makes relevant details easy to find. Potential clients should always know what to expect.

Here are examples of how an ethical copywriter incorporates clarity:

• Listing prices in easy-to-find places
• Explaining the ins and outs of a client experience 
• Being honest about for whom a service is a good fit (Nothing is one-size-fits-all.)

2. Leaving Pain Points in the Dust

Remember how I mentioned that marketing strategy of getting people in their feelings about their problems? That’s pain point marketing. A trauma-informed ethical copywriter will go above and beyond to avoid it.

Here are some strategies that an ethical copywriter can use instead of pain points marketing:

• Focus on the positive experience your solution brings as opposed to the discomfort the problem causes 
• Showcasing results through magnetic storytelling 

Notice that I’m not advocating toxic positivity. You shouldn’t ignore your audience’s problems. You just don’t need to agitate them.

3. Embracing Nuance 

An ethical copywriter also knows how to be effective without relying on extremes. In my opinion, that unnecessary urgency sounds cliche anyway. You want to stand out, not become white noise.

Here’s an example of how an ethical copywriter can choose nuance over extremes:

Instead of: “STOP posting Reels every day.”

Try: “Post Reels frequently IF you’re trying to grow your audience. Here’s my best tip for making them effective.”

Notice that the first tactic relies on alarming people and making them feel bad about their approach to marketing. The second lays out when posting frequently can be effective and points to more useful information to come.

What is it like to work with an ethical copywriter?

As you can see, clarity is really powerful in your copy. It’s also an important part of the client experience when you’re working with an ethical copywriter. I work hard to design a client experience around the trauma-informed principles of clarity, choice, and consent. It results in some subtle but helpful features.

Here’s an example of each principle in action in my client experience.

Clarity 

For my website copywriting services, I share a detailed timeline for the project. I also include next steps in every email. You know what deliverables to look out for and what I need from you.

Choice 

Whenever I ask for client feedback, I give you a choice for how you prefer to respond. I send feedback questionnaires but give you the options to respond via voice memo or video. A lot of people hire me to do copy because they express themselves better orally. I can accommodate that without issue. (Former Special Education teacher here!)

Consent 

Anytime you fill out a feedback form, I ask your explicit permission to share your reviews in my marketing. 

What difference can an ethical copywriter make?

At the end of the day, you‘re looking for a copywriter to help you attract clients. An ethical copywriter can do something even better. They can attract great clients whose values align with yours. Just as you make room for their humanity in your marketing, they’re more likely to make room for yours.

I’m speaking based on clients’ experiences and my own. Clients attracted to my ethical copywriting services tend to be compassionate. They’re ambitious and have high expectations, but if I need to reschedule a call to care for a sick family member, my clients are always understanding.

What’s possible for your marketing?

Imagine if every company used ethical copywriters. Fear-based marketing would become a thing of the past. Businesses would stop telling us what we need without knowing about our lives. Those patronizing, shame-y Noom ads would leave our Instagram feeds and never come back. In its place, we’d create a world of solutions, encouragement, and connection. 

Sound like a journey you’re ready to take? I share my favorite trauma-informed marketing tips in my weekly(ish) email. Get the goods straight to your inbox when you join my mailing list! Sign up here.