Sara Lovelady, a.k.a. “Wordgirl,” has worked as a natural products copywriter for more than 15 years. She has written copy for more than 100 brands of nutritional supplements, natural foods, and body care products and has published articles in numerous consumer and trade natural health magazines and websites, including Delicious Living, Aisle 7 (previously HealthNotes), Nutrition Business Journal, and Natural Foods Merchandiser.
Health E- Insights: Are you anything like Wordgirl on PBS?
Ms. Lovelady: PBS’s Wordgirl and I have a lot in common. We’re both verbal superheroes, we both save the day by helping people express themselves, and we both come from the planet Lexicon. But while PBS’s Wordgirl saves small cartoon towns from evil villains, I save supplement manufacturers from copy that is uninspiring or illegal.
Health E-Insights: What is the best or most effective marketing tactic or technique you’ve seen in the supplement industry?
Ms. Lovelady: There are so many! But one of my favorites is creating a short consumer-oriented video that lives on your home page. Not only does a video allow you to craft your story with the help of audio and visual effects, it also helps boost your ranking in organic searches. Google loves videos!
Health E-Insights: Why do you feel a large percentage of supplement companies resist developing meaningful marketing (advertising. PR, etc.)
Ms. Lovelady: I think there’s a sense among supplement companies that “we’ll save so much money if we do this in-house.” Of course, the irony is that if you invest in a meaningful marketing campaign by hiring experts who specialize in doing just that, you will likely get a much better return on your marketing dollars.
Health E-Insights: Could the supplement industry be improved by using less “generic” copy?
Ms. Lovelady: Yes! My personal belief is that every brand and every product has a story. The job of a good copywriter is to tell that story in a way that makes people listen and connect with it. Too often manufacturers focus on the nuts and bolts: this ingredient does that. That has a place, but it’s not the heart of good copywriting. When you think about the most successful products or brands, not the here-today, gone-tomorrow fads, they are the ones that told their story well.
Health E-Insights: What book or piece of writing has had the biggest impact on you?
Ms. Lovelady: Without question, Cheri Huber’s seminal book, There Is Nothing Wrong With You. It’s sort of an anti-self-help book. So many of us in the alternative community are constantly working on ourselves, trying to grow, aspiring to be better people. Her message is that you are actually just fine the way you are, and that the key to happiness is unconditional self-love and acceptance.
Health E-Insights: What was the best day of your life?
Ms. Lovelady: It was probably hiking in the Costa Rican rainforest. My mom and I had been hiking for hours, hoping to spy white-faced monkeys but starting to lose hope. Then all of a sudden there was a whole family of them crossing a bare branch right over the trail. We stood and watched them pass for a good five minutes. It was magical.