Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Diana Taggart. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Diana, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today So, naming is such a challenge. How did you come up with the name of your brand?

As a copywriter, it was especially important to me to find a name for my business that showed strategic thinking and also have some panache to it. I was sitting in a coffee shop when I first considered going off on my own — and Required Reading was the first name that came to mind. I love that it sounds a little polished, a little academic, but mainly that it alludes to the fact that as a brand, your messaging should be required reading to your audience.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

My name is Diana and I’m a writer born and based in Phoenix. I’ve written professionally in a lot of forms — but my current one for business is copywriting. Through my copywriting business, I focus on brand voice strategy, messaging, and copywriting for brands of all kinds. My favorites are lifestyle, product-based businesses; give me a good candle, home decor, paper goods, clothing, or jewelry brand to write and I’ll be in heaven.

One of the biggest problems I help brands solve is the problem of lack of confidence and clarity. We all know how crucial visuals, photography, and the actual product or work itself is to sell something. But if you’re unclear or equally insecure about how to speak to the right people about the most compelling benefits your good or service offers — it’s really hard to make a sale.

And honestly, it’s those experiences I savor when working with someone. Hearing the relief in their voice, seeing them sit a little straighter, and seeing them exude newfound pride and assurance in how to represent their brand best.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

So much of writing’s purpose is expression. The writer makes sense of the world and themselves in act of pen to paper or fingertips to keys. On my creative journey, I still feel like I’m just getting started. But expression and the act of evolving how you express things, I think, is the driving force for me.

Is there something you think non-creatives will struggle to understand about your journey as a creative?

Well, “creatives” and “non-creatives” are more alike than we realize. Plus, the labels of being a creative or not a creative can perpetuate that, but that’s another story.

But creativity, in my opinion, is about finding solutions or making an alternative for something else. If it’s expression, it’s finding a new way to say something. In visual arts, it can be about visually creating a new experience or perspective. In design, it’s often about a solution to a problem with set expectations or parameters. And I think all working people can relate to those ideas in some form.

So as someone in a “creative” field, I think the journey through various kinds of writing is realizing that there’s so many ways within one sector to offer help. In my past life in journalism, it was giving voice or space for others to be heard and known. In advertising, it was presenting a want or desire or solution to someone in new ways. And now, in copywriting, it’s helping others express their brands in ways that connect best with others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.reqreading.co/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/reqreading/

Image Credits
Featured client work: Thaisa Designs, Welleree, Tura Sugden, Out West Studio