Words That Sell: A Dummies Guide To Writing Copy

Words That Sell: A Dummies Guide To Writing Copy plus 2nd one below Guide to Copywriting

I had the good fortune to have Apple Computers as one of my advertising clients. They asked us to

come up with a series of headlines for a 24

–

page brochure to get rid of a bunch of old stock. The

headlines we presented were fantastic! Amusing, outrageous,

quirky. We were set to scoop the

awards pool. But when the research came back, the headline that out

–

pulled all others was

–

wait

for it:

“Save $2,000 on an Apple Mac computer.”

Can you believe it? All that creative muscle we’d thrown at the campaig

n, and the headline that

won, was, without doubt, the world’s most banal.

The campaign however, went on to generate vast sums of revenue for the company and was widely

touted as one of their most successful direct marketing campaigns. Not for the first

time I was

surprised at how sometimes the simplest things in advertising are often the best.

I’ve never forgotten that lesson.

I often think of it when I see small business ads that try to be clever or funny. What a waste of space!

Small business adv

ertisers do not have the time or money to run clever or funny ads. They need ads

that pull a result, every time. We want people to stop, read and say either “I have to have that

NOW” or “I must find out more about that NOW”.

If you have an advertising

agency working for you, advise them ever

–

gently that their amusing,

outrageous or quirky ideas can take a back seat for a minute whilst you try out some boring old

direct response techniques. You need to break the news to them that they may not win any

Gold

Lion awards this year (they will however, be comforted to know that they will have a job for the

foreseeable future).

If you’re writing copy for yourself, take note of some of these ideas, try them and watch the results.

You know full well how exp

ensive advertising can be, so it’s in your interest to make sure your

advertising works.

Spend 80% of your time getting the headline right.

Let’s start with the most important component of any direct response advertisement: The Headline.

If you can ca

pture the attention of your target market, you’ve succeeded. If you don’t, you’ve

wasted every cent. The headline is the No. 1 component for capturing attention so spend at least

80% of your time getting it right.

You might be surprised to know that of

the 500,000+ plus words in the English language, there are a

few key phrases that have more ‘grunt’ than most when it comes to capturing attention. Here’s a

few of them:

How To…

The Secret Of…

Do You Make These Mistakes…

A Breakthrough…

ow Would You Like…

What Everybody Ought To Know About…

Confessions Of…

Here’s an example of how these phrases can be used in headlines:

How To Raise Your Child’s IQ Before It’s Even Born

The Secret Of Being Wealthy (Without Working Like A

Dog)

Do You Make These Mistakes In Job Interviews?

A Breakthrough Idea For Those Who Want To Act In Movies

How Would You Like To Earn A Six Figure Income From Home?

What Everybody Ought To Know About Buying Inner

–

City Apartments

Confessions

Of A Disbarred Lawyer

Now, they may sound a bit cheesy here, all lined up in a row, (and they certainly won’t win any

creativity awards) but like ‘em or not, they work. And who cares about creativity when the cash is

rolling in?

Here’s another way t

o keep

those cash registers ringing.

Keep it simple:

For some reason, something happens when we pick up a pen and start to write ‘copy’. The urge to

sound pompous, authoritarian and self

–

important takes effect and we end up writing as if we had a

quil

l stuck up our nether regions.

Here’s an example:

“We are proud to announce that Smithers and Sons Pty Ltd has now been in business for over 50

years. We pride ourselves and set great store in our customer service. We also guarantee every

aspect of

our work.”

“Now, what’s wrong with that?” I hear you ask. Well, quite frankly, a lot. In fact, everything. Here’s

why. Let’s break it down.

It’s clear they want to reinforce three features of their business:

They’re experienced

They offer g

reat customer service

They guarantee their work

If that’s the case, wouldn’t it be better if they actually told us what’s in it for us rather than telling us

how good they are?

For example, they could have said:

“Your investments are in sa

fe hands. After 50 years in business, you know we’re here to stay.” (i.e.

we’re experienced)

“You can sit back and relax as our Representatives come to your home at a time that’s convenient

to you and your family.” (i.e. we offer great customer servi

ce)
“You can buy with safety because all our work is guaranteed

–

you get a 100% money back refund

if you are not completely satisfied

–

no worries, no hassles.” (i.e. we guarantee our work)

Can you see what’s changed? The pompous “We’’ words hav

e been replaced with “You” words. This

automatically converts the phrase into a customer

–

focussed statement that outlines a clear benefit.

When you tell the reader what’s in it for them, you’ll engage them instantly.

Tips:

Replace “We”, “Our

” and “I” words with You words

Give examples of how your product will benefit your customer

Banish abstract words:

When pushed for time or in the absence of meaningful product benefits, it’s easy to revert to using

abst

ract words. Abstract words

are words that have been so over

–

used; they cease to have any

meaning. Repeat offenders include:

Experienced

Productive

Strategy

–

ordination

Analysis

Efficient

Customer Service

Technological

mplement

Here’s a classic example of a telemarketing company using abstract words to advertise their

business.

“A telephone marketing campaign takes experience and productive planning. It means

understanding the strategy, coordinating the message, t

he execution and the analysis. It also

requires efficient customer service and technological and human resources to implement it.”

Does anyone really believe this advertisement will have an impact? No, but the business owner will

argue that it makes them

sound efficient and professional. And that’s the trouble. It might sound

professional, but it’s completely ineffective. When we see a bunch of abstract words in a sentence,

our eyes glaze over. The result? We switch off.

Copywriting is about turning

complex ideas and messages into simpler ideas and messages. Making

things sound pompous, technical and officious is not the sign of a good copywriter; in fact, it’s quite

the reverse. Overusing abstract words is a sign that you either haven’t given the cop

ywriter a fully

detailed brief about why you’re better than the next, or they’re just lazy copywriters.

Tips:

Avoid abstract words. Replace them with the simplest word you can think of.
Get detailed information about your product. It’s easier

to avoid abstract words when you have

real benefits to talk about.

Use numbers in your headlines:

Try using well

–

known phrases as headline grabbers to capture attention. Then, adapt them to suit

your target market. Here’s a few examples:

Well

–

know

n list:

Making them your own:

The 10 Commandments

The Millionaire’s Ten Commandments

The 7 Deadly Sins

The 7 Deadly Sins Every CEO Makes

7 Habits Of Highly Effective People

7 Habits Of Highly Effective Engineers

Tips:

If you’re goin

g to use a number in your headline, it sounds more believable if you use an odd

number (3, 7, 9, 101) or a number ending in 0 (10, 30, 50, 100).

Philip Duthenberry, a famous copywriter, once said:

“Copywriting is the second most lucrative form of wri

ting. The first, of course, is ransom notes.”

Well may he joke, but Duthenberry was onto something. Copy costs. A lot. So it’s in your interest as

a business owner to either learn how to do it right or learn how to evaluate the copy you are being

given b

y your advertising agency copywriters. This article might go some way towards helping you

do that. If it doesn’t, call me and I’ll give you a free 30

–

minute critique of your advertising to make up

for the time you spent reading this. But beware: no punches

will be pulled!

Your by

–

line goes here: Your contact details go here: Your website address goes here: “Used with

the full and express permission of the author Bernadette Schwerdt. www.copyscho

Guide to Copywriting

24 Nov 2010 12:00 AM

John Mitchell

SEO Copywriting

Guide to Copywriting

Copywriting is all the text you see written on websites, marketing brochures, letters and any other product. The use of copy varies from general information about products and services to attention grabbing advertising sales campaigns. Basically, a copywriter is someone who is trained to write passages of text in a specific way, designed to effectively communicate, captivate, educate, sell to or advise the reader about the product or service they are using.

Copywriting used in conjunction with images and graphic design, is an essential part of any successful online business.

Top Secrets for writing marketing copy

Effective copywriting for ads cannot just be learned overnight, but there are some helpful tips you can follow if you want to have a go at writing your advertising copy yourself.

Avoid Big Words – The purpose of copy in advertising or sales material is to captivate and then convince the reader to buy or try your product or service. Instead of long words like “information”, use quick words like “facts”. Short words have more impact.

Don’t be too cryptic – You have only a few seconds to grab the attention of the reader so don’t be too clever with your words. They’ll soon stop reading if they have to stop and think about what you’re saying. Keep it simple!

Forget the grammatical rules – In copywriting for ads and sales, grammar is not so important. Keep sentences short, and say it as simple as possible, as you would if you were talking to someone directly who was in a hurry.

Focus on the benefits – People want to know what’s in it for them. Don’t keep them guessing right to the end, because chances are they won’t get there. Give it to them straight! Use the benefits as the first headline. It doesn’t have to be short either. Statistics show that long headlines are more effective than short ones. So, if you sell irons that only take half the time to do the job, then say something like “Mum, get back 2 hrs of ME time every week!” Sell the benefits!

Test your copy – Get friends and staff to read your copy over and over, then test your market with different copy. Make changes, swap one word with another, and test it again. You’ll be surprised at how just rearranging or changing one word can make the difference in responses.

TAGS User Guide, Website Content, Writing Marketing Copy

Words That Sell: A Dummies Guide To Writing Copy

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