Gibberish that’s what it is… a long redundant copy heavy piece of information. Frankly no one has time for that.
The average human attention span is no more than 20minutes on a good day. So why should I spend my time reading a blog/copy that will not be of benefit to me?
Good copy establishes authority, builds trust and raises rhetoric.
Good copy is like a science formula.
Before I get into it, remember what we said copywriting was? If not click here for an answer.
The wise man David Ogilvy once said “A good advertisement is one which sells the product without drawing attention to itself.”
Many argue that this frame of thought is counterintuitive. Simply because the general consensus is that Copy should hammer the product into your head by making it all about the product.
Yikes! That really sounds like an unwarranted headache.
Here are a few ways you can guarantee yourself good copy:
Clarity is your best friend
There’s nothing better than a clear, straight to the point message. Imagine having to decipher a cryptic advert all in the name of creativity. Sounds cool, but remember no one has time for that.
A friend of mine always says keep your work dummy proof. Which really means keep your work simple for the simple minded. (Unless your target audience is into hidden messages and stuff).
How do you make your writing clear?
- Write it down (literally), read it out loud or better yet, act it out. This will help you view your words from the audience’s perspective. Remember understanding who you are talking to is always the first step.
- Give it to someone else to read. Don’t tell them what it’s for, and see if they can figure it out without your explanation.
- Use basic language.
- Answer the questions what, who, where and why.
Put your reader first
Your job as the copywriter is to find your readers dream and bring the hope of making it a reality. The reader depends on your poetic flow to bring a solution to their problems.
Personalize the product experience, make it reachable and relatable. The wonderful word ‘You’ always does the trick.
I probably sound like a broken record by now, understand your consumer. This will help you tap into their fantasies and it will help you discover the way to present a solution to them.
Sometimes your reader has a problem they don’t know about. It’s your job to ignite that flame and present a fire extinguisher too.
A copywriter is the hero!
Tell a story
Who doesn’t love a good story?
Humans love to hear about other people, their achievements, their problems and how they overcame them.
The moral of the story, is that your product is the catalyst to overcoming those problems.
It’s like the famous Clientele Legal infomercials. A story is told to you so much that you get hooked. Not only are you hooked but a part of you relates, why? Because it’s human and a good story.
How to tell a good story:
- Opening: Introduce the pain. Show how the character of the story has a normal life, then how that life was shattered by a change of events.
- Conflict: How is the life of the character threatened if he or she does not respond to the problem? What does his journey look like as he tackles this challenge?
- Dialogue: create conversation. Show character’s interactions. This is an attention grabbing tactic and usually hooks your reader on the first go.
- Solution: tada! You introduce your product, the problem solver. Give statistics, great way to demonstrate credibility and reliability of your product.
Copy like Utopia
John Lennon couldn’t have sang it better. Imagine if there was no heaven or hell, no countries or religion. A true form of persuasion.
Your audience is utilitarian at heart (happiness over hurt).
Ask your target audience to imagine a painless or risk free way to lose weight, or what it would feel like to be a successful Instagram model.
You are selling the perfect life.
Write to sell
At the end of the day the reason you are copywriting is to sell something, right?
All kinds of writing are selling something, your text book is selling ideas, a recipe book is selling you the perfect keto meal or your Fiction novel is selling you a fantasy.
To copy, you gotta copy. Do you copy?
What I’m saying is, you need to understand what it is you are selling before you even try to sell it.
- Sell ideas, for like-minded audience.
- Sell tangibles, for those who want to buy (give you money)
- Sell identity/ brand, for people wanting to belong.
Are you still wondering if your copy is good enough? Put it to the test and see if you can convince your friend to make a purchase.
The Grammar queen 